CompFox Logo
AboutWorkflowFeaturesPricingCase LawInsights

Updated Daily

Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. 22-0585
Regular Panel Decision
May 17, 2024

Texas Department of Transportation v. Mark Self and Birgit Self

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was sued by Mark and Birgit Self for negligence and inverse condemnation after a subcontractor cut down trees on the Selfs' property outside the State's right-of-way easement. The Supreme Court of Texas reversed the court of appeals' judgment on both counts. The Court held that the Tort Claims Act does not waive immunity for the Selfs' negligence claim because the subcontractor's employees were not in TxDOT's paid service, nor did TxDOT employees directly operate the equipment. However, the Court found a viable cause of action for inverse condemnation, concluding that TxDOT intentionally directed the destruction of the trees for public use, even if it mistakenly believed it had the legal right to do so. The negligence claim was dismissed, and the inverse condemnation claim was remanded for further proceedings.

Sovereign ImmunityInverse CondemnationNegligence ClaimTort Claims ActGovernment LiabilityProperty DamageRight-of-Way EasementSubcontractor LiabilityTree RemovalEminent Domain
References
65
Case No. 12-20-00082-CV
Regular Panel Decision
Jan 06, 2021

Sean Self v. West Cedar Creek Municipal Utility District

Sean Self appealed a take-nothing judgment granted to West Cedar Creek Municipal Utility District, dismissing Self’s suit for damages from sewage flooding his home. Self alleged negligent use of motor-driven equipment, premises defect, unconstitutional taking, non-negligent nuisance, and breach of contract. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decision, finding that Self failed to establish a waiver of governmental immunity under the Texas Tort Claims Act for the motor-driven equipment claim, as the damages arose from a broken plastic coupler, not the motor-driven pump. The court also found no evidence to support the premises liability, takings, non-negligent nuisance, or breach of contract claims, thus the District retained immunity.

Governmental ImmunityTexas Tort Claims ActPlea to JurisdictionMotor-Driven EquipmentPremises DefectInverse CondemnationBreach of ContractNon-negligent NuisanceSewage FloodMunicipal Utility District
References
36
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Capps v. American Mutual Liability Insurance Co.

Archie Capps appealed a take-nothing judgment, arguing that American Mutual Liability Insurance Company improperly deducted both worker's compensation and social security benefits from his disability insurance payments. Capps, disabled in 1972, received disability policy payments from 1973 and a lump-sum worker's compensation settlement in 1974, which included attorney's fees. He also received monthly social security benefits. The court affirmed the judgment, holding that the insurance policy's anti-duplication clause permitted the deduction of both worker's compensation and social security payments. Furthermore, the court found that attorney's fees awarded in the worker's compensation case were part of the total amounts payable and were properly deducted, and that the calculation of payments was correct.

AppealDisability InsuranceWorker's CompensationSocial Security BenefitsAnti-duplication ClauseAttorney's FeesLump-sum SettlementBenefit DeductionsPolicy InterpretationInsurance Law
References
2
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Loblaw, Inc. v. Employers' Liability Assurance Corp.

Loblaw, Inc., a self-insured retail chain, sued its excess insurer, Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation, for reimbursement under a workers’ compensation policy. The dispute centered on whether Loblaw timely notified Employers’ of an employee's escalating injury claim. Loblaw initially believed the claim would not exceed its $25,000 self-retention, delaying notice until June 1972, despite warnings from its agent and mounting costs. The Supreme Court, Erie County, initially sided with Loblaw, but the Appellate Division reversed, ruling Loblaw had an ongoing obligation to notify the insurer and was derelict by May 1969. This court affirmed the Appellate Division's dismissal of Loblaw's complaint, holding that the notice given in June 1972 was too late as a matter of law, given the claim had exceeded $21,000 by December 1970.

Insurance policy interpretationWorkers' compensationExcess insuranceNotice provisionSelf-insurerTimely noticeAppellate reviewContract constructionObjective standardSubjective judgment
References
22
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

American Mutual Liability Insurance Co. v. Bradshaw

This case focuses on determining the average weekly wage for plaintiff Gene Bradshaw to calculate workmen's compensation benefits. Bradshaw, an independent contractor for Champion International Corporation, was required to pay for workmen's compensation coverage through defendant American Mutual Liability Insurance Company, with premiums deducted from his pulpwood earnings. The core dispute arose from American Mutual's attempt to reduce Bradshaw's gross earnings by various expenses (labor, equipment, etc.) to calculate his average weekly wage, a method Bradshaw contested. The trial court and subsequently the appellate court affirmed that Bradshaw was entitled to maximum benefits, emphasizing that the insurance premiums were based on gross earnings and the statute did not differentiate between gross and net earnings for wage computation, thereby rejecting the proposed deductions. The court found that where it's impracticable to compute average weekly wages, it should consider what a person in similar employment in the same district would earn.

Workmen's CompensationAverage Weekly WageIndependent ContractorGross EarningsNet EarningsInsurance PremiumsStatutory InterpretationLiberal ConstructionTimber IndustryPulpwood Harvesting
References
2
Case No. NO. 12-19-00036-CV
Regular Panel Decision
Mar 25, 2020

City of Dallas, a Self-Insured Employer v. Gregory D. Thompson

The City of Dallas, a self-insured employer, appealed a trial court's partial summary judgment related to Gregory D. Thompson's workers' compensation claim. Thompson, a former firefighter, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010, attributed to carcinogen exposure. Dallas initially denied liability, and the case proceeded through DWC administrative review. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined Thompson suffered a compensable injury but failed to file a claim within one year, though Dallas waived this defense. The trial court affirmed the ALJ's decision regarding waiver. This appellate court affirmed the trial court's ruling, concluding Dallas did not meet its burden to show the ALJ erroneously added the waiver issue and that the defense was not raised within a reasonable time.

