Gwendolyn Chesney v. Knoxville Glove Co. and Cigna Insurance Co., 03S01-9602-CV-00014
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Wheeler Rosenbalm,
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 of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this appeal, the employee contends the evidence preponderates against the trial court's award of permanent partial disability benefits based on twenty-five percent to the body as a whole and in favor of a higher award. As discussed below, the panel has concluded the award should be modified to provide for benefits based on fifty percent to the body as a whole. The employee or claimant, Chesney, is fifty-six years old and has a tenth grade education, with no skills. After working for Knoxville Glove Company for nearly twenty-seven years sewing, piecing, patching and hemming gloves, she developed disabling pain in her neck and right arm. She was referred to an orthopedist, Dr. Burns, who diagnosed cervical strain and radiculopathy caused or aggravated by work and superimposed on pre-existing cervical disc disease. He also ordered nerve testing which revealed right carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel surgery was performed but failed to relieve her symptoms. Disc surgery was performed on her neck. The doctor assigned a permanent impairment rating of ten percent to the whole body from the cervical injury and an additional ten percent to the upper extremity from the carpal tunnel syndrome. The claimant is permanently restricted from any work requiring repetitive use of the hands and arms or heavy lifting. A vocational expert estimated her vocational disability at eighty to ninety percent. 2
After a jury trial, the defendant, Rick Goultrie, was convicted of possession of marijuana and public intoxication. The trial court imposed consecutive sentences of eleven months twenty-nine days for the possession conviction and thirty days for the public intoxication conviction. The defendant was
required to serve seventy-five percent of the sentences in the county jail.
Bradley
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Quinn Hamilton M2001-02748-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Cheryl A. Blackburn
A jury convicted the Defendant, Quinn L. Hamilton, of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and evading arrest, a Class D felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range II multiple offender to consecutive terms of nineteen years and seven years, respectively, for an effective sentence of twenty-six years, to be served in the Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in declaring the victim witness unavailable and allowing his prior testimony to be admitted at trial as substantive evidence. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Bobby L. Marlowe v. Vulcan Materials Co. 03S01-9605-CH-00058
Authoring Judge: Roger E. Thayer, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Billy Joe White,
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 appeal has resulted from a finding by the trial court that plaintiff, Bobby L. Marlowe, was entitled to 1% disability benefits due to contracting an occupational disease while in the employment of his employer, defendant Vulcan Materials Company. Defendant Vulcan contends the Chancellor was in error (1) in ruling the statute of limitations had not expired; (2) in finding plaintiff had been exposed and injured while in its employment; and (3) in finding plaintiff was totally disabled. Plaintiff was 55 years of age and had completed the 9th grade. He has a long history of having worked under conditions exposing himself to smoke, dust, etc. He spent about 16 years working in a steel foundry; about 1 years working for various coal companies; and about 5 years with Vulcan at various quarry sites where his exposure was to rock dust. When he first reported to work with Vulcan in 1988, he had a chest x-ray which apparently was not indicative of any problems. He began having some breathing problems sometime in 1991 and was x-rayed. As a result of this examination, he received a form letter dated January 13, 1992 from a medical clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. This informed him that his x-ray showed "abnormalities consistent with pneumoconiosis" and advised he needed to see a physician. Vulcan sent him to see a specialist in Kingsport, telling him the x- ray indicated something was wrong. There is no direct evidence as to the findings by this doctor. Plaintiff continued to work, saying he did not know what was wrong. Sometime later in his employment, he told the court, his condition began to worsen. He described this as noticing a greater shortness of breath and said any exertion would result in his being completely out of breath. Mr. Howell, the safety director of Vulcan, discussed the situation with him and said they would try to work with him and keep him out of as much dust as possible. At some later 2
Knox
Workers Compensation Panel
Hubert M. Hurd v. General Shale Products Corporation, et al. 03S01-9603-CH-00026
Authoring Judge: Roger E. Thayer, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. H. David Cate,
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. Defendants, General Shale Products Corporation and CNA Insurance Compa ny, have appealed from the action of the trial court in awarding plaintiff, Hubert M. Hurd, 3% permanent partial disability benefits to the body as a whole. The only issue on appeal is whether the evidence preponderates against the award of benefits. Plaintiff Hurd was injured in the course and scope of his employment on August 2, 199, while manually rolling up a truck cover. The equipment did not work properly, and plaintiff was pushing with his right arm when he tore a biceps tendon. Plaintiff was 63 years of age at the time of the trial. He completed the 8th grade and later received a G.E.D. certificate. He had been employed by General Shale for 41 years and at the time of the accident was operating a dump truck. During his entire employment, he had worked at different positions such as a grinding machine operator, a brick machine operator, a fireman on the kiln, a forklift operator and a front-end loader operator. He continued to work after the accident at the same job as his employer installed an electric motor on the vehicle which would roll up the truck cover and eliminate the manual operation. Although he has continued to work, he told the court he does not have the strength in his arm and shoulder as prior to this injury; he testified his grip in his arm is now weak and when he carries anything, it is hard to straighten his arm back out. Dr. John Bell, an orthopaedic surgeon, treated plaintiff for his injuries. His testimony, which was by deposition, indicated plaintiff had sustained an injury to his arm and shoulder from the tear of the tendon and a neck injury where there was an aggravation of a previous condition due to degenerative changes. He 2
