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State vs. James Edward Gates 01C01-9607-CR-00312	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
Ricky D. Hulsey vs. State 01C01-9609-CC-00399 Originating Judge:W. Charles Lee	Lincoln County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
01C01-9605-CR-00184 01C01-9605-CR-00184	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
Lambdin v. Old 03S01-9610-CH-00102 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 been perfected by defendants, Old Republic Insurance Company and Kopper-Glo Fuels, Inc., from an award to the plaintiff, Randy Lambdin, of 25% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. Defendants seek to overturn the award on several grounds. They contend (1) the injury was not work-related, (2) proper notice of the injury was not rendered, (3) the claim was barred by the one year statute of limitations, and (4) the award of 25% to the whole body is excessive. Plaintiff was 4 years of age and had completed the eighth grade. He testified he was lifting a belt structure off a flat bed truck when he felt pain in his back. He said he reported the incident a day or two later to his supervisor, James Thacker. He also said he told the superintendent, Kore Chedester, about the same time. Plaintiff's brother, Ronald Lambdin, was working with plaintiff and another employee. He also testified Mr. Thacker was told about the incident causing the injury. Sometime after the event, plaintiff saw Dr. Mary Anne Woodring, a family practice physician who had seen plaintiff for prior health problems. He told the trial court he did not think the injury was serious. Dr. Woodring treated him for a muscle strain by giving medication and prescribing therapy. He continued to work and saw her several times through April, 1993. Since he did not get better, he went to see a chiropractor. Later, during October, 1993, he saw Dr. Ronald Dubin, who determined his condition was more serious and that he had a ruptured disc. Dr. Dubin's office notified defendant employer of the plaintiff's compensation claim when the office requested the identification number of the insurance company. Plaintiff testified he was repeatedly told by company representatives his medical expenses would be paid; that they stated there was a dispute between two insurance companies as to which company might be responsible; that David Burton, 2 Authoring Judge: Roger E. Thayer, Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Billy Joe White,	Knox County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/30/97
State DHS vs. Russell 03A01-9701-CV-00002	Hawkins County	Court of Appeals	09/29/97
William D. Carroll vs. Fred Raney, Warden 02S01-9610-CC-00086		Supreme Court	09/29/97
Jeanette Wilson v. Tecumseh Products Co. 02S01-9704-CV-00031 This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with T.C.A. _ 5- 6- 225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Tecumseh Products Company ("defendant") has raised the following issues by this appeal: Did the trial court err (1) in finding that plaintiff's vocational disability arose out of and in the course of her employment, (2) in awarding plaintiff temporary total disability and ordering defendant to pay certain medical expenses, (3) in finding that plaintiff sustained a forty percent permanent partial disability to her right arm and thirty percent permanent partial disability to her left arm, and (4) in charging certain discretionary costs incurred by plaintiff to defendant. We find no error and affirm. Jeanette Wilson ("plaintiff") was an employee of defendant, working on a production line. Her duties involved using a screwdriver to adjust wedges on motors that came down the assembly line. She was required to make adjustments on one side of the motor, turn the motor over and make adjustments on the other side. It is undisputed that these functions required plaintiff to use both of her hands and to lift motors which could weigh up to forty pounds. Plaintiff had no difficulty with her hands and arms prior to coming to work for defendant. She began to experience problems in both arms, specifically her right wrist, in November, 1995. She continued to work until the condition worsened to the point where she felt obliged to see a doctor. Upon notifying the defendant of her condition, defendant provided her with a choice of three physicians who could treat her. Plaintiff chose Dr. John Holancin. Dr. Holancin, after examining plaintiff, placed her on light duty and referred her to Dr. Ronald Bingham for a diagnostic test called an EMG. This test revealed that plaintiff had no median sensory slowing in either wrist, but did have severe median motor conduction slowing across both wrists. He concluded that plaintiff was suffering from severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Plaintiff continued to work until such time as her hands swelled so much that she was unable to perform her work. In the note that was written by her supervisor to the 2 Authoring Judge: Hewitt P. Tomlin, Jr., Senior Judge Originating Judge:Hon. C. Creed Mcginley, Judge	Wilson County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/29/97
