Recent Case Law for Texas

Monday, October 14, 2013 | 0

NEW! BPU Management v. OWCP, 12-60289, (10/08/2013): A dockworker who suffered an injury while cleaning the underground tunnel through which conveyor belts moved bauxite ore that had been offloaded from ships in the adjoining navigable waterway was not covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, a federal appellate court ruled.

NEW! Tillman v. Memorial Hermann Hospital System, 14-12-01169-CV, (10/01/2013): The Texas 14th District Court of Appeals ruled that a claim by a hospital employee against her non-subscribing employer for damages based on a workplace injury caused by the alleged negligence of a coworker was a "health care liability claim" subject to the Medical Liability Act.

NEW! Willoughby v. United States, 12-40915, (09/17/2013): The federal government was entitled to claim exclusivity under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act as a defense to a tort claim by the injured employee of a military contractor, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

NEW! Vista Medical Center Hospital v. Texas Mutual Insurance Co., 03-11-00641-CV through 03-11-00643-CV, and 03-11-00742-CV through 03-11-00785-CV, (09/27/2013): A Texas appellate court is standing by its determination that the Texas Department of Insurance's Division of Workers' Compensation has exclusive jurisdiction to resolve disputes between a medical care provider and an insurance carrier about the payment due to the provider for its services to injured workers. 

NEW! Austin v. Kroger Texas, 12-10772, (9/27/13): The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas' longstanding abolition of the "no duty" rule continued to apply in lawsuits by employees against nonsubscribing employers.

NEW! Seeberger v. BNSF Railway Co., 01-12-00583-CV, (09/26/2013): A Texas appellate court ruled that a railway worker who got a new trial on his Federal Employers' Liability Act claim properly had his second trial limited only to the issue of damages since the insufficiency of the damage award from the first trial was what prompted the retrial.

NEW! Oncor Electric Delivery Co. v. Murillo, 01-10-01123-CV, (09/26/2013):A divided Texas appellate court ruled that the owner of the electricity transformers at a construction site was liable in tort to a worker who suffered a severe shock when he grabbed a cable that was attached to a transformer that had not been shut down. 

Borden v. Smith County, 12-12-00284-CV, (09/18/2013) The 12th District Court of Appeals joined its sister circuits in El Paso, Corpus Christi, Dallas and Austin in finding that the State Application Act waives sovereign immunity for anti-retaliation claims against political subdivisions.

Zimmerman v. Farias, 14-12-00531-CV, (09/12/2013): A dental hygienist who allegedly tripped and fell at work failed to present sufficient evidence to support a premises liability claim against her employer to justify holding her employer liable as an individual, a Texas appellate court ruled.