Rita Faye Hurst v. Claiborne County Hospital and Nursing Home et al.

An employee filed suit for workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained in a work-related motor vehicle collision. The trial court later dismissed the case with full prejudice based on a settlement approved by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (the “Department”). Over seven years later, the employee filed a motion in another workers’ compensation case to compel medical benefits for her injuries related to the collision. The trial court granted the employee’s motion to compel, referencing in its order this case number (#15,665) and the case number in which the motion was filed (#13,393). In a separate order, the trial court awarded the employee her attorney fees and costs. We vacate the trial court’s orders, finding that the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to compel medical benefits for the employee’s physical injuries.