Efram Lavance Watley v. City of Murfreesboro

This workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated § 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this case, the trial court found that the employee suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of witnessing a visually disturbing incident in the course of his job as a police dispatcher and awarded 15% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. The employer has appealed, contending that the triggering incident was not beyond the normal stress associated with the employee’s job and was therefore not compensable. The employee contends the trial court’s award was inadequate. Because we find that the triggering event went beyond the normal stress level associated with the employee’s job and that the employee does not have to be exposed to danger in order to recover for a purely psychological injury, we affirm the trial court’s decision.