CORPUS CHRISTI - The 13th Court of Appeals recently affirmed the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction brought by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in a personal injury lawsuit.
Court records show Rita Oteka, a UTRGV nursing professor, filed a suit claiming negligence after she was struck by a university police officer vehicle. UTRGV answered, asserting the exclusive remedy defense under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. More than two years after the incident, UTRGV’s claims administrator accepted coverage.
Afterwards, UTRGV filed a plea to the jurisdiction alleging that Oteka failed to exhaust her administrative remedies regarding the compensability of her injuries, states the 13th Court’s Jan. 26 opinion.
The trial court denied UTRGV’s plea and the university appealed, arguing that the trial court erred because Oteka, a UTRGV employee, failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation (the Division).
“We hold that Oteka was not required to exhaust her administrative remedies with the Division before filing a personal injury suit,” the opinion states. “Therefore, the trial court did not lack jurisdiction for this reason, and it did not err in denying UTRGV’s plea to the jurisdiction.”
Appeals case No. 13-22-00063-CV