Brian K. Addington

In this workers' compensation case, employee Yalonda Woods sought authorization for total left-knee arthroplasty surgery recommended by her authorized treating physician after a March 2025 work injury that caused a meniscus tear and aggravated osteoarthritis. The employer and carrier denied the request following two utilization reviews, which concluded the procedure was not medically necessary due to insufficient documentation of osteoarthritis severity, weight-loss efforts, gait issues, or a physical therapy trial. The court held that Woods was likely to prevail at a compensation hearing on the medical necessity of the surgery and ordered the employer to authorize it. The core reasoning was that the treating physician's opinion carries a statutory presumption of necessity, which the utilization review physician and Bureau Medical Director did not rebut, particularly where the employer failed to supply complete records and the court performed an independent de novo review crediting updated imaging, post-therapy symptoms, functional capacity findings, and the physician's clinical judgment.

labor & employmentprocedurehealthcare

In this workers' compensation case, employee Deborah Smith brought a petition against employer Ballad Health concerning unresolved medical benefits. The matter came before the court on an agreed motion for voluntary dismissal after the parties resolved the open medical issues between them. Ms. Smith retains the right to ongoing medical benefits under the terms of a prior settlement agreement. The court dismissed the petition and taxed the $150 filing fee to the employer.

labor & employment

Spencer King, an employee of Rentokil North America, Inc., sought temporary partial disability benefits after injuring his leg at work on April 5, 2023, undergoing two surgeries, and receiving temporary total disability benefits during his initial recovery period. After the first surgery, Rentokil offered a light-duty position consistent with medical restrictions, but King refused it and moved to North Carolina for personal and family reasons; following a second surgery and the end of long-term disability payments, he requested additional benefits for the period from December 17, 2025, until he found suitable work in February 2026. Rentokil opposed the claim, arguing it could have accommodated the restrictions. The court denied the request for temporary partial disability benefits after an expedited hearing, holding that King failed to show he was likely to prevail on the merits because his unemployment resulted from personal circumstances rather than his work-related restrictions.

labor & employment

In this workers' compensation case, employee Travis Gray requested an order replacing Dr. Jody Helms on a neurosurgeon panel offered by employer Leclerc Foods USA Incorporated or authorizing treatment at the Shepherd Center or Vanderbilt following a disputed work injury. After an expedited hearing, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims denied the request. The court found that under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-6-204(a)(3)(A)(i), the employer selects the physicians for the panel, and Gray's objections to Dr. Helms were personal rather than based on qualifications, making success on the merits unlikely. The court further noted that no physician had directly referred Gray to the requested facilities.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by Taylor Gockenbach, a nurse technician, against her employer University Health Systems for medical and temporary disability benefits related to a right shoulder labral tear. Gockenbach alleged the injury resulted from cumulative trauma due to repetitive lifting and patient handling during her shifts, while the employer contended that notice of the injury was untimely. The court determined that Gockenbach was likely to prevail on her claim for medical benefits because she provided notice within 15 days of learning from her doctor on April 25 that she had suffered a work-related cumulative injury, satisfying the statutory requirement, but denied temporary disability benefits after August 8 because the employer could have accommodated her work restrictions. The reasoning centered on expert medical evidence confirming the injury as cumulative rather than acute, the timing of the diagnosis establishing when the employee reasonably should have known of the injury, and the availability of light-duty accommodations.

labor & employment

Danny Floria, an employee of Demcor, Inc., filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits after injuring his arm during an incident at a food truck on the employer's premises while on lunch break. Floria lunged in a joking manner toward coworkers, struck one, and fell, later describing the event differently to the employer before admitting to participating in horseplay. Demcor denied the claim, arguing the injury did not arise primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment due to the horseplay. Following an expedited hearing, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims found Floria unlikely to prevail on the merits, as the voluntary horseplay lacked a rational connection to his job duties and was not incidental to employment under Tennessee law.

labor & employment

Ashton Williams, an employee at Performance Food Group, sought medical benefits for a right shoulder injury he alleged occurred at work on January 29, 2025, while lifting cases of sauce. The employer denied the claim, arguing that Williams failed to prove a work-related injury and had changed his account of the incident. After an expedited hearing, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims ordered the employer to provide medical benefits, finding Williams' testimony credible and uncontroverted that the injury arose from his job duties. The court determined he showed a likelihood of success on the merits in proving an accidental injury under the workers' compensation statute, despite minor discrepancies in medical notes and an out-of-state doctor's report that did not address causation.

