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Richard Caldwell v. Activated Metals & Chemicals, Inc., et al.

03S01-9602-CV-00015
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 trial court awarded plaintiff 35% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. Defendant challenges the trial court's finding that plaintiff's impairment arose out of a work-related injury and the trial court's consideration of the testimony of the plaintiff's expert witness. Plaintiff, 43, finished the eleventh grade. He has a varied work experience, having worked in restaurants, construction, as a stockboy, a janitor/security guard and as a salesperson of draperies and linens. He testified that he suffered an injury in the nature of an occupational disease from inhaling aluminum oxide dust and the dust of a nickel aluminum alloy at his workplace, resulting in his having to stop working and seeking medical care on July 28, 1993. He began working for defendant in January 1993. Plaintiff was referred to Barry Frame, M.D., a specialist in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, who testified in this case by deposition. He diagnosed pneumonia with complicating empyema (or lung abscess). Apparently, plaintiff suffered a pneumothorax, or puncturing of the lung. Dr. Frame opined that this pneumothorax was the result of infection, a pneumonia resulting from the aspiration of some anaerobic organism. No organism was cultured. When asked if plaintiff told him that his condition started as a result of exposure to a metal compound at work, Dr. Frame testified that he was aware that there was some consideration of an occupational factor, but that plaintiff should be referred to a pulmonologist to evaluate that; he had been concerned with dealing with the pneumonia and its complications. Chaim Cohen, M.D., a specialist in occupational medicine, examined the plaintiff at the request of his attorney. He examined plaintiff, reviewed material safety data sheets for compounds to which plaintiff had been exposed, reviewed 2
Authoring Judge: John K. Byers, Senior Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. Ben W. Hooper, Ii,
Knox County Workers Compensation Panel 12/19/96
Richard Thomas Johnson v. State of Tennessee

W2001-02373-CCA-R3-CD

Originating Judge:Joseph H. Walker, III
Lauderdale County Court of Criminal Appeals 12/19/96
Theresa Webb v. The Quaker Oats Company

02S01-9603-CH-00029
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 of findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Authoring Judge: F. Lloyd Tatum, Special Judge
Madison County Workers Compensation Panel 12/19/96
Timothy Crabtree v. Apac Tennessee, Inc.

03S01-9603-CH-00035
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 trial judge found the plaintiff had sustained an injury to his knee and back arising out of and in the course of his employment with the defendant. The trial court awarded the plaintiff 3% permanent partial disability to the leg as a result of the knee injury and 25% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole as a result of the back injury. The defendant says the trial judge erroneously found the plaintiff had given notice of an accidental injury to his back and says, also, that the awards for the injuries were erroneous. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. Injury to the Knee During March 1992, the plaintiff injured his right knee. He was treated by Dr. Paul Naylor for this injury. Dr. Naylor performed surgery on the plaintiff's knee on October 13, 1992 to repair the damage sustained by the plaintiff. Dr. Naylor testified the plaintiff had a 12% medical impairment to his knee as a result of the accident, which the defendant does not dispute. We find the evidence does not preponderate against the evidence of 3% permanent partial disability to the leg found by the trial judge, and we affirm the judgment thereon. T.C.A. _ 5-6-225(e)(2). Injury to the Back The plaintiff testified he injured his back in April 1993 when he reached back to lock the tailgate of a truck he was driving in the course of his employment. He testified he gave notice of the injury to his supervisor, James Hawkins, and the safety director, Steve Bell. Hawkins and Bell testified the plaintiff did not give them notice of an accidental injury as he testified. They testified the plaintiff related that the back pain he was having was connected to, or was a result of, the knee injury. 2
Authoring Judge: Senior Judge John K. Byers
Originating Judge:Hon. H. David Cate
Knox County Workers Compensation Panel 12/19/96
01A01-9606-CH-00256

01A01-9606-CH-00256

Originating Judge:Robert S. Brandt
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9604-PB-00163

01A01-9604-PB-00163

Originating Judge:Joe P. Binkley, Sr.
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
Seffernick vs. St. Thomas Hospital

