Bonnie Gross v. St. Thomas Hospital,

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. Section 5-6-225 (e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The plaintiff, employee, appeals from a judgment in favor of the defendant, employer, which found employee's present medical condition and injury to her cervical spine was not a continuation of her original injury of January 18, 1999. The court, therefore, denied employee's claim for medical benefits and an increase in vocational disability. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e) (2 Supp.) Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed ALLEN W. WALLACE, SR. J., in which ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J. and JOE C. LOSER, JR., SP. J., joined. Gregory Lee Groth, Cookeville, Tennessee, for appellant, Bonnie Gross David Randall Mantooth, Nashville, Tennessee, for appellee, St. Thomas Hospital MEMORANDUM OPINION FACTS On January 18, 1999, employee, a Licensed Practical Nurse, injured her neck when she helped a patient into a wheelchair. As a result of this injury, she was treated by Dr. Stanley Chunn and Dr. M. Robert Weiss operated on the C6-7 level only, and did not perform surgery on the C5-6 level. On August 19, 1999, employee and employer, St. Thomas Hospital, filed a joint petition in the trial court seeking approval of a workers' compensation settlement agreement. Under the agreement, employee received a 2% permanent partial disability benefit and future authorized, necessary, and reasonable medical benefits relating to the injury. Employee continued to have neck pain and on a scale of 1 to 1, her pain was approximately a 4. These were left side symptoms about 5 months after reaching maximum medical improvement. She then went to work with Home Care Solutions, and was doing repetitive work and her pain increased to 1 on a scale of 1 to 1. This was in March, 2. Employer denied her application for benefits, and she then went back to Dr. Chunn who referred her to Dr. Leonardo Rodriquez Cruz, who performed surgery on C5-6 which relieved her pain and she went back to a pain level of 4 on a scale of 1 to 1. This controversy has developed into differences among medical experts. Dr. Chunn, Dr. James B. Talmage and Dr. Cruz testified that the employee's medical condition is a continuation of her injury of January 18, 1999. Dr. Chunn is Board certified in internal medicine, and employee is employed as a nurse in his office. Dr. Cruz and Dr. Weiss are neurosurgeons. Dr. Talmage is also a neurosurgeon, and performed an independent medical evaluation on employee. Dr. Weiss opined that employee's condition was not related to her injury of January 18, 1999, but was the result of a new injury or some other cause. ANALYSES Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of correctness of the findings of fact, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(2) (22 Supp.). The reviewing court is required to conduct an independent examination of the record to determine where the preponderance of the evidence lies.