Ladonna Moore v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. This is an appeal by the employee/plaintiff, LaDonna Moore, from a decision of the Chancery Court of Madison County holding that plaintiff failed to prove that her carpal tunnel syndrome arose out of and in the course of her employment for defendant's insured, Latham's Meat Market. On this appeal, she presents two issues: (1) the preponderance of the evidence established that her carpal tunnel syndrome was causally related to her work for Latham's Meat Market, and (2) the last injury rule is applicable, in that the defendant is liable for the carpal tunnel injury, even if her injury may have begun at a former employment. After reviewing the record, we find that the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. The plaintiff testified that she was 31 years of age and was working at that time for Pierce Distribution Company. She had a tenth grade education. She first had symptoms with her left arm in the early 199s while working for Ekco/Glaco, where she assembled bread pans that involved repetitive type work with her hands. She testified that her left hand went numb and that it felt like a sprain to her wrist. She went to her family doctor, Dr. Murphy, and missed about one week of work. She saw Dr. Murphy two or three times before he sent her to a nerve specialist. A brace was prescribed for her left arm. When she was released by her doctor to return to work, she left the employment of Ekco/Glaco "because [her] wrist was still bothering her," and she "felt she couldn't do the job" due to her wrist pain. After working at several other jobs without difficulty, she began working for Latham's Meat Market in 1993 as a "cashier, cook, just anything." She testified that she cooked, made and wrapped sandwiches, wrapped meat, washed dishes by hand, used a can opener, and sliced ten pounds of potatoes, two bags of carrots, and six or seven onions each day. She testified that she began having problems with her left hand after working at 2