Thurman D. Vanwinkle v. Bridgestone U.S.A., Inc.

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 alleges that he suffered a heart attack attributable to the demands of his job and therefore compensable within the purview of the Workers' Compensation law. The words "heart attack," as alleged, are generically used and are generally referable to any sudden adverse cardiac condition; in the case at Bar, the plaintiff suffered a myocardial infarction.1 The trial court found that the "petition for workers' compensation benefits should be sustained," and that the plaintiff had a 6 percent permanent impairment,2 presumably attributable to his heart condition. The employer appeals, questioning the finding that the plaintiff's heart problem is work-related. Review of the findings of fact made by the trial court is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of the correctness of the finding, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. TENN. CODE ANN. _ 5-6-225(e)(2), Stone v. City of McMinnville, 896 S.W.2d 548, 55 (Tenn. 1995). Background 1An infarct is a region of dead or dying tissue which is the result of a sudden obstruction to the blood circulation supplying the involved part, usually by a clot. A myocardial infarct is a region of dead or dying tissue in the muscle of the heart which is the result of an obstruction to the blood supply usually by a clot lodged in a coronary artery. 2The judgment refers to a letter containing a "Finding of Facts" but this letter is not in the record. We thus have no findings to review under the appropriate standard, RULE 13(d), T.R.A.P., which requires a presumption of correctness. We therefore have conducted a de novo review with no presumption. 2