Recent Case Law for Texas

Thursday, November 13, 2014 | 0

NEW! Englobal v. Gatlin, 09-14-00014-CV, (11/06/2014): A Texas appellate court ruled that a contractor performing engineering and construction management services at a refinery could not compel an injured worker to arbitrate his tort claims pursuant to an agreement that it had with the refinery.

NEW! Randoll Mill Pharmacy, KVG Enterprises, et al. v. Stacey Miller and Randy Miller, 13-1014, (10/24/14): The Texas Supreme Court has granted a petition to review a lower court’s holding that compounding pharmacists who fill a physician’s order for compounded drugs for office use don’t qualify for medical liability protections.

NEW! King Fisher Marine Service v. Tamez, 13-0103, (8/29/14): The Texas Supreme Court denied rehearing of its August decision upholding an injured maritime worker's award of damages – without reducing them based on his contributory negligence – because he was following a supervisor's specific orders at the time of his injury.

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%.

Mission Petroleum Carriers v. Kelley, No. 14-14-00072-CV, (10/14): A nonsubscribing 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.

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.

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.

Gonzalez v. Diversicare Leasing Corp., 01-13-00108-CV, (9/14): 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.

B & S Welding Work Related Injury Plan v. Oliva-Barron, No. 05-13-00394-CV, (9/14): 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.