Robert Durham

The case involves Nena Beckman, an employee at Manheim Tennessee, LLC, who was injured when a sign fell on her head at work on February 4, 2025, leading to neck and arm issues diagnosed as herniations and stenosis. Beckman requested temporary partial disability benefits from February 5, 2025, until maximum medical improvement, minus benefits already received, and a panel of neurologists as recommended by her treating physician. The court granted the benefits and ordered the employer to provide the panel, reasoning that the medical evidence from the spine surgeon established that her injuries were primarily due to the work accident and that she was entitled to further treatment and compensation under workers' compensation law.

labor & employment

This workers' compensation case involved employee Colton Vestal, who developed occupational asthma after inhaling plastic-burning fumes at TBDN Tennessee Co., leading to repeated lung collapses, surgery, and a shoulder injury. After an accepted claim, the court held a compensation hearing to resolve a dispute over his permanent impairment rating, where the treating pulmonologist assigned 60% and a records-reviewing pulmonologist assigned 6%. The court determined Vestal's anatomic impairment to be 60% and awarded corresponding benefits, crediting the treating specialist's assessment based on her direct care over two years, diagnostic testing including a methacholine challenge test performed off medication, and consideration of his specific symptoms and complications, while noting the reviewing doctor's limited experience with the AMA Guides.

labor & employment

This case involves a workers' compensation claim filed by Jairo Noe Morales Villareal against Handyman Home Improvement, LLC, and Hector Cerda, after Morales fell more than 25 feet from a ladder while painting a house on July 2, 2024, fracturing vertebrae and his sternum. Morales sought medical benefits and temporary disability benefits, initially naming only Cerda as employer before amending to include Handyman. At the expedited hearing, the court determined Morales was an employee of Handyman based on undisputed testimony showing Handyman's control over his work, payment method, provision of tools, and scheduling, making the injury compensable under Tennessee law for construction services providers. The court granted medical benefits, including past Vanderbilt expenses and future treatment in Mexico, but denied temporary disability benefits for lack of sufficient supporting evidence. The ruling applied factors from Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102 to establish employment status and required Handyman to provide a panel of physicians.

labor & employmentprocedure

In this workers' compensation case, employee Christina Manus Henry sought payment from her employer Fitzgerald Collision & Repair for treatment of venous insufficiency in her left leg, which she claimed was aggravated by a work-related knee injury and subsequent knee replacement surgery. The court denied her request for benefits following an expedited hearing. The decision rested on the medical records from the vascular specialist, which failed to establish that the work injury contributed more than fifty percent to causing an aggravation of her preexisting condition or that any such aggravation contributed more than fifty percent to her need for treatment, as required under Tennessee law and the precedent in Edwards v. Peoplease.

labor & employment

In this workers' compensation case, employee Kelly Ray sought a panel of orthopedists for treatment of her left knee injury sustained when she slipped while climbing down a ladder at work on August 23, 2024. The employer had authorized initial treatment with orthopedist Dr. Greenberg, who later recommended a transfer of care to a new orthopedist due to an ineffective doctor-patient relationship and poor communication, while also suggesting consideration of left-knee surgery; the employer filed no opposing evidence or argument. The court granted the request in an expedited hearing, ordering the employer to provide a panel of orthopedists, because the undisputed facts showed that the treating physician had referred Ray to another specialist and she established a likelihood of prevailing at a compensation hearing under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-204(a)(3)(E) and (H).

labor & employment

The case involved a workers' compensation claim by Victor Garcia Alvarez against James Reed Birnie for severe burns sustained while working on February 13, 2025. The court denied the request for benefits at this expedited stage, finding that the claimant had not shown a likelihood of proving he was a covered employee entitled to benefits under Tennessee law. The reasoning centered on the exemption for employers with fewer than five employees unless they are construction service providers, and evidence indicated that Birnie had exited the construction business due to illness by the time of the injury, employing the claimant only for odd jobs around his home.

labor & employment

Matthew Smith, a mechanic at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., slipped in an oil puddle at work on February 26, 2025, and fell against barrels, initially injuring his lower back and right hip before developing radiating pain, weakness, and numbness in his leg. After conservative treatment and an MRI, his chosen neurosurgeon Dr. Burleson diagnosed an acute C6-7 disc herniation with cord compression and recommended fusion surgery, opining that more than 50% of the need for surgery was caused by the work accident. The employer denied authorization and further temporary disability benefits based on an independent evaluation by Dr. Snowden attributing the cervical condition to pre-existing degeneration from a 2013 fusion. The court granted the requested surgery and temporary total disability benefits from July 14, 2025, onward, finding Dr. Burleson's causation opinion more persuasive on the acute nature of the herniation and symptom progression.

