James Michael Richardson v. A. O. Smith Company

This workers' compensation appeal was referred to the Special W orkers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. _5-6- 225(e)(3) (Supp. 1998) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. This case was tried on February 24, 1998. The chancellor found that there was no period of temporary total disability, but awarded the plaintiff fifteen percent (15%) permanent partial disability to the whole body as a result of a work-related accident in December 1988 or January 1989. Defendant, A. O. Smith Company, has appealed the chancellor's decision as not supported by a preponderance of the evidence. After careful review, we find that the judgment of the trial court must be reversed. At the time of trial, the Plaintiff, James Michael Richardson, testified that he was a 5-year-old man with a high school education and vocational training as an industrial electrician. His post-high school employment experience involved mostly electrical work. He was subsequently employed by the defendant as an electrical, mechanical maintenance man and was working as an appraiser for an insurance adjusting company at the time of trial. He recounted the events surrounding his back injury as follows. In late December of 1988 or early January of 1989, the plaintiff felt "a hurting" in his lower back while helping another employee lift a 25-horsepower electric motor onto a stand. He reported the injury to his supervisor immediately. Believing that the injury was a minor strain, the plaintiff sought two or three treatments from a chiropractor, but his symptoms worsened. He was ultimately seen by Dr. Jerry Engelberg, a neurosurgeon. After an MRI was performed, Dr. Engelberg told the plaintiff that he had a tumor, an ependymoma, in his spine that had caused some spinal damage. According to the plaintiff's testimony, Dr. Engelberg told him he needed immediate surgery, because there was a risk that he might never walk again if he were to stumble or miss a step. After surgery was performed, the plaintiff received radiation and chemotherapy treatments under the supervision of an oncologist, Dr. Kirby Smith. At the time of the trial, the plaintiff still had complaints of low back cramps, difficulty 2