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Charles Leroy Stafford v. Mid-America Corporation and Larry Brinton, Jr. 03S01-9512-CH-00132 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 issue presented by this appeal involves the extent of the claimant's permanent disability. The panel concludes thejudgment should be modified as provided below. The employee or claimant, Stafford, is forty-eight with a ninth grade education. On December 23, 1993, he suffered a compensable injury to his neck and arm, for which he received medical treatment and lost time from work. The treating physician assigned a permanent impairment rating of 3% to the whole body and released him to return to work in August of 1994 with no restrictions. From a previous injury, the claimant had received an award based on ninety-five percent to the body as a whole. The chancellor awarded permanent partial disability benefits on the basis of five percent to the body as a whole, reasoning that the claimant had not yet become rehabilitated from his previous injury. Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of the correctness of the findings of the trial court, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(2). Conclusions of law are subject to de novo review without any presumption of correctness. Presley v. Bennett, 86 S.W.2d 857 (Tenn. 1993). This tribunal is required to conduct an independent examination of the record to determine where the preponderance of the evidence lies. Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Frederick D.	Knox County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/30/96
Present Appeal, The Petitioner, Relying In Part Upon State v. Roger Dale Hill, No. 01C01- 02C01-9610-CC-00344	Lake County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/30/96
03A01-9605-CV-00170 03A01-9605-CV-00170		Court of Appeals	10/30/96
Harley R. Rucker v. Rockwood Electric Utilities 03S01-9511-CH-00127 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. Plaintiff was injured when he fell and hit his arm on a buzz saw while cutting trees along utility lines as an employee of Woodland Tree Service, which had a contract to cut the trees for Rockwood Electric Utilities. The trial judge dismissed plaintiff's complaint, finding that Rockwood Electric Utilities was not plaintiff's statutory employer under TENN. CODE ANN. _ 5-6- 113. However, he found plaintiff to have sustained a 45% permanent partial disability to his right hand. We reverse the judgment and remand the case to the trial court. Plaintiff was hired by Woodland Tree Service to help fulfill Woodland's contract with Rockwood Electric Utilities. The agreement between Woodland Tree Service and Rockwood Electric Utilities was in the form of a written contract which was introduced at trial. Plaintiff reported every morning to Rockwood Electric Utilities where he met with Don White, a supervisor at Rockwood, to learn whether he should continue working on the present job or if he needed to work on some emergency project. He would also pick up a "bucket truck" owned by Rockwood to be used in cutting trees. Woodland provided all of the other equipment used by its employees. Occasionally, Rockwood supervisors would come to the site where Woodland employees were working to check on the progress of the work, occasionally telling the employees to hurry up or moving them elsewhere to a "hot spot." Woodland had absolute authority to hire and fire its own employees. Under the contract between the parties, Rockwood reserved the right to provide equipment and materials at a lower cost if those provided by Woodland were too high. Woodland paid its employees directly but according to a schedule of wages set by Rockwood. Woodland was required to notify Rockwood of changes in wage rates. Under their contract, Rockwood reserved the right to inspect Woodland's work and audit its books. The contract also provided that Woodland employees could not enter the area where power lines were located unless 2 Authoring Judge: Senior Judge John K. Byers Originating Judge:Hon. Frank V. Williams,	Knox County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/30/96
Barbara Wallace v. Cadillac Curtain Company 02S01-9510-CH-00099 This worker's compensationappeal has been referred to the special worker's 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. Trial in this matter was conducted February 9, 1995. On May 22, 1995, the Chancellor entered a final judgment denying compensation to plaintiff and dismissing her lawsuit. Authoring Judge: Cornelia A. Clark, Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. John Hill Chisholm	Tipton County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/30/96
01C01-9510-CC-00338 01C01-9510-CC-00338 Originating Judge:J. S. Daniel	Rutherford County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/29/96
01C01-9509-CC-00297 01C01-9509-CC-00297 Originating Judge:W. Charles Lee	Marshall County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/29/96
02A01-9510-CV-00236 02A01-9510-CV-00236 Originating Judge:J. Steven Stafford	Shelby County	Court of Appeals	10/29/96
01C01-9509-CC-00286 01C01-9509-CC-00286 Originating Judge:Gerald L. Ewell, Sr.	Coffee County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/29/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX		Court of Appeals	10/29/96
01C01-9511-CR-00368 01C01-9511-CR-00368	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/29/96
01S01-9508-CH-00140 01S01-9508-CH-00140		Supreme Court	10/28/96
02S01-9509-CH-00084 02S01-9509-CH-00084		Supreme Court	10/28/96
02S01-9512-CV-00122 02S01-9512-CV-00122 Originating Judge:D'Army Bailey	Shelby County	Supreme Court	10/28/96
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX		Court of Appeals	10/25/96
