Consolidated Underwriters v. Christal
Shellie Christal, husband of Zelia Christal, died from a cerebral hemorrhage on November 6, 1937, while employed by Pritchard Rice Milling Company. He had pre-existing high blood pressure. The Industrial Accident Board denied recovery to Zelia Christal, who then appealed to the district court of Harris County. A jury found that Christal's over-exertion at work aggravated his high blood pressure, leading to the cerebral hemorrhage and death, and that his death was not solely caused by disease. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, rejecting the appellant's contentions regarding requested special issues, definitions of terms, and variance between pleadings and proof, concluding that the injury was compensable.