Jennifer Sanchez Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Veronica Sanchez and Edward Sanchez v. K&C Chicken 2 LLC., Individually and D/B/A Bush's Chicken and Bush's Chicken

Opinion filed August 7, 2025

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals
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No. 11-24-00097-CV
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JENNIFER SANCHEZ, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF VERONICA
SANCHEZ, AND EDWARD SANCHEZ, Appellants
V.

K&C CHICKEN 2, LLC, INDIVIDUALLY AND D/B/A BUSH’S
CHICKEN, AND BUSH’S CHICKEN, Appellees

On Appeal from the 238th District Court
Midland County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. CV59433

MEMORANDUM OPINION
This is an appeal from an order granting a plea to the jurisdiction in a wrongful
death case that arises out of the death of Veronica Sanchez, an employee of
Appellees, K&C Chicken 2, LLC d/b/a Bush’s Chicken and Bush’s Chicken
(collectively K&C). Appellant, Jennifer Sanchez, complains that the trial court erred
when it determined that the Texas Department of Insurance—Division of Workers’
Compensation (DWC) has exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether the death of
Veronica was compensable under Texas workers’ compensation law. Because the
Texas Supreme Court has now resolved this issue in University of Texas Rio Grande
Valley v. Oteka, No. 23-0167, 2025 WL 1668315 (Tex. June 13, 2025) (Oteka II),
we reverse and remand.
Factual and Procedural Background
In February 2022, Veronica was employed by K&C. On February 17,
Veronica was shot and killed by a coworker after she stepped out of the back door
of the building where she worked to retrieve some supplies. Following Veronica’s
death, Jennifer, who is Veronica’s mother, filed a workers’ compensation claim.
However, K&C’s carrier denied the claim because Veronica’s “death arose out of an
act of a third person who intended to injure her because of a personal reason and the
act was not directed at her as an employee or because of the employment.”1
Jennifer did not attempt to challenge the denial by initiating a proceeding
against the carrier in the DWC. See TEX. LAB. CODE ANN. § 410.024 (West 2015).
Instead, she filed suit in Midland County, alleging, among other things, a cause of
action for negligence against K&C.
K&C’s answer is not before us. However, the record indicates that K&C
asserted an affirmative defense based on the exclusive remedy provision of the Texas
Workers’ Compensation Act. See LAB. § 408.001(a) (“Recovery of workers’
compensation benefits is the exclusive remedy of . . . a legal beneficiary . . . for the
death of . . . the employee.”).

1
Under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, an insurance carrier is liable for compensation when
“the injury arises out of and in the course and scope of employment.” TEX. LAB. CODE ANN.
§ 406.031(a)(2) (West 2015). However, an insurance carrier is not liable to pay compensation when the
injury “arose out of an act of a third person intended to injure the employee because of a personal reason
and not directed at the employee as an employee or because of the employment.” LAB. § 406.032(1)(C).
2
Following its answer, K&C filed a combined motion for summary judgment
and plea to the jurisdiction. The trial court granted the plea to the jurisdiction, and
this appeal followed.
Analysis
K&C’s motion was predicated on the argument that, because the DWC is
invested with exclusive jurisdiction to determine the question of whether the
claimant has suffered a compensable injury, Jennifer was obligated to exhaust her
administrative remedies with the DWC before the parties could move forward with
her lawsuit. See, e.g., Henry v. Dillard Dep’t Stores, Inc., 70 S.W.3d 808, 809 (Tex.
2002) (recognizing that the question of whether the claimant is entitled to workers’
compensation benefits is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the DWC).
At the time that K&C filed its motion, and at the time this appeal was filed,
the Texas Supreme Court had not yet addressed the question of whether an injured
employee (or, in this case, a family member seeking benefits arising out of the death
of an injured employee) must initiate and resolve a proceeding for workers’
compensation before it can proceed with a suit against the employer. Furthermore,
while Jennifer’s lawsuit and subsequent appeal were pending, a split developed
between the courts of appeals on the issue. See Univ. of Tex. Rio Grande Valley v.
Oteka, 704 S.W.3d 1, 5 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg 2023) (Oteka I),
aff’d, No. 23-0167, 2025 WL 1668315, at *1 (Tex. June 13, 2025) (Following the
denial of her claim, an injured employee was not required to exhaust her
administrative remedies before filing a personal injury lawsuit against the
employer.); In re Prentis, 702 S.W.3d 762, 773–74 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]
2024, orig. proceeding) (disagreeing with the Thirteenth Court of Appeals’ holding
in Oteka I and concluding that, because the claimant failed to exhaust his
administrative remedies following the denial of his workers’ compensation claim,

3
the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider a personal injury claim
against the employer).
The Texas Supreme Court has now resolved this conflict following a petition
for review in Oteka I, holding that the DWC “does not have exclusive jurisdiction
to determine whether an injury occurred in the course and scope of employment
when (1) the employer raises the issue as an affirmative defense outside the
compensability context and (2) the employee’s requested relief does not depend on
any entitlement to benefits.” 2025 WL 1668315, at *7 & n.51 (affirming the
Thirteenth Court of Appeals and disapproving Prentis).
Because both of the conditions that are set out by the Texas Supreme Court in
Oteka II are present in this case, we sustain Jennifer’s first issue in which she
complains that the trial court erred in granting the plea to the jurisdiction.2
This Court’s Ruling
We reverse the judgment of the trial court and we remand this cause to the
trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion and with the Texas
Supreme Court’s opinion in Oteka II.

JOHN M. BAILEY
CHIEF JUSTICE

August 7, 2025
Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Trotter, J., and Williams, J.

2
As a result of our holding, we do not reach Jennifer’s second issue that, if the trial court lacked
jurisdiction, it should have abated the case rather than dismissing it. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.1.
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