ESIS, Inc., Servicing Contractor v. Johnson
This is a workers’ compensation case involving Billy Carl Johnson, a jailer for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, who sustained an accidental gunshot injury while cleaning his service revolver at home. The Texas Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel determined that the injury occurred in the course and scope of his employment, a finding subsequently affirmed by a jury in the district court. ESIS, Inc., the servicing contractor for Tarrant County’s self-insured policy, appealed this decision, raising four points of error. These included claims that Johnson was not within the course and scope of his employment, challenges to the admission of the appeals panel opinion, the exclusion of evidence regarding Johnson's alcohol consumption, and the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission's intervention in the case. The Chief Justice overruled all points of error, concluding that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that Johnson’s injury was sustained in the course and scope of his employment, and affirmed the trial court's judgment.