labor & employment

The case involves a workers' compensation claim by employee Billy Brown against employer The Lilly Co. after a November 2023 forklift accident at work that caused nerve compression and impairment, which the employer accepted. Following initial treatment by authorized orthopedic surgeon Dr. Duncan, who later declined to continue care after an April 2025 appointment, Brown sought a new panel of orthopedists and neurosurgeons for further medical benefits. The court granted the request for a new orthopedic panel, concluding Brown was likely to prevail on the merits because an employer must replace an authorized physician who refuses further visits in a compensable claim, but denied the neurosurgeon panel due to lack of any referral. The ruling relied on Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204 and Appeals Board precedent requiring reasonable and necessary treatment causally related to the work injury.

labor & employment

Terry Gandy, a truck driver for Marten Transport, sought medical benefits, temporary disability benefits, and attorney fees after scratching his arm while adjusting a refrigerated bulkhead on his trailer at work. The scratch led to a severe group A streptococcus infection and necrotizing fasciitis, resulting in amputation of his left arm and other complications. In this expedited hearing, the court determined that Gandy is likely to prove at trial that his injuries arose primarily out of his employment. The ruling relied on a physician's opinion that the workplace laceration served as the entry point for the infection, even accounting for Gandy's underlying health conditions.

labor & employment

Saeeda Johnson, a banquet server for Aimbridge Hospitality, was injured on April 24, 2023, when a cart with chairs caught on a threshold and fell on her, resulting in right-wrist, elbow, and neck issues. She received authorized medical treatment, including from Dr. Moss, but also had a subsequent car accident and later resigned her job. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims ruled that Johnson is entitled to lifetime medical benefits for reasonable and necessary treatment of her work injury but denied permanent disability benefits. The court reasoned that although the employer admitted the injury was compensable, Johnson provided no impairment rating to support permanent partial disability, and any alleged noncompliance with treatment did not affect her right to future care.

labor & employment

This case involved employee Bennie Anderson, who suffered a compensable work-related injury in June 2022 when he fell from a knuckle boom truck while working for the City of Knoxville Department of Recreation, resulting in pain to his head, neck, shoulders, and mid-section. Knoxville accepted the claim and authorized treatment with physicians who placed him at maximum medical improvement after recommending physical therapy and assigning impairment ratings, but Anderson sought additional medical treatment and temporary disability benefits for other conditions including a hernia, gastroparesis, high blood pressure, and seizures. The court denied the requested benefits after an expedited hearing. The decision rested on the requirement under Tennessee workers' compensation law that Anderson prove to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that his work injury contributed more than 50 percent to the need for the additional treatment, which was not supported by any physician opinions in the medical records linking those conditions to the injury.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by Sherry Gilliam against her employer, the Isabel Taylor Irrevocable Trust, for an alleged right-knee injury on September 1, 2024, while working as a caregiver; she claimed to have tripped on an electrical cord but stopped her fall by grabbing a door. The employer denied benefits, asserting the injury was idiopathic or tied to a preexisting motor vehicle accident injury or a later fall at home. After an expedited hearing, the court ruled that Gilliam was not entitled to benefits. The decision rested on inconsistent and contradictory testimony from Gilliam about whether she fell, what caused the incident, and her actions afterward; video evidence and witness accounts from coworkers that did not support her version of events; and medical records showing a prior knee condition and a subsequent home fall.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by Imelda Pelletier against her employer Providence Champion Care and its insurer after a 2023 injury. The parties had previously settled the claim with an initial benefits period ending April 22, 2024, and Pelletier timely sought increased benefits based on her reduced average weekly wages after the injury, which she attributed to working fewer hours on her doctor's private advice. The court denied the request for increased benefits, finding that Pelletier failed to meet the statutory requirement of showing she was receiving wages less than 100 percent of her pre-injury amount. The core reasoning was that her hourly pay rate remained unchanged at $14.50 and she had worked a full 40-hour week at that rate when the initial period ended, making any reduction in overall earnings from declined shifts irrelevant under the applicable statute and case law.

labor & employment

The case involved a workers' compensation claim by Damien Yeoman against Transwood Logistics, Inc., and its insurer for a right shoulder injury sustained on September 26, 2023, when he slipped while exiting a company truck. Yeoman sought treatment on his own and notified his employer on October 20, 2023, more than 15 days after the injury, leading Transwood to deny the claim for untimely notice. After an earlier expedited hearing order favoring Yeoman was reversed on appeal for lack of evidence of a reasonable excuse, the court considered Transwood's motion for summary judgment based on undisputed facts showing Yeoman knew the injury was work-related but delayed reporting in hopes it would resolve. The court granted summary judgment to the employer, holding there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the absence of a reasonable excuse for the late notice under applicable workers' compensation rules.

