Texas Case Law Update

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | 0

NEW! Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. v. Portillo, 13-13-0021g-CV, (10/09/2014): A Texas appellate court for the second time ruled that a report from a worker's treating doctor, which had been accepted by a trial court judge, was insufficient to establish the worker's impairment rating of 20%.

NEW! Mission Petroleum Carriers v. Kelley, 14-14-00072-CV, (10/09/2014): A non-subscribing employer that persuaded an employee to sign paperwork to enroll in its health and safety plan – while he was in the hospital and under the influence of morphine after being seriously injured in a big-rig accident – can still enforce the arbitration provision included in those documents, the 14th District Court of Appeal of Texas ruled.

NEW! Smith v. City of Austin, 03-12-00295-CV, (09/30/2014): A payroll worker who repeatedly failed to submit income taxes for her employer and blamed her oversight on her depression did not establish that her employer's decision to fire her was an act of discrimination based on her mental disability, as a matter of law.

NEW! Beacon Construction Co. v. Alonso, 09-13-00295-CV, (09/25/2014): A Texas appellate court ruled that workers' compensation provided the exclusive remedy for a group of workers who were injured in a crane collapse on a worksite that was subject to a contractor-controlled insurance program.

NEW! Gonzalez v. Diversicare Leasing Corp., 01-13-00108-CV (09/2014): The Texas 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that a nursing home worker's personal injury action was a "garden variety slip-and-fall claim" and not subject to the heightened pleading requirements of the state's Medical Liability Act.

NEW! B & S Welding Work Related Injury Plan v. Oliva-Barron, 05-13-00394-CV, (09/15/2014): The 5th District Court of Appeals at Dallas ruled that a non-subscribing employer's alternative benefit plan wrongfully terminated its payments to a seriously injured worker less than three months after his near-fatal fall.

NEW! Pena v. SORM, 13-12-00712-CV, (09/11/2014): A Texas appellate court ruled that summary judgment dismissing a claim based on a worker's car accident was inappropriate as there were triable issues as to whether he was within the course and scope of his employment at the time of his wreck.

NEW! Texas Department of Insurance v. De Los Santos, 04-13-00419-CV, (08/27/2014): A Texas appellate court ruled that a heavy equipment operator's hand and arm injuries had left him unable to find employment requiring the use of his hands, and therefore that he was entitled to lifetime income benefits.

NEW! Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Palmer, 05-12-00893-CV, (08/29/2014): A Dallas-area carpenter who had secured a jury verdict against the Texas Mutual Insurance Co. for engaging in unfair and deceptive acts in the handling of his workers' compensation claim will not be getting the $483,716.69 he was awarded by a jury, due to a snafu in his pleadings.