Try this instead:
Get Info for your .doc file
click on the Open With menu
choose TextEdit from the drop down menu
and, click Change All button, then click continue on the window that asks if you want to change all similar documents to open with TextEdit.
If that doesn't hold, you can always simply drop the document you need to open on the TextEdit icon. That will assure that the document is going to open with TextEdit, and you don't have to rely on what the finder thinks you want to use.