labor & employment

This case involves employee Paul Saddler, who sought workers' compensation benefits from his employer United Mechanical and Electric, Inc., and its insurer after suffering a serious head injury, including a subdural hematoma and skull fractures, on a construction site in May 2024. Saddler had no memory of the incident, presented no witnesses, and offered only hearsay accounts suggesting he fell from a ladder, with possible prior cannabinoid use noted but unconfirmed. The court held an expedited hearing and denied benefits, finding that Saddler failed to meet his burden of proving the injury arose primarily out of and in the course of his employment, as required by Tennessee law, because the fall appeared idiopathic with no evidence of an employment-related hazard contributing more than 50% to the injury. The decision emphasized that the mere occurrence of the injury at the worksite was insufficient without admissible proof linking it to job conditions.

labor & employmentprocedure

This workers' compensation case involved Dan Rayburn, a 62-year-old employee of the City of Camden, who fractured his left hip on October 16, 2023, while pulling a barrel of waste oil up an incline with a dolly during his duties in the Streets Department. After the fracture failed to heal properly, Rayburn underwent a hip replacement, reached maximum medical improvement with an 11% impairment rating and permanent restrictions including no lifting over 30 pounds and limited standing, and was unable to return to his prior manual labor position. The court held a compensation hearing to assess whether the injury was compensable and the extent of any permanent vocational disability. The court determined that Rayburn established a compensable work-related injury and awarded him extraordinary benefits under Tennessee Code section 50-6-242, based on medical testimony regarding his permanent limitations, combined with his age, limited education, and work history that precluded reemployment in comparable roles.

labor & employment

This case involves a workers' compensation claim by employee Charles Guffey against employer Haren Construction and its insurer for benefits related to a February 2024 puncture wound to his left forearm that became infected, partly due to his diabetes. Following an expedited hearing, the court ruled that Guffey is likely to succeed at trial in proving entitlement to additional temporary total and partial disability benefits beyond the initial period from February to March 2024, based on medical testimony indicating ongoing wound care needs, use of a protective splint, and physical therapy, as well as his own account of inability to perform construction tasks without risking further injury. The court found no basis for attorney's fees at this stage. The decision rested on stipulations, Dr. Saunders' records and testimony about Guffey's condition through March 2024, and evidence of later employment and healing.

labor & employment

This case is a workers' compensation dispute in which employee Daniel Eicholtz sought psychiatric treatment after a 2021 ladder fall caused a calcaneus fracture and tendon tear in his right foot and ankle, a claim accepted by employer RAE Builders. The authorized treating orthopedist recommended a psychiatric evaluation due to the employee's anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues during treatment, though the physician declined to opine on causation. Following an expedited hearing, the court granted the employee's request for a panel of psychiatrists. It held that Eicholtz was likely to prevail at trial because the physician's recommendation triggered a presumption of necessity that the employer did not rebut.

labor & employment

The case involved Harry Headley's claim for workers' compensation benefits against Roadstar, LLC, and its insurer for an alleged work-related injury on June 29, 2023. The parties scheduled a compensation hearing for November 13, 2025, with a deadline to submit exhibits and witness lists by October 30, 2025. Headley did not submit materials by the deadline, requested but was denied a continuance after indicating he could not attend due to work, and failed to appear at the hearing or provide any evidence. The court dismissed the claim with prejudice under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.02 for failure to prosecute, treating the dismissal as a final adjudication on the merits.

labor & employmentprocedure

This case involves a workers' compensation claim by Erin Moore against Amazon.com Services, LLC, for a left shoulder injury sustained on February 19, 2025, while pushing heavy carts as part of her job duties. The court held an expedited hearing on her request for medical treatment and temporary disability benefits. Prior to the hearing, Amazon agreed to provide the benefits, including payments for past temporary disability, authorization for treatment by a specific doctor, and reimbursement of medical expenses. The court granted these benefits based on the parties' stipulations and the undisputed evidence that the injury was work-related. Additionally, due to the difficulties Moore faced in initially reporting and obtaining treatment for her injury, the court directed that the claim be referred to the Bureau’s Compliance Program for potential penalties against the employer.

