Debbie J. Goodlow v. Hospital Corp. of America, Etc.

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The plaintiff filed suit against the defendant and alleged she sustained a back injury on March 6, 1993. The trial judge found the plaintiff did not give notice of the injury until September 27, 1993, and the petition was dismissed for failure to give timely notice. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. We need not go into great detail concerning the facts in this case. The plaintiff asked her supervisor for authority to move the desk in the office in which she worked to better accommodate her work. The supervisor instructed the plaintiff to have the maintenance department to move the furniture. The maintenance department moved the furniture on Friday. The plaintiff went to the office on Saturday and she and another employee rearranged the desk and some cabinets. On Monday and Tuesday, the plaintiff worked regular shifts with no problems. On Wednesday, the plaintiff called the emergency room to tell them she would be late to work because her back was hurting. The plaintiff saw an emergency room doctor and told her supervisor she did not know what was wrong with her back. Ultimately, the plaintiff was referred to Dr. Frank Berklacich, an orthopedic surgeon, who testified that on May 7, 1993, the plaintiff told him she had hurt her back on March 7, 1993 while moving furniture at work. On June 1, 1993, the plaintiff underwent surgery on her back. The plaintiff did not give notice to the defendant of a work related injury to her back until September 27, 1993. She says she did not do so earlier because she did not know her back problem was related to the moving of furniture on March 7, 1993. We review this case de novo upon the record with a presumption of the correctness of the finding of fact of the trial judge. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6- 225(e)(2). 2