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The case involves Tracy Kenney's claim against Covenant Logistics Group for workers' compensation benefits following a March 2024 truck accident injury to his back, neck, and shoulder. Kenney sought increased and extraordinary permanent disability benefits, medical benefits, and temporary disability benefits. The court found that the employer had provided the required temporary total and partial disability benefits as well as medical treatment through authorized physicians, and that Kenney had declined further treatment from those doctors. Because no initial permanent disability award had been established by judgment or settlement, the court declined to address the request for increased or extraordinary benefits at this time.

labor & employment

The case involved Andrea Cooke, an employee of the Johnson County School System, who suffered a head injury during a work-related volleyball game on August 25, 2022, and later sought workers' compensation benefits for past medical bills with her neurologist Dr. Suzanne McAdams, ongoing treatment with that doctor, and temporary disability benefits from August 29 to December 15, 2022. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims held an expedited hearing and granted her ongoing medical treatment from a panel physician but denied the requests for past bills, treatment with Dr. McAdams, and past disability benefits. The court reasoned that under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-6-204(a)(3)(A)(i) and related regulations, employers must offer a panel of physicians within three days of notice, and employees must generally accept treatment from an authorized panel physician. Although the employer initially failed to properly present the panel and Cooke began treating with Dr. McAdams before receiving it, she continued that treatment after learning it was unauthorized and declined a later panel offer, so she was not entitled to the denied benefits.

labor & employment

The case involved a workers' compensation claim filed by Oralia Vincent Lopez, the surviving spouse of Braulio J. Hernandez Ramos, against his employer TEJ Pramukh Hospitality, Inc., d/b/a Econo Lodge, seeking medical, disability, and death benefits after Mr. Ramos fell at work on October 28, 2023, suffered a stroke, and died on March 6, 2024. The employer moved for summary judgment, arguing that Ms. Lopez lacked medical evidence establishing that Mr. Ramos's work contributed more than 50% to his injury or death, as required under Tennessee law. The court granted the motion because Ms. Lopez did not respond with any specific facts or medical opinions showing a genuine issue for trial, and no one witnessed the cause of the falls or provided expert causation testimony.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim filed by Sabrina Vanderford on behalf of her children seeking death benefits after her ex-husband Michael Vanderford, a flooring installer for E.S. Dockery Company, suffered a fatal heart attack while sweeping old carpet adhesive at a church job site. The employer disputed that the heart attack arose out of his employment, noting his reported symptoms in the prior week. Following a hearing that included expert cardiology testimony, video evidence, and witness accounts, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims found the work activity caused the heart attack and awarded benefits to the children as dependents. The court based its decision on the sudden onset during strenuous physical labor and the absence of other medical explanations.

labor & employmentfamily law

The case involved a workers' compensation claim by the ex-wife of a flooring installer who died from a heart attack while sweeping adhesive at a church job site for E.S. Dockery Company. Ms. Vanderford sought death benefits for her children, asserting the heart attack arose from employment, while the employer and insurer argued it did not. Following a hearing with testimony on the employee's work history, symptoms, and activities, plus expert medical evidence from a cardiologist, the court found the physical demands of the job caused the fatal event. It therefore awarded the requested benefits, determining that the injury occurred in the course and scope of employment based on the causal link established by the proof.

labor & employment

In this workers' compensation case, employee Lanell McMillian sought payment for unauthorized past medical bills, ongoing treatment, and settlement of open medical benefits stemming from a 2021 left-ankle injury at work for ULG Companies. The court granted the employer's motion for summary judgment. The claims for past bills were barred by res judicata due to a prior 2024 compensation order that resolved those issues. For current treatment, McMillian failed to present evidence showing his need was primarily caused by the work injury, as required, since the authorized doctor indicated it was less than 50% related and no proper supporting affidavits or credentials were provided.

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