Virginia Mcconnell v. The Travelers Insurance Co.

This workers' compensation appeal was referred to the Special W orkers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated _ 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 arises from a back injury that plaintiff sustained on the job. The court found that plaintiff made a meaningful return to work and gave her the maximum award of six (6) times the anatomical rating (6 percent vocational disability to the body as a whole) pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6-241(b), rather than limiting the award to the two and one-half (2_) times cap found in _ 5-6-241(a). The defendant appealed to this Court on three issues: (1) whether the evidence presented at trial preponderates against the trial court's finding that Anderson Hickey did not return the plaintiff to her employment at wage equal to or greater than the wage plaintiff was receiving at the time of the injury as required by Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6-241(b); (2) whether the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding that plaintiff sustained a 6 percent vocational impairment rating; and (3) whether the trial court erred in failing to make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6- 241(c) when awarding plaintiff a vocational impairment rating of six (6) times the anatomical rating? We find that plaintiff's award is not limited by the two and one-half (2_) times cap found in Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6-241(a); however, plaintiff's award is reduced to four (4) times the medical impairment rating pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated _ 5-6-241(b) and (c). We, therefore, modify and affirm the judgment of the trial court. Our standard of review on appeal in workers' compensation cases is de novo on the record with a presumption of correctness of the trial court's findings, unless the evidence presented preponderates otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(2) (Supp. 1998); Henson v. City of Lawrenceburg, 851 S.W.2d 89, 812 (Tenn. 1993). Under this standard of review, we are required to conduct an in-depth examination of the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law to determine where the preponderance of the evidence lies.