HOUSTON – A filing error has led to no benefits for a man who suffered a heart attack while training to be a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to an opinion issued by the First Court of Appeals today.
Levent Dogan sought worker’s compensation benefits for his injury but a hearing officer and an administrative appeals panel found that his heart attack was not compensable and that he had no disability.
Court records show Dogan sought judicial review and a jury found that he did have a compensable heart attack. The trial court entered a judgment in his favor, prompting Harris County to appeal.
On appeal, Harris County argued that:
- The court erred by entering judgment that Dogan suffered a disability because he did not request a jury question on disability and none was submitted to the jury;
- The court erred by submitting a liability question asking whether Dogan suffered an “injury;” and
- The judgment is void because Dogan did not comply with a statutory requirement to file a copy of the proposed judgment with the Division of Workers’ Compensation prior to entry.
“We conclude that Dogan’s failure to timely file with the Division the proposed judgment that was actually signed by the court rendered the trial court’s judgment void,” the First Court’s opinion states. “We dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.”
Appeals case No. 01-19-01006-CV