State vs. Dubose 01S01-9602-CC-00029 Originating Judge:Henry Denmark Bell	Williamson County	Supreme Court	09/29/97
Tennessee Farmers Mutual Ins. vs. Thomas Tipton 02A01-9702-CV-00037 Originating Judge:Joseph H. Walker		Court of Appeals	09/29/97
McDaniel vs. CSX Transportation, Inc. 01S01-9605-CV-00095		Supreme Court	09/29/97
Shipley vs. Shipley 03A01-9611-JV-00369	Greene County	Court of Appeals	09/29/97
Charley Clunan Co. Inc. vs. Joyce Martin 02A01-9704-CH-00087 Originating Judge:C. Neal Small	Shelby County	Court of Appeals	09/29/97
State vs. Gordon 01S01-9605-CC-00084		Supreme Court	09/29/97
State vs. Dubose 01S01-9602-CC-00029		Supreme Court	09/29/97
Michael A. Smith v. Continental Casualty Co. 02S01-9704-CH-00033 This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with T.C.A. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Following a bench trial, the chancellor below found that there was no proof that plaintiff injured his back during the course and scope of his employment, and further found that plaintiff gave his employer no notice of injury. On appeal plaintiff has raised one issue for our consideration: whether the trial court erred in preventing plaintiff from offering proof as to a specific injury and notice of injury by sustaining an objection to certain testimony of plaintiff. In addition, defendant presents one issue: whether the evidence preponderates against the chancellor's finding that plaintiff did not sustain a work-related injury. We find no error and affirm. Michael A. Smith ("plaintiff") was employed by Kroger Grocery Company from 1978 through March 1994. Specifically, on March 16, 1994, plaintiff worked a nine hour shift and went home. The next morning he awoke with extreme pain in his back. He later went to the emergency room of the hospital in Jackson where he was subsequently diagnosed as having osteoporosis and three or four possible compression fractures of the vertebrae in the thoracic spine. When plaintiff's pain did not clear up, his treating physician referred him to Dr. Genaro Palmieri, who practices a specialty of endocrinology and metabolic bone diseases in Memphis. The subsequent examination of plaintiff by Dr. Palmieri confirmed that he indeed had the disease osteoporosis, in which the bones become extremely porous and more easily subject to fracture. X-rays taken by Dr. Palmieri's radiologists confirmed the fractures at T-4 and T-7, which according to the radiologists were old and were present before 1987. During the course of the trial, plaintiff was asked upon direct examination when a doctor first informed him of a connection between his work at Kroger and his back condition. Defendant's objection on the ground of hearsay was sustained by the chancellor. Subsequently, the chancellor ruled that there was nothing to indicate that plaintiff injured his back during the course and scope of his employment, therefore the injury was not compensable. The chancellor also Authoring Judge: Hewitt P. Tomlin, Jr., Senior Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Joe C. Morris, Chancellor	Smith County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/29/97
Robert Larry Jones v. Magnetek Century Electric, Inc., Etc. 02S01-9706-CH-00055 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. In this appeal, the employer, Magnetek Century Electric, Inc., ("defendant") contends that the trial court erred in awarding permanent partial disability benefits on the basis of forty- nine percent (49%) disability to the body as a whole as well as in commuting the award to a lump sum. The panel finds that the award should be modified to one based on twelve and one half percent (12 _%) disability to the body as a whole and that the trial court abused its discretion in making a lump sum award. In May, 1994, Robert Larry Jones ("plaintiff") was working for defendant when a work tool weighing approximately 45 pounds struck plaintiff on the right ankle and cut it. He was taken to the emergency room where the wound was treated and his Achilles tendon was sewn up. As a result of this injury, plaintiff developed a condition known as a Deep Vein Thrombosis in the right leg. This is a blockage of the flow of blood through a deep vein. The emergency room physician referred plaintiff to Dr. Warren Ramer, who treated him from July, 1994 through the time of trial in November, 1996. At the time Dr. Ramer began treating plaintiff, there was edema (for our purposes- swelling) of the lower right leg and ankle. Over the months that followed, plaintiff's condition continued to improve, although his condition at times fluctuated during this period of treatment. In other words, the swelling in plaintiff's leg was more pronounced at some