William O. Worley, Jr. v. Tecumseh Products Company 01S01-9509-CV-00160 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. In this case, the trial court awarded 45% permanent partial disability to the right arm. Defendant contends that the evidence does not support the percentage of disability awarded and requests that this court reduce and amend the judgment of the trial court accordingly. The Defendant also contends that the trial court erred in accrediting the testimony of Plaintiff's expert witness over the testimony of the treating physician. The final issue is whether the trial court erred in awarding discretionary costs for the deposition of Plaintiff's expert medical witness. The Defendant also raises the issue of whether the trial court erred in awarding a lump sum. As the benefits have now accrued, this issue is moot. On June 19, 1992, Plaintiff injured his right arm and wrist while working on a machine. Plaintiff is 48 years old and has a high school education. His work experience consists of working in the parts department, as a mechanic, as a tool and die worker, on a surveying crew, as a fire fighter, as a guard, and as a water pipeline repairer. Each of these jobs required heavy manual labor and the use of Plaintiff's arms and hands. Plaintiff had been employed at Tecumseh for approximately a year and a half when he sustained the injury. Dr. L. L. Carter, Jr. treated the Plaintiff after he was injured. Dr. Carter first examined Plaintiff on July 7, 1992. Dr. Carter testified, by deposition, that the nerve conduction tests showed elbow nerve and wrist nerve damage. Initially, Dr. Carter treated this condition conservatively, with a wrist splint, with no improvement. On August 31, 1992, Dr. Carter performed ulnar nerve decompression and submuscular transposition. At the same time, carpal tunnel release in the right hand and a nerve graft to the neuroma on the right wrist were performed. Three days later, Plaintiff was told to return to light work. Plaintiff was returned to regular work on December 15, 1992. Dr. Carter did not see Plaintiff again until January 8, 1993, at the request of Authoring Judge: Robert L. Childers, Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Buddy D. Perry,	Sequatchie County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/25/96
01A01-9603-CV-00122 01A01-9603-CV-00122 Originating Judge:Bobby H. Capers	Wilson County	Court of Appeals	10/25/96
Phillip L. Pyrdum v. Teledyne Systems Company Inc., Teledyne Lewisburg 01S01-9601-CH-00009 This worker's compensation appeal has been referred to the special worker's 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. Authoring Judge: Cornelia A. Clark, Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Tyrus H. Cobb	Marshall County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/25/96
01A01-9604-CV-00180 01A01-9604-CV-00180 Originating Judge:Thomas Goodall	Sumner County	Court of Appeals	10/25/96
01A01-9604-CH-00177 01A01-9604-CH-00177 Originating Judge:Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.	Davidson County	Court of Appeals	10/25/96
02A01-9508-CV-00185 02A01-9508-CV-00185 Originating Judge:John Franklin Murchison	Madison County	Court of Appeals	10/25/96
02A01-9508-CV-00185 02A01-9508-CV-00185 Originating Judge:John Franklin Murchison	Madison County	Court of Appeals	10/25/96
Alva Marie Reynolds v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 01S01-9509-CH-00172 This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated Section 5-6-225 (e)(3) for hearing and reporting findings of fact and conclusions of law to the Supreme Court. Alva Marie Reynolds, the plaintiff- employee, appeals the decision of the Coffee County Chancery Court denying her relief on her worker's compensation claim. On appeal, the sole issue is whether the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff failed to carry the burden of proving that she sustained an injury arising out of her employment. The trial court found plaintiff 's injury was the result of a pre-existing idiopathic condition. On January 5, 1993, the plaintiff, who was at that time sixty-two years old, sustained an injury to her ankle when she fell at her place of employment, Wal- Mart. The plaintiff had worked at Wal-Mart in diverse capacities for eleven years before her accident, and at the time of her injury, she had been working in the fitting room area for a couple of years. In addition to monitoring the clothing which was brought in and out of the fitting room, she answered Wal-Mart's incoming calls, made announcements, and paged employees within the store. Regarding her fall, the plaintiff testified that, after being told to take a hurried break, she rushed out of the fitting room and fell at the point that the floor changed from carpet to tile. She testified that she had not previously experienced numbness in her legs nor had she ever fallen at work or home before this incident. The plaintiff worked the remainder of the day and did not see a doctor until the next day when her ankle was diagnosed as being broken. On cross-examination, the plaintiff acknowledged that in two depositions taken after the accident, she did not mention that she was in a hurry at the time that she fell. She explained that she did not remember this until later. However, in a deposition 2 Authoring Judge: Erry L. Smith, Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. John W. Rollins, Judge	Coffee County	Workers Compensation Panel	10/25/96
01C01-9312-CR-00439 01C01-9312-CR-00439 Originating Judge:Walter C. Kurtz	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/24/96
01C01-9511-CR-00397 01C01-9511-CR-00397	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	10/24/96