William Kevin Beeler v. Lennox Hearth Products, Inc.

Employee sustained a compensable injury to his left knee. After surgery and recovery, his treating physician assigned 2% impairment to the left leg. At Employee’s request, an IME was conducted with the evaluating physician assigning 7% impairment. To resolve the disparity, the parties selected a neutral physician from the Medical Impairment Registry (“MIR”) to conduct an examination pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(d)(5) (2005). That physician assigned 3% impairment to the leg. Employee obtained a second medical evaluation from a fourth physician, who assigned 13% impairment. The trial court, affording the statutory presumption of correctness to the MIR physician’s rating, concluded that 3% was “the accurate impairment rating” and that this rating had not been rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. Applying the 3% impairment rating in conjunction with the statutory cap of 1½ times the anatomical impairment, the trial court awarded 4.5% permanent partial disability to the leg. On appeal, Employee contends that he successfully rebutted the statutory presumption. After review, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.