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David Lee Flowers, an employee of D. A. Peachee Drilling Company, suffered severe injuries, including the amputation of both legs, after a drilling rig mast contacted a 66,000-volt power line during seismograph work. Texas Employers’ Insurance Association intervened to recover workers' compensation payments. A jury in the 83rd District Court of Upton County found Nance Exploration Company negligent, awarding Flowers $127,671.11 and the intervenor $15,879.89. Nance Exploration Company appealed the judgment. The appellate court concluded that the high power line's danger was open and obvious, and Flowers, an experienced driller, knew or should have known of the hazard, negating any duty for Nance Exploration Company to warn him. The court further ruled that the act of Flowers' superior, Greer, deliberately lowering the mast into the wire, was a new, independent, and unforeseen act, constituting the sole proximate cause of the injury. Therefore, the appellate court reversed the trial court's judgment, finding Nance Exploration Company not liable.
Nance Exploration Co. v. Texas Employers' Insurance Ass'n is a workers' compensation case decided in Court of Appeals of Texas. This case addresses legal issues related to compensation claims, benefits, and court rulings.
It is commonly referenced in legal research involving workers' compensation laws in Court of Appeals of Texas.
Full Decision Text1 Pages
David Lee Flowers, an employee of D. A. Peachee Drilling Company, suffered severe injuries, including the amputation of both legs, after a drilling rig mast contacted a 66,000-volt power line during seismograph work. Texas Employers’ Insurance Association intervened to recover workers' compensation payments. A jury in the 83rd District Court of Upton County found Nance Exploration Company negligent, awarding Flowers $127,671.11 and the intervenor $15,879.89. Nance Exploration Company appealed the judgment. The appellate court concluded that the high power line's danger was open and obvious, and Flowers, an experienced driller, knew or should have known of the hazard, negating any duty for Nance Exploration Company to warn him. The court further ruled that the act of Flowers' superior, Greer, deliberately lowering the mast into the wire, was a new, independent, and unforeseen act, constituting the sole proximate cause of the injury. Therefore, the appellate court reversed the trial court's judgment, finding Nance Exploration Company not liable.
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