Carter v. Travelers Ins. Co., 7165.
| Decision Date | 02 November 1938 |
| Docket Number | No. 7165.,7165. |
| Citation | 120 S.W.2d 581 |
| Parties | CARTER et al. v. TRAVELERS INS. CO. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
Clark & Clark, of Fort Worth, for plaintiffs in error.
Thompson, Knight, Baker & Harris and Pinkney Grissom, all of Dallas, for defendant in error.
This is a compensation suit. It was tried in the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, on appeal from a final ruling of the Industrial Accident Board denying compensation. It appears from the record before us that Vera Carter, a colored woman, died in Tarrant County, Texas, on or about September 16, 1933. It is contended by the plaintiffs in error, who are her surviving husband and minor children, respectively, that Vera Carter died of an injury to the physical structure of her body, which injury was received in the course of her employment as an employee of the Texas Hotel at Fort Worth, Texas. Travelers Insurance Company was the compensation insurance carrier for the Hotel. The case was submitted to a jury on special issues in the district court. The verdict of the jury was for the claimants, and judgment was entered accordingly. This judgment was reversed by the Court of Civil Appeals, and judgment rendered for the Insurance Company. 94 S.W.2d 1221. The case is before this Court on writ of error granted on application of Emzie Carter et al., the surviving husband and children, respectively, of the deceased.
The jury, in response to appropriate questions, among other things, found:
1. That on or about August 11, 1933, Vera Carter received an injury to the blood vessels of her brain.
2. That such injury was the result of an accident.
3. That such injury was sustained in the course of her employment.
4. That Vera Carter died as a result of such injury.
If we properly interpret its opinion, the Court of Civil Appeals reversed the judgment of the district court and rendered judgment for the Insurance Company on the ground that the statement of facts contains no evidence of probative force showing, or tending to show, that Vera Carter sustained an injury to the blood vessels of her brain in the course of her employment with the Texas Hotel. In this holding the Court of Civil Appeals did not reverse and remand the case, but, as already stated, reversed and rendered it. We are therefore called upon to decide a law question, and not a fact question. If this record contains any evidence of probative force showing, or tending to show, that Vera Carter died of an injured blood vessel in her brain, and that such injury was sustained in the course of her employment with the Texas Hotel, the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals cannot stand. The determination of this question involves a rather extended examination and discussion of the evidence, as contained in the statement of facts.
In view of the jury's verdict, we think the record in this case shows the following:
That Vera Carter was an employee of the Texas Hotel on August 11, 1933, and for sometime prior thereto; that during such employment Travelers Insurance Company carried the compensation insurance for the Hotel; that Vera Carter was employed by the Hotel as a maid; that Vera Carter's duties as an employee of the Hotel required her to work in rooms that were very hot, and required her to constantly lift and handle articles which were very heavy for a woman to lift and handle; that some of these articles weighed seventy-five or eighty pounds; that Vera Carter was also required to move heavy furniture, some of it weighing several hundred pounds; that for about a week before Vera Carter quit her work she would complain of severe pains in her head, and as a consequence of her pains would have to lie down and rest; that these pains would appear after Vera Carter had been at work in hot rooms, lifting heavy articles and moving heavy furniture; that, finally, during one of these spells Vera Carter was sent home, and from there to the hospital, where she died in about thirty days.
It was further shown that up to the time Vera Carter began having the spells with her head, above described, she was a woman in fairly good health, and weighed anywhere from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and forty pounds. There is also evidence that Vera Carter had high blood pressure, and may have had other physical ailments.
Emzie Carter, the husband of the deceased, testified at considerable length, and, as bearing on the cause of Vera's death, we think his testimony justifies the following conclusions:
That Vera worked for the Texas Hotel as a maid; that she remained in seeming fair health until about a week before she quit work; that for about a week before Vera quit work she would complain of her head when she came home from the hotel; that such pain did not first appear at home; that she would lie on the bed, and Emzie would rub her head and down her side; that during this time she complained of her head, right side, arm and leg; that Vera had gotten so that she could not move her right arm and leg, except with difficulty; that after Vera went to the hospital she had the same troubles and pains she had at home; that Vera vomited some before she went to the hospital; and that Vera was a woman about twenty-seven years old at the time of her death.
The witness Mary Holloway testified, in substance, that she knew Vera Carter during her lifetime; that she saw her frequently while she was working in the Texas Hotel as a maid; that she remembered that Vera Carter gave up her work at the Hotel and was sent home sick; that she knew that Vera Carter had to go to bed when she got home; that Vera was sick for several weeks after being sent home, and remained confined to her bed; and that Vera suffered "misery" in her head and right arm and side, and back.
The witness Mrs. N. L. Wheeler testified, in substance, that she remembered Vera Carter as an employee of the Texas Hotel; that she would judge she weighed about one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and thirty pounds; that Vera Carter appeared to be a healthy woman; that the day Vera quit the witness happened along, and Vera began to cry and said that her head was hurting her so badly she could not work; that witness told Vera she should not be there trying to work, but should go over to Dr. Terry's office, which she did; that Vera never came back to work after that; that Vera told witness the pain was in the back of her head; that the above events occurred in the morning; that Vera did not complain when she came to work; and that Vera had made the complaint to the witness after she, Vera, had been working two or three hours.
The witness Sarah Bell Rice testified, in substance, that she knew Vera Carter while both she and the witness were working at the Texas Hotel; that while Vera worked at the Hotel witness had occasion to be around her a good deal; that witness knew and observed the kind of work Vera was doing; that such work required Vera to lift heavy loads and move heavy furniture; that some of the loads Vera had to lift weighed seventy-five or eighty pounds; that Vera sometimes had to carry these heavy loads for a distance equal to a city block; that for about a week before Vera quit work she complained of her head hurting her very badly; that on several occasions witness would stop work and help Vera; that Vera would stop work and lie down a few minutes, and then try to work again; that Vera did not complain any before she did work, but afterwards; that after Vera would clean a room and move things she would just give out, seemingly; that the maids were not allowed to turn on the fans in the rooms while at work, and, therefore, in August such rooms were usually very hot.
The witness Dr. L. F. Rhodes qualified as a medical expert, and, in substance, testified that the symptoms detailed above evidenced a possibility that Vera Carter died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Dr. Rhodes then, in substance, testified that a cerebral hemorrhage could be caused by heavy lifting; that a cerebral hemorrhage is a hemorrhage of one of the blood vessels in the brain, which might leak a little bit, or might leak a whole lot, producing instant paralysis or gradual paralysis; and that in a hemorrhage of the brain the blood leaks inside the brain,—that is, inside the cerebrum. We here quote the following from the testimony of Dr. Rhodes:
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