The case involved Bonnie Baird, a Target Corp. employee who suffered a severe 2015 work injury leading to bilateral above-knee amputations and wheelchair dependence, seeking a full teardown and rebuild of her 1945 home plus attorney fees as part of her workers' compensation claim that had settled with future medical benefits reserved for home modifications. The court held that Baird was entitled only to modifications to her existing home, such as ramps, widened doorways, roll-under sinks, and a front-loading washer as recommended by her treating physician, must vacate assisted living within 30 days of completion or cover those costs herself, and was not entitled to attorney fees. The core reasoning was that the physician's testimony established the necessity of specific accessibility changes for daily living activities but did not support demolition and new construction, and no basis existed for fee shifting.
Michael Hodge, a former brick mason at Alcoa/Arconic, alleged that occupational exposure to coal tar pitch and other toxins from 2002 to 2016 caused a cerebral meningioma, vision loss, headaches, and cognitive deficits, and he sought medical benefits including monitoring under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law. The employers denied the claims, raising defenses of late notice, statute of limitations, and lack of causation. After an expedited hearing reviewing medical records and physician opinions, including those linking the conditions to workplace exposure, the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims held that Hodge is likely to prevail at a compensation hearing and granted his request for medical benefits in part.
Walter Hubert Myers filed a workers' compensation claim against his former employers Alcoa, Inc. and Arconic Corp., alleging that occupational exposures to toxins such as dust, asbestos, and coal tar pitch from 1979 to 2007 caused pulmonary disease, cognitive impairment, and swallowing difficulties, for which he sought medical benefits and monitoring. The employers denied the requests, raising defenses including late notice, the statute of limitations, and lack of causation. In this expedited hearing order, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims found that Myers was unlikely to prevail at a full compensation hearing because his treating physician attributed the conditions to his decades-long smoking history, prior heart attack, and stroke rather than workplace exposures, and therefore denied the requested benefits.
The case Greene, Troy v. Covenant Homecare was a workers' compensation claim brought before the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims. The court assessed the filing fee against the employer, Covenant Homecare, requiring payment within five days of the order's entry. Attorneys for the employee and employer were notified via the certificate of service. No further details on the underlying dispute or additional rulings appear in the provided excerpt.
Jeffery Sherwood was injured at work in 2020 when he fell from a scooter, and his employer Justworks accepted the workers' compensation claim, paid initial benefits, and later settled the matter with an award of permanent disability benefits plus open future medical care. After a 2024 surgery, Sherwood petitioned for additional relief including a new physician panel, lost wages, and penalties, but Justworks denied further liability and sought summary judgment. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims granted the motion and held that Sherwood was not entitled to the requested benefits.
Roberta Dennis, a custodian employed by Knox County Schools, filed a workers' compensation claim alleging she suffered chemical burns to her hands from a work incident involving floor-stripping chemicals or, alternatively, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome caused by her employment. Knox County moved for summary judgment, citing undisputed facts including admissions from Dennis that her authorized treating physicians determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that her conditions did not arise primarily out of and in the course of her employment, as well as her failure to identify any expert witnesses by the court-ordered deadline. Dennis did not respond to the motion or the statement of undisputed facts, and her motion for voluntary dismissal was denied because a summary judgment motion was pending. The court granted summary judgment to Knox County, holding that Dennis's evidence was insufficient to establish the essential element of causation required for her claim.
This case concerns a workers' compensation dispute between employee Barry Stratton and employer New Bern Transport over the availability of medical benefits following a prior settlement. The court ordered that medical benefits remain open under the terms of the previous settlement agreement. The ruling applies the existing agreement without modification, as reflected in the brief order issued by the court clerk. Service of the order was confirmed to the attorneys for both parties.
This case involved Brandy Sanders's workers' compensation claim against her employer, Northshore Heights Assisted Living, and its insurer for alleged injuries to her right wrist and back sustained while moving a patient in October 2022. The employer moved for summary judgment, arguing that Sanders failed to prove a causal connection between her employment and the injury. The court granted the motion, holding that Sanders presented no expert medical evidence linking her conditions to a specific work incident and that her inconsistent statements about the injury date undermined her claim. The court also denied her requests for a voluntary nonsuit or additional time to obtain new counsel because a summary judgment motion was pending and procedural rules were not followed.
This case involved a worker who suffered a traumatic partial amputation of his right thumb while assisting on a residential remodeling project and sought medical and temporary disability benefits under workers' compensation. The central dispute was whether the worker was an employee of the handyman or an independent contractor. The court held that the worker was unlikely to prevail at a final hearing on establishing an employment relationship. Applying statutory factors such as the right to control work, method of payment, freedom to hire helpers, and furnishing of tools, the evidence indicated the worker operated as an independent contractor by supplying his own tools and controlling aspects of the work.
Benjamin Howard, a dentist employed by Centurion to treat inmates, filed a workers' compensation claim after falling and striking his head on February 1, 2022, while walking into work, which caused bilateral subdural hematomas requiring surgery and four months off work. Centurion denied the claim and moved to dismiss under Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 41.02(1) and (2), citing Howard's failure to disclose any expert witness by the scheduling deadline and the absence of any medical opinion linking the injury to employment. The court granted the motion after deeming certain requests for admission admitted, including that Howard began a new blood pressure medication with a side effect of lightheadedness shortly before the fall and that no doctor had opined the injury was work-related, while also noting inconsistencies in Howard's testimony about his medication use that day. The court concluded Howard failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his injury arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of his employment and dismissed the case with prejudice.