labor & employment

The case concerned a workers' compensation claim filed by Jairo Noe Morales Villareal after he fell more than 25 feet from a ladder while painting a house on July 2, 2024, resulting in multiple vertebral fractures and other injuries. He sought temporary disability benefits and medical treatment from Hector Cerda, whom he alleged was his employer who hired him, directed his work, and paid him in cash. Following an expedited hearing, the court denied benefits, holding that Morales did not establish he was likely to prove Cerda was his employer. Evidence from the petition, a Rule 72 statement, and an Uninsured Employers Fund report instead identified Handyman Home Improvement, LLC as the employer, with the LLC's owner listed as Cerda's wife; the court noted that an LLC exists separately from its members and cannot impose individual liability on them.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by employee Gregory Sells against employer Novolex Holdings, LLC, and its insurer, seeking authorization for SI joint fusion surgery and temporary disability benefits for a low-back injury allegedly sustained on January 6, 2025, while using a cheater pipe with a coworker to loosen bolts on machinery. Novolex contested the claim, presenting affidavits from three coworkers who stated that Sells had previously told them he injured his back by falling from a barn roof weeks earlier, and that he showed no signs of injury at work on the alleged date. After an expedited hearing, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims denied the requested benefits, relying on the coworkers' testimony and the opinion of treating neurosurgeon Dr. Elalayli, who concluded after reviewing the statements that the work incident did not primarily cause the injury to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

labor & employment

The case involved whether the death of employee Marsha Molands, a home health nurse injured in 2017 while working for Access Program, arose primarily from her accepted work-related back and shoulder injuries. The court held that Mr. Molands, as administrator of her estate, was entitled to death benefits paid in installments plus reimbursement for medical and funeral expenses because complications from post-surgical infections and sepsis were causally linked to the work injury and necessary treatments. However, the court found that Mr. Molands did not prove entitlement to additional temporary total disability benefits. The decision rested on the medical evidence showing the progression from the 2017 injury through multiple surgeries to the fatal 2024 complications, along with the parties' stipulations and Dr. Mackey's testimony establishing the causal chain.

labor & employmenthealthcare

This case involved employee Robert Nelson's claim for workers' compensation benefits from his employer Red Roof Inn and its insurer for a right wrist fracture he alleged occurred on the job in March 2023 when he tripped while carrying a microwave. The court held an expedited hearing and denied the request for medical and disability benefits. The court found that Nelson was unlikely to prove at a full hearing that the injury arose primarily out of and in the course of his employment, citing inconsistent statements about the date of injury across his petition, medical records, and testimony; the absence of any witness corroboration or medical documentation linking the injury to work; and resulting doubts about his credibility. Tennessee law requires proof of a specific work-related incident to a reasonable degree of medical certainty for such claims.

labor & employment

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by bus driver Alicia Howard against her employer Davidson Transit Org. after she tripped and fell at a bus stop on May 31, 2024, injuring her left arm, leg, and head. Howard sought authorization for additional medical treatment for ongoing symptoms, reimbursement for unauthorized care, and temporary disability benefits following her termination. The court denied the requests for further treatment of current symptoms, unauthorized expenses, and disability benefits, but ordered the employer to continue covering authorized care causally linked to the original injury. The decision rested on findings from multiple authorized physicians, including orthopedists and a physiatrist, who placed Howard at maximum medical improvement by October 2024 with a 0% impairment rating, observed no objective abnormalities explaining her later complaints, and concluded that symptoms appearing a year post-accident were unrelated to the work incident.

labor & employment

In this workers' compensation case, employee Michael Brown sought authorization for recommended C3-C4 cervical disc fusion surgery and additional temporary disability benefits after a February 2023 work injury in which a boom truck bucket struck his head, causing ongoing neck, shoulder, and arm pain with numbness. The employer, City of Pulaski Electric Systems, denied the surgery as not medically necessary following utilization review by Dr. Sean Lager and appeals to the Bureau's medical directors, who cited inconsistencies with MRI findings, lack of neurological deficits, and the employee's smoking history. The Court of Workers' Compensation Claims granted the request, ordering the employer to authorize the surgery recommended by treating physician Dr. Erion Qamirani and to pay additional benefits. The decision rested on the treating specialist's assessments of severe foraminal stenosis and persistent symptoms unresponsive to conservative care, which the court found outweighed the contrary utilization review opinions.

labor & employment

The case involves an employee, Kimberly Reed, who suffered a work-related injury on June 17, 2024, at Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC, resulting in a left shoulder rotator cuff tear along with later-reported neck, jaw, facial, and ear symptoms. Reed requested that the court order the employer to authorize a second opinion on the reasonableness of shoulder surgery and to provide treatment for her jaw and ear issues. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims granted the request in an expedited hearing, directing the employer to furnish a second surgical opinion for the shoulder and a panel of specialists for any face or head symptoms causally related to the work accident. The ruling relied on medical records, treatment notes, and the employee's descriptions of the incident showing a potential connection between the injury and the symptoms.

labor & employmentprocedure