01A01-9606-CV-00282

Originating Judge:Thomas W. Brothers
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9609-CH-00426

01A01-9609-CH-00426

Originating Judge:Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9605-CV-00230

01A01-9605-CV-00230

Originating Judge:Walter C. Kurtz
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
Fireman's Fund Insurance v. Taylor Barton Mills

03S01-9601-CH-00008
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 finding that his injury was caused by intoxication. The panel concludes the judgment should be reversed. On February 15, 1995, the employee or claimant, Mills, was working at his job as a machinist using a large lathe to bore a specifically sized hole into a fifty inch bull gear. After stopping the lathe to take a measurement, he accidentally - perhaps negligently - brushed against the lathe's starter button. The lathe started and the claimant's clothing was caught in the turning lathe. As a result, he was injured. Tests done at the University of Tennessee Medical Center shortly after the accident revealed a high level of cannaboid concentration from probable chronic use of marijuana. The claimant admits to being a chronic user of marijuana and had admittedly smoked two or three "joints" on the evening before the accident. Additionally, two witnesses testified that they thoughtthey saw him from some one hundred feet away, sharing a joint with another employee on the morning of the accident, before beginning work. The claimant and other employee denied it. The employer knew Mills was a heavy marijuana user and had fired him for thirty days on a previous occasion for "suspected" use of the substance, but re-hired him 3 days later at a higher rate of pay. An expert, without examining the claimant, opined from lab test results that marijuana intoxication was a possible contributing cause of his 2
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. Dennis H. Inman,
Knox County Workers Compensation Panel 12/18/96
Seffernick vs. St. Thomas Hospital

01A01-9606-CV-00282

Originating Judge:Thomas W. Brothers
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9607-CV-00304

01A01-9607-CV-00304

Originating Judge:James E. Walton
Montgomery County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
Ray v. Stanton, App. No. 88-285-Ii, 1989 Wl 14135 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 24,

01A01-9603-CH-00140
Court of Appeals 12/18/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Washington County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9606-CH-00256

01A01-9606-CH-00256

Originating Judge:Robert S. Brandt
Davidson County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9510-CH-00430

01A01-9510-CH-00430

Originating Judge:Robert S. Brandt
Court of Appeals 12/18/96
01A01-9603-CH-00140

01A01-9603-CH-00140

Originating Judge:Donald P. Harris
Hickman County Court of Appeals 12/18/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Loudon County Court of Appeals 12/17/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Anderson County Court of Appeals 12/17/96
Patricia D. Woodward v. American General Life & Accident Insurance Company

03S01-9512-CV-00138
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 or claimant, Woodward, contends the evidencepreponderates against the trial court's finding that her fibromyalgia was not causally related to her injury. The panel concludes the judgment should be affirmed. On July 23, 1992, the claimant was involved in a car wreck arising out of and in the course of her employment as a debit agent for the employer, American General. She suffered a mild strain of the neck, superimposed upon preexisting osteoarthritis. She was first seen by Dr. Sherrod, who made the diagnosis, then followed by Dr. Calvin Johnson at Wautauga Orthopedics. Dr. Johnson provided conservative care and assigned minimal permanent impairment. She was further treated by Dr. David Lurie, a rheumatologist, who diagnosed fibromyalgia but expressed no opinion as to whether her condition was causally related to the accident. The claimant was under Dr. Lurie's continuing care at the time of the trial. Her attorney referred her to Dr. Mark T. McQuain, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. McQuain's impression, as reflected in his notes, was: 1. Cervical degenerative disc disease,maximum at C4-5 and C5-6. 2. Generalized fibromyalgia/tension myalgia, post traumatic. 3. Patellofemoral degenerative joint disease, bilaterally. 4. Tendency for pain magnification. 2
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. Thomas J. Seeley, Jr.,
Washington County Workers Compensation Panel 12/17/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Court of Appeals 12/17/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Loudon County Court of Appeals 12/17/96
03C01-9506-CC-00176

03C01-9506-CC-00176

Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 12/17/96
State vs. Ervin

03C01-9707-CC-00311
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 12/17/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Marion County Court of Appeals 12/17/96