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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
HOUSTON—A trial court’s ruling that an employer trying to limit its liability for future lost earnings could not present evidence that a deceased employee was an illegal immigrant was reasonable, a Texas appellate court has ruled.
The decision by the 1st District Court of Appeals of Texas in Republic Waste Services Ltd. vs. Elida Griselda Martinez upheld the trial court's grant of a $1.4 million judgment to the deceased worker's common-law wife and his father.
Oscar Alfredo Gomez and Ms. Martinez immigrated to Houston from El Salvador, court records state. He died when a co-worker backed a garbage truck over him
Republic is a “nonsubscriber” as defined under Texas' Workers' Compensation Act and Ms. Martinez filed a wrongful death suit alleging negligence. During legal proceedings, the parties argued about the relevance of Mr. Gomez's immigration status.
The plaintiffs argued that such evidence was not relevant and highly prejudicial.
The employer said the plaintiffs had planned to show that the 21-year-old Mr. Gomez earned $33,000 per year and would have worked another 35 to 40 years had he lived. But the employer argued that Mr. Gomez would have been deported after a federal immigration raid at Republic's facility two weeks after Mr. Gomez's death.
The trial court ruled that it was “gross speculation” whether Mr. Gomez would have been deported and would not allow a jury to hear evidence concerning his immigration status.
Among other findings, the appellate court ruled last Thursday that testimony on whether the immigration raid may have led to deportation was speculative. It also found that the trial court's decision to exclude the evidence regarding Mr. Gomez's illegal immigrant status was in line with established principles in Texas law.
It affirmed the trial court's judgment.