Texas: Bartering Scenario at Horse Racing Track Disqualifies Claimant from PTD Benefits

Holding that gross negligence, as described in the Texas statute that allows the family of a deceased worker to recovery exemplary damages if the workers’ death was caused by such gross negligence of the employer [see Tex. Lab. Code Ann. § 408.001(b)], a state appellate court reversed a trial court's judgment awarding such damages following a worker's death due to mesothelioma. The court indicated there had been no showing that the employer had actual, subjective awareness of the risk presented by the deceased worker's duties. Without such a subjective awareness, it could not be argued that the employer nevertheless proceeded with conscious indifference to the welfare of the worker.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance.

See Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. v. Dickson, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 7615 (Aug. 23, 2019)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 105.05.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law

For a more detailed discussion of the case, see