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| Cherre Howard v. Granite State Ins. Co.
01S01-9708-CH-00179
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. The employer's insurer, Granite State Insurance Company, contends the chancellor erred in awarding permanent partial benefits based on sixty-five percent to the body as a whole. As discussed below, the panel has concluded the judgment should be affirmed. Our 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. section 5-6-225(e)(2). The extent of an injured worker's vocational disability is an issue of fact. Jaske v. Murray Ohio Mfg. Co., Inc., 75 S.W.2d 15 (Tenn. 1988). The employee or claimant, Cherre Howard, is sixty-four years old and has a high school education and experience in collections and clerical work. For the sixteen years preceding her injury, she worked as a collector for Professional Adjustment Service. On February 29, 1996, she fell down a flight of stairs while leaving work, dislocating her left shoulder. She later reported to the emergency room at Southern Hills Hospital, where a physician fractured both bones in her forearm, while unsuccessfully attempting to manipulate her shoulder into its socket. She subsequently saw another doctor at the same hospital, who twice performed open surgery to cure the injuries. The claimant returned to the operating doctor for follow-up care and he ultimately released her with an estimated eight percent permanent whole body impairment rating. However, the doctor concedes the claimant's condition worsened after he last saw her. When her condition worsened, she was referred to Dr. Allen Anderson, who assigned a permanent whole person impairment rating of nineteen percent and who restricted her from lifting more than ten pounds, from lifting any weight frequently and from pushing, pulling or climbing. The doctor diagnosed arthrofibrosis and a torn rotator cuff, which could not be repaired because of lack of bone. He testified the claimant could not use her injured arm. The chancellor, giving greater weight to Dr. Anderson's opinion, first awarded disability benefits based on seventy percent to the body as a whole, then reduced the award to one based on sixty-five percent to the body as a whole. The claimant has returned to work, but earns less than before the accident. The employer's insurer insists the chancellor erred in accepting the opinion of Dr. Anderson, who saw the claimant only once, instead of the opinion of the operating surgeon and because the claimant has been reasonably successful in her return to work. The employee insists the testimony of the operating surgeon can be discounted because her condition admittedly worsened 2
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. Ellen Hobbs Lyle, |
Davidson County | Workers Compensation Panel | 10/21/98 | |
| Young vs. Young
01A01-9801-CH-00047
Originating Judge:John W. Rollins |
Coffee County | Court of Appeals | 10/21/98 | |
| State vs. Mickey White
02C01-9804-CC-00103
Originating Judge:Jon Kerry Blackwood |
McNairy County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/20/98 | |
| State vs. Wanda Harris
02C01-9803-CC-00087
Originating Judge:William B. Acree |
Obion County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/20/98 | |
| Mierzejewski vs. BS
03A01-9802-CH-00044
|
Hamilton County | Court of Appeals | 10/20/98 | |
| State vs. Paul Epps
02C01-9712-CC-00487
Originating Judge:Jon Kerry Blackwood |
Fayette County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/20/98 | |
| State vs. Roberts
03C01-9707-CR-00259
|
Sullivan County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| 01S01-9705-CH-00110
01S01-9705-CH-00110
Originating Judge:Robert S. Brandt |
Supreme Court | 10/19/98 | ||
| 03S01-9706-CR-00068
03S01-9706-CR-00068
|
Supreme Court | 10/19/98 | ||
| State vs. William Haithcote
01C01-9707-CC-00260
Originating Judge:William Charles Lee |
Bedford County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| Jessie Jackson vs. State
01C01-9711-CR-00523
|
Davidson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Mark Weatherly
01C01-9708-CC-00352
|
Perry County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Jimmy Legg
01C01-9801-CC-00025
|
Giles County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Tony Fitz
02C01-9712-CC-00486
Originating Judge:Joseph H. Walker, III |
Tipton County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. William Murphy
02C01-9712-CC-00473
Originating Judge:John Franklin Murchison |
Madison County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| 02C01-9805-CC-00153Cecil
02C01-9805-CC-00153Cecil
Originating Judge:R. Lee Moore Jr. |
Lake County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Troy Noles
01C01-9710-CR-00470
|
Macon County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Quintero and Hall
01S01-9703-CC-00068
|
Humphreys County | Supreme Court | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Shirley Double
01C01-9704-CR-00156
|
Overton County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| Rowana/Kevin Bobo vs. Leanther Willett
W2001-02552-COA-R3-CV
This case involves bodily injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident that occurred on October 19, 1998 in Memphis, Tennessee. The trial court returned a verdict for the Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs then filed a motion for new trial or alternatively for an additur. The trial court granted Plaintiff's motion for new trial and this appeal ensued.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Originating Judge:John R. Mccarroll, Jr. |
Shelby County | Court of Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| 01S01-9711-CH-00248
01S01-9711-CH-00248
|
Williamson County | Supreme Court | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Williams
03S01-9706-CR-00060
|
Hamilton County | Supreme Court | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs. Anthony Cole
02C01-9711-CC-00445
Originating Judge:Lee Moore |
Dyer County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| State vs.Frank Hill
01C01-9708-CC-00344
|
Montgomery County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/19/98 | |
| Poole vs. State
01A01-9802-BC-00104
Originating Judge:William C. Koch |
Court of Appeals | 10/16/98 |