compensation on the basis that he was not "in the course and scope of employment" at the time of the accident as required by the Texas Workers' Compensation Act. See Tex. Lab.Code Ann. § 406.031. Brooks then submitted the dispute to the Texas Department of Insurance Workers' Compensation Division. The Division held a contested case hearing and determined that Brooks did not have a compensable claim. An appeals panel of the Division affirmed.
Brooks sought judicial review of the agency decision. While the district court action was pending, Petrosurance was declared an impaired insurer and TPCIGA became the real party in interest. See Tex. Ins.Code Ann. § 462.004(5) (West 2008) (defining "impaired insurer"). TPCIGA and Brooks filed cross motions for summary judgment. The central issue presented by their motionsand dissenting.
In this workers' compensation case, the majority misapplies the standard of review and creates a fact issue where none exists. The undisputed facts show that appellee Randy Brooks was paid $50 per day by his employer, Patterson Drilling Company, to transport his drilling crew to and from work, thereby excepting his travel home from the "coming and going" rule and rendering his injury in an automobile accident compensable under the statute. See Tex. Lab.Code Ann. § 401.011(12)(A) (West 2006). Because the majority concludes otherwise, I respectfully dissent.[1]
Patterson employed Brooks as an oil rig driller, and he was injured in an automobile accident while transporting himself and his crew from the well site, located in a remote area near Garden City, to their homes in Odessa, fifty-two miles