Workers' CompensationOccupational DiseaseFirefighter CancerTimely Claim FilingWaiver DefenseJudicial ReviewSummary JudgmentAppellate ReviewTexas Labor CodeAdministrative Law Judge
References
18
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

County of Maverick v. Texas Ass'n of Counties Workers' Compensation Self-Insurance Fund

The County of Maverick (County) appealed a trial court's judgment that Nutmeg Insurance Company (Nutmeg) and the Texas Association of Counties Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance Fund (the Fund) did not owe the County a duty to defend or indemnify in a wrongful discharge lawsuit. Four former employees had sued the County after being terminated for filing workers' compensation claims. Both Nutmeg and the Fund refused to defend the County, which subsequently lost the wrongful discharge suit and was ordered to pay damages and reinstate employees. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding that neither Nutmeg's public entity liability policy nor the Fund's interlocal agreement covered damages for wrongful discharge, and upheld the award of attorneys' fees to Nutmeg and the Fund.

Workers' CompensationWrongful DischargeInsurance CoverageDuty to DefendDuty to IndemnifyInterlocal AgreementPublic Entity LiabilityTexas LawStatutory InterpretationAppellate Review
References
18
Case No. 2017 NY Slip Op 08595 [156 AD3d 1043]
Regular Panel Decision
Dec 07, 2017

New York State Workers' Compensation Board v. Any-Time Home Care Inc.

The New York State Workers' Compensation Board, acting as administrator for a dissolved self-insured trust, initiated an action to recover a $133 million cumulative deficit from former trust members. Various defendants sought to dismiss the complaint, asserting claims were time-barred by a three-year statute of limitations for statutory liabilities, failed to adequately state claims against individual partners, and were barred by the doctrine of laches. The Supreme Court denied these motions. On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the Supreme Court's order, ruling that the claims were contractual, subject to a six-year limitation period, and that laches did not apply against the state enforcing a public right. The court also found the complaint sufficiently specific regarding the liability of individual defendants.

Workers' Compensation LawSelf-Insurance TrustJoint and Several LiabilityStatute of LimitationsContractual LiabilityLaches DoctrineAppellate ReviewGroup Self-InsurerDeficit RecoveryPartnership Liability
References
16
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Faison v. City of New York Department of Human Resources

The case concerns an appeal from decisions of the Workers’ Compensation Board regarding liability for a claimant’s reopened case. The claimant sustained a permanent partial disability in 1991 and her case was closed in 1993. In 2001, she applied to reopen it. A Workers’ Compensation Law Judge and subsequently a Board panel found that the employer voluntarily made advance payments of compensation within three years of the application, thereby making the employer, not the Special Fund for Reopened Cases, liable for disability payments. The employer appealed this decision. The appellate court examined whether the employer's payment of wages, deducted from sick leave, constituted an 'advance payment of compensation' with an acknowledgment of liability. The court found that wages paid from sick leave are not advance payments of compensation, and there was no substantial evidence that the employer’s payments were made voluntarily in recognition of continuing liability. Therefore, the Board's decision was reversed, and liability was transferred to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases.

Permanent Partial DisabilityReopened CaseAdvance Payments of CompensationSick LeaveEmployer LiabilitySpecial Fund for Reopened CasesWorkers' Compensation Law § 25-aAppellate ReviewSubstantial EvidenceRemittitur
References
8
Case No. 03-22-00241-CV
Regular Panel Decision
Oct 31, 2023

Texas Political Subdivisions Joint Self-Insurance Fund v. Texas Department of Insurance - Division of Workers' Compensation and Commissioner Cassie Brown in Her Official Capacity

The Texas Political Subdivisions Joint Self-Insurance Fund (TPS Fund) appealed the denial of its plea to the jurisdiction and summary-judgment motion by the 455th District Court of Travis County. The TPS Fund, a self-insured governmental entity, was assessed administrative penalties totaling $132,500 by the Texas Department of Insurance–Division of Workers’ Compensation for violations of the Texas Labor Code related to nonpayment or late payment of workers’ compensation benefits. The TPS Fund asserted governmental immunity from these penalties. The Court of Appeals reviewed the legislative history and prior common law, including Texas Workers’ Comp. Comm’n v. City of Eagle Pass, to determine if immunity was waived. It concluded that the 2019 amendment to Labor Code Section 504.053(e) merely codified existing law, which had already established a clear waiver of immunity for such regulatory actions against self-insured political subdivisions. Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s order, holding that the TPS Fund’s governmental immunity is waived for the administrative penalties.

Workers' CompensationGovernmental ImmunityAdministrative PenaltiesTexas Labor CodeSelf-InsurancePolitical SubdivisionsStatutory InterpretationAppellate ReviewRegulatory AuthoritySovereign Immunity
References
13
Showing 1-10 of 6,704 results

Ready to streamline your practice?

Apply these legal strategies instantly. CompFox helps you find decisions, analyze reports, and draft pleadings in minutes.

CompFox Logo

The AI standard for workers' compensation professionals. Faster research, deeper analysis, better outcomes.

Product

  • Platform
  • Workflow
  • Features
  • Pricing

Solutions

  • Defense Firms
  • Applicants' Attorneys
  • Insurance carriers
  • Medical Providers

Company

  • About
  • Insights
  • Case Law

Legal

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Trust
  • Cookies
  • Subscription

© 2026 CompFox Inc. All rights reserved.

Systems Operational