The case involved a workers' compensation claim filed by employee Walter Disspayne against employer Campbell County in the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims. The court issued an Agreed Compensation Order on December 6, 2024, which formalized a settlement between the parties regarding benefits. The order was served on the attorneys for both sides via email, as documented in the certificate of service.
John Barker, a service technician for Loudon County Rentals & Mini Storage, Inc., suffered a work-related lower back and hip injury in September 2022 after lifting equipment; the employer accepted the claim and initially paid temporary total disability benefits. Barker sought additional temporary disability benefits through the date of maximum medical improvement in January 2024, as well as permanent total disability benefits, while the employer requested a credit for overpaid temporary benefits and an offset for his Social Security retirement benefits. The court held that Barker was entitled to the additional temporary and permanent total disability benefits, and the employer was entitled to the requested credit and offset. These determinations rested on a preponderance of the evidence, including medical opinions on Barker's permanent impairment rating and work restrictions, his inability to perform the employer's offered modified duties, and his failure to return to any employment after the injury.
John Oldham, a maintenance technician, sustained a work-related injury when he broke his right femur in a fall on October 6, 2020. His employer accepted the claim as compensable, and the parties settled his initial permanent partial disability award while preserving lifetime medical benefits. Oldham later petitioned for permanent total disability benefits or increased benefits and discretionary costs, which the employer contested on grounds that the claim was barred by the prior settlement and that his condition was not causally related to the original injury. The court awarded permanent total disability benefits and discretionary costs, relying on medical opinions regarding his permanent restrictions and impairment rating, along with a vocational expert's assessment of his employability given his age, education, and work history.
The case is a workers' compensation claim brought by Sherry Sanders against her employer, Sevita Health dba D & S Residential Services, in the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims. On February 12, 2024, the court issued a Compensation Order resolving the claim. The excerpted text sets out the procedures for any party to appeal that order to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, including filing a Notice of Appeal within thirty days, paying a $75 filing fee, and ensuring a complete record is prepared. If no timely appeal is filed, the order becomes final by operation of law after thirty days.
This case involved Timothy Townsend, who sought attorney fees after his employer, Universal Forest Products, delayed authorizing recommended back surgery under a prior workers' compensation settlement providing lifetime medical benefits. Townsend's authorized physician recommended the surgery in late June 2022, but authorization came only in mid-November after the employer sent a letter questioning causation due to a normal MRI and received a response linking the need to the original 2020 work injury. The court denied the request for fees under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-226(d), finding that Townsend failed to prove the delay was unreasonable because the employer was entitled to investigate the causal connection and medical necessity before approving treatment. The decision emphasized that the physician did not promptly address the employer's specific concerns about the MRI findings, and an intervening letter from Townsend referenced an incorrect injury date.
The case involved employee Clayton Rash, who suffered a work-related left wrist fracture while employed as a truck driver by Fine Line Transportation, LLC. After the employer authorized surgery and physical therapy for the wrist injury, Rash experienced a shoulder injury during a therapy session involving snow angel range-of-motion exercises, which a treating physician later diagnosed as a rotator cuff tear and attributed primarily to the therapy. Rash sought additional medical and temporary disability benefits for the shoulder under the direct and natural consequences rule, but the employer denied the claim. In this expedited hearing, the court granted benefits, finding Rash likely to prevail on the merits because the shoulder injury arose directly from authorized treatment for the compensable wrist injury, supported by consistent accounts from Rash, the physical therapist's instructions, and the physician's causation opinion.
This case is a workers' compensation claim brought by Chassidy Branch against Professional Care Services of West Tennessee, Inc. in the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims. The court issued a Compensation Order on September 28, 2023. The excerpt outlines the process for appealing the order to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, requiring a notice of appeal within thirty days, payment of a $75 filing fee or an indigency affidavit within ten days, and preparation of the record including any transcript within fifteen days. These steps ensure timely and complete review if either party disputes the order, after which it becomes final if no appeal is filed.
In this workers' compensation case, employee Chasidy Branch sought additional medical benefits including a CT scan and a second opinion after suffering a mid-back injury when her supervisor kicked her chair at work. She had received authorized treatment from panel-selected physicians whose diagnostic tests were normal and who found no need for further care or anticipated future treatment. The court denied the requests at the expedited hearing because Branch failed to show she was likely to prevail on the merits, as the authorized physician's opinion on causation and necessity was presumed correct and unrebutted by competent evidence, and no surgery had been recommended to trigger a statutory right to a second opinion. Dr. Stonecipher remained the authorized treating physician.
The case involves Robert Sauber, an employee of Charter Communications, who fell at work on March 2, 2022, while clocking out, breaking his wrist and seeking medical treatment and temporary disability benefits. Charter did not pay benefits or participate in mediation, and the Dispute Certification Notice certified only medical and temporary disability benefits as issues while listing the carrier's refusal to respond as a defense; compensability was not certified. At the expedited hearing, Charter argued the fall was idiopathic, but the court found this defense was not properly raised under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(b)(1) because it was not listed on the Dispute Certification Notice. The court held that Sauber showed he was likely to prevail on the merits and granted his request for benefits, relying on the certified issues and the employer's failure to raise the defense timely.
Doris Gibbs filed a workers' compensation claim against her employer, Express Services, Inc., alleging a right-leg injury from striking storage totes at work on December 12, 2019. The employer and the Subsequent Injury Fund moved for summary judgment, supported by the authorized treating physician's opinion that the injury was not primarily caused by the work incident due to pre-existing conditions. Gibbs responded with her own statements and a report from a nurse practitioner, but without supporting citations or proper documentation. The court granted summary judgment, finding no genuine issue of material fact because the physician's causation opinion negated an essential element of the claim under Tennessee workers' compensation law.