times than it was at others. Plaintiff wore an elastic sock and took medication for the purpose of controlling the swelling in his leg. In October, 1995, at the request of defendant, plaintiff became a patient of Dr. Jessie Davis, a specialist in general vascular surgery in Memphis. Dr. Davis was requested to treat as well as evaluate plaintiff's condition. Dr. Davis' tests revealed a blockage in plaintiff's right leg beginning about three inches below the knee and extending upward about three inches above the knee. Thereafter, both Dr. Davis and Dr. Ramer continued to treat plaintiff jointly and cooperatively, with Dr. Ramer seeing plaintiff about once a month in order to monitor his condition and medication, and Dr. Davis every two or three months to evaluate the status of plaintiff's leg. Dr. Ramer deferred the assignment of any permanent impairment rating to Dr. Davis, the vascular specialist. Dr. Davis last saw plaintiff on April 16, 1996. In Dr. 2 Authoring Judge: Hewitt P. Tomlin, Jr., Senior Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Joe C. Morris, Judge	Chester County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/29/97
State v. Smith 03C01-9611-CR-00399 Originating Judge:R. Jerry Beck	Sullivan County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
State v. Golden 03C01-9610-CC-00374 Originating Judge:James B. Scott, Jr.	Anderson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
State vs. Reginald Webb 02C01-9601-CR-00040 Originating Judge:John P. Colton, Jr.	Shelby County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
State v. Teaster 03C01-9611-CC-00405 Originating Judge:William R. Holt	Sevier County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
State vs. Sammie Netters 02C01-9610-CR-00322 Originating Judge:Bernie Weinman	Shelby County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
Christopher v. State 03C01-9608-CC-00306 Originating Judge:Rex Henry Ogle	Cocke County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
03C01-9610-CR-00357 03C01-9610-CR-00357	Johnson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
State vs. Michael Davis 02C01-9706-CR-00222	Shelby County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97
James Buttrey v. Insurance Co. of The State of Pennsylvania 01S01-9705-CH-00102 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 appellant contends the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment and that the employee failed to give proper notice of his injury. As discussed below, the panel has concluded the judgment should be affirmed. The claimant is forty-five years old and has an eighth grade education. He was employed in the receiving department of Home Depot, responsible for unloading an average of eighteen or nineteen trailers per day. He was so working on Thursday, April 6, 1995, when six or seven doors fell on his left shoulder and neck. He finished his shift and worked through his pain the next day. By Sunday, he could not move his head from side to side and the pain was so severe that he called the assistant manager of the store. The next day, he went to the company doctor, Barrett Rosen. The doctor told him to take off work and so advised the employer through the employee. On June 18th, he told the store's manager he did not want to file for workers' compensation benefits unless he had to, even though the manager knew he was claiming an injury at work. On the same day, the employee visited Dr. Everett Howell, a neurosurgeon, on the referral of Dr. Rosen. Dr. Howell diagnosed a ruptured cervical disc and testified the injury could have been caused by the accident of April 6th, when the doors fell on the claimant. We find in the record no evidence of another possible cause. The trial judge found the injury to have been one arising out of and in the course of employment and that the claimant had a reasonable excuse for his failure to give the required written notice. Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of correctness, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(2). An injury arises out of and in the course of one's employment when there is apparent to the rational mind, upon a consideration of all the circumstances, a causal connection between the conditions under which the work is required to be performed and the resulting injury, and occurs in the course of one's employment if it occurs while an employee is performing a duty he was employed to do. Fink v. Caudle, 856 S.W.2d 952 (Tenn. 1993). In a workers' compensation case, a trial judge may properly predicate an award on medical testimony to the effect that a given incident "could be" the cause of a claimant's injury, when, from other evidence, it may reasonably be inferred that the incident was in fact the cause of the injury. McCaleb v. Saturn Corp., 91 2 Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Irvin Kilcrease,	Davidson County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/25/97