Olivia Connor v. Chester County Sportswear Co

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employer appeals the award of disability benefits to an employee who felt her knee pop when she stood and twisted to flush the commode while using the restroom at work. We reverse. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e) (1999) Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Trial Court Reversed. JOE H. WALKER III, SP.J., in which JANICE M. HOLDER, J., and JOE C. LOSER, SP.J., joined. William F. Kendall III, Jackson, TN, for the Appellant, Chester County Sportswear. Michael A. Jaynes, Jackson, TN, for the Appellee, Olivia Connor. MEMORANDUM OPINION The review of the findings of the trial court is de novo with a presumption of the correctness of the decision unless a preponderance of the evidence is contrary to those findings. Spencer v. Towson Moving & Storage, Inc., 922 S.W.2d 58 (Tenn. 1996). The relevant facts are not in dispute. Claimant was forty-two years old and employed with Defendant as a seamstress. She is about five feet five inches tall and weighed approximately 26 pounds. Claimant awoke on the morning of the accident, got out of bed, and felt a little catch in her left knee. She went to work and after about an hour took a restroom break. The restroom had stalls that are described as basic stalls, no different from other stalls. The commode was a standard commode with a handle on the side, described as no different from a commode at home or anywhere else. Claimant described what happened after using the commode: "As I started to get up, I had to turn to pull my pants up, and when I did, my knee twisted...." When asked, "But where you were twisting was to flush the commode. Correct?," she answered "Yes, sir." Claimant testified that the twisting injury caused her to feel as if everything was torn in her left knee. Dr. Nord determined she suffered a torn medial meniscus in her left knee. He described her injury as caused by standing up and twisting at the same time. He tried conservative treatment, which did not help. An arthroscopy was performed to try to take care of the torn cartilage. She had an excessive amount of chondromalacia and arthritis, and the treatment was not successful. She ultimately required total left knee replacement. Her right knee began to have pain as a result of more pressure put on that knee. Following left knee surgery, Claimant's right knee continued to deteriorate and ultimately required total right knee replacement. The employer treated the injury as non-compensable under the Workers' Compensation statute. The trial court awarded benefits. As pertinent to the issue on appeal, the trial court found: "Personal comfort activities, such as seeking toilet facilities, are generally regarded as compensable. Even though the Plaintiff's use of the bathroom was not necessarily beneficial to the employer, it was a part of her employment because of its being necessary for healthy job performance. The use of the bathroom was sanctioned by and provided for the benefit of the employees, and therefore, the cause is compensable as arising out of the course and scope of her employment." I. T.C.A. _ 5-6-12(a)(5) states the injury, in order to be compensable, must be one "arising out of" and "in the course of" employment. It does not state the employee must be doing something beneficial for his or her employer. Thus, the question focuses on whether the activity bears a reasonable relationship to the employment. The phrases "arising out of" and "in the course of employment" are not synonymous. Woods v. Harry B. Woods Plumbing Co., 967 S.W.2d 768, 771 (Tenn. 1998). Both elements must be satisfied to impose liability on the employer. Thornton v. RCA Serv. Co., 188 Tenn. 644, 221 S.W.2d 954, 955 (1949). "In the Course of Employment" "In the course of" refers to the time, place and circumstances of the injury by accident. Loy v. North Bros. Co., 787 S.W.2d 916 (Tenn. 199). Activities termed as "personal comfort activities" are generally regarded as necessities in the workplace. These include such incidental acts as seeking toilet facilities. This activity is generally found to be sufficiently related to employment to be in the course of employment. In Carter v. Volunteer Apparel, Inc. (holding an employee had a compensable claim when injured in a break area prior to the commencement of normal working hours), the Court,