Sarah Archie v. S & R of Tennessee, A/K/A Siegel 02S01-9701-CH-00006
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Circuit Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. John Hill Chisolm,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated Section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. As stated by counsel for the appellant in oral argument, this appeal raises only one issue: Whether the evidence preponderates against the trial court's award of thirty percent (3%) permanent partial disability to the left arm and fifteen percent (15%) permanent partial disability to the right arm. Plaintiff is a 46 year old woman who worked for the employer for 19 years. At the time of her injury, which is not disputed, her duties were to remove five to seven pound parts from one line, inspect them and place them on another line. She began experiencing pain in her hands and was referred by the employer to Dr. D. J. Canale, who diagnosed her condition as compatible with carpal tunnel syndrome. On July 27, 1993, he operated on her left hand, which was causing her the most problem. He allowed her to return to work on September 13, 1993. He felt that she had done well and had no permanent physical impairment. She still complained of pain on November 4, 1993. He noted that she used a drill or press at work which she had to grab with both hands and had to lift stock off of an assembly line, although she did not have to do repetitive acts with the left hand. He felt that it was possible that she had some mild arthritis. He last saw her on December 8, 1993, at which time she was apparently not without symptoms and he felt that she was developing some sort of arthritic symptoms or tendonitis. He felt that her conditions were "related to her job." He recommended that she avoid repetitive stress on the hand and wrist, specifically any job that required forceful flexion of the wrist in a repetitive fashion over a number of hours in the day, and said that she would be at risk of having additional problems if she did such motions. Claimant's attorney referred her to Dr. Robert Christopher, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, for evaluation. He saw her on May 17, 1975. In his opinion the repetitive motion activity at work aggravated her preexisting condition of rheumatoid arthritis, resulting in the complaints of constant pain in the left hand with 2
Lauderdale
Workers Compensation Panel
Janice Farmer v. S&R of Tn, et al 02S01-9701-CH-00005
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Circuit Judge
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated Section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The only issue upon this appeal is the degree of compensation to be awarded to the claimant. As a result of developing bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, the claimant was referred by her employer to Dr. William L. Bourland for treatment. Dr. Bourland performed surgery in the form of carpal tunnel releases to each hand, on April 12 and April 26, 1994, respectively. Dr. Bourland was of the opinion that she had no permanent impairment to her left hand and five percent (5%) impairment to her right hand as a result of the condition and surgery. She returned to work with the same employer at the same wage. Some fourteen months later, she was referred by her attorney to Dr. Robert Christopher of Memphis for evaluation of her continuing complaints. Dr. Christopher examined her and gave her some tests and opined that she had a ten percent (1%) impairment of each upper extremity, which, based upon his reference to the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th Ed., translated to nineteen percent (19%) of the "combined values tables," and converts to an eleven percent (11%) impairment to the body as a whole. He felt that she should avoid any kind of work that required repeated wrist bending, either flexion or extension, and felt that bending her wrists many, many times per hour would be placing her at risk for further problems with her hands. He said that she should avoid jobs that require her to do repeated lifting of objects weighing more than twenty pounds, as well as pushing or pulling objects weighing more than twenty pounds and should avoid work that requires her to lift her arms above her shoulder height on a repeated basis. He said that she should not do work that required her to do severe exertion with her hands, such as squeezing tools or opening jars, or things of that sort, several times an hour. The employer concedes that the claimant has some permanent disability in her right arm, but feels that the award by the trial court was too great. 2
Lauderdale
Workers Compensation Panel
Gary Higginbotham v. Grinnell Corp. 02S01-9611-Ch-00101
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Joe C. Morris
This worker's compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated _ 50-6-225 (e) (3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Chester
Workers Compensation Panel
Paul King v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 02S01-9611-CH-00100
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Circuit Judge
Trial Court Judge: Lanier, Judge
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to this Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with T.C.A. _ 5- 6-225 (e) (3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The first issue presented on this appeal is whether or not the requirements of T.C.A. _ 5-6-241, limiting an award of permanent partial disability to 2 _ times the medical impairment rating, should have been applied to the award in this case. It is not disputed that the claimant sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment with the defendant employer when, on July 11, 1994, w hile working as a tirebuilder, he sustaine d an injury to his left shoulder. He subse quently saw Dr. James R. Wilkinson, an orthopedic surgeon. On October 6, 1994, Dr. Wilkinson performed a surgical procedure on his shoulde r which in volved dis secting the d eltoid muscle, removing the coracoac romial ligam ent and ch anging the anatomic construct of the shoulder. Dr. Wilkinson gave his o pinion that the claimant had sustained a permanent anatomical impairment of 6% to the left upper e xtremity due to joint crepitation, which amounted to 4% of the body as a whole. He agreed that, based upon his range of motion, his impairment should be an extra 2%. Dr. Wilkinson testified that he would expect claimant to have some weakness in his shoulder and would benefit from possibly avoiding overhead and heavy lifting and push ing a nd p ullin g aw ay fro m hi s bod y. He felt that claimant could have some problems with his shoulder performing his previous job. Dr. Wilkinson's rating conv erts to 4% physical impairment to the body as a whole. On January 6, 1995, claimant was released by Dr. Wilkinson to return to work, and he did return to w ork with th e defend ant emplo yer at his previous job, earning the same wages. On Ma y 1, 1995, claimant saw D r. Robert Barnett one time at the suggestion of his attorney. Claimant gave a history to Dr. Barnett of popping and creaking in his shoulder, which had impro ved, but said that he still felt the s ensation of it when he moved h is shoulder. 2
Wayne
Workers Compensation Panel
Sharon Rivers v. Cigna Property & Casualty Co. 02S01-9612-CV-00105
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Circuit Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Whit S. Lafon
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated Section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The first issue presented to the Court is whether or not the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff was entitled to benefits for permanent partial disability based upon fif ty percent (5%) to the left lower extremity. It is not disputed that the claimant sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of her employment with the defendant on January 24, 1995, when her left foot became crushed between pieces of equipment. She did not have a fracture but had a crush injury of the soft tissue to the left foot. She was placed in a cast and given medication and recommendations for exercise and warm soaks. She eventually returned to work around March 1, 1995. She was under the treatment of the physician provided by the employer but was released to resume her work and she did resume her regular work as a stacker machine operator for approximately one year. She continued to have complaints of pain and irritation in her ankle from time to time and saw the company doctor. Some time after July 11, 1995, her supervisor told her that the employer would not be responsible for her doctor's bill for the preceding visit to the company doctor. Subsequent to that, however, she returned to see the company doctor, who saw her without expense to her. He felt that she reached maximum medical recovery on July 25, 1995 and opined that she had not suffered any permanent impairment. He concluded that she had sustained a soft tissue injury without any fracture or disarrangement of the joint. On January 17, 1996, Plaintiff's attorney referred her to a rheumatologist in Memphis without prior notice or consultation with the employer. She was subsequently seen and treated by the rheumatologist. She had been satisfied with the treatment given to her by the company doctor before her supervisor told her that his bill would not be paid. The rheumatologist has testified that the claimant suffered a fifteen percent (15%) permanent impairment to her left lower extremity. He based his opinion upon his 2
Madison
Workers Compensation Panel
Gary Higginbotham v. Grinnell Corp. 02S01-9611-Ch-00101
Authoring Judge: Robert A. Lanier, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Joe C. Morris
This worker's compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated _ 50-6-225 (e) (3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The first issue for this panel to decide is whether or not this action is barred by thelimitations contained within the Workers' Compensation Act, T.C.A. _ 50-6-203 and _ 50-6-224. Those sections read as follows:
