Emery Eugene Bailey v. American General Insurance Company

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals and held that a psychic trauma causing functional impairment of the nervous system constitutes "damage or harm" to the physical structure of the body under the Workmen's Compensation statute, making the petitioner entitled to compensation. The Court applied a liberal, remedial construction of the statute and rejected the narrower interpretation that required an organic lesion. The decision was remanded for further proceedings consistent with this construction. Justice Walker dissented, arguing that the majority’s reading renders the statutory definition inoperative.