Vickie J. Myers v. Vanderbilt University

This workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(3) (2008) for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. After developing an allergy to latex, a hospital employee filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in the Chancery Court for Davidson County. While the case was pending, the trial court declined to require the employee to submit to an independent medical examination in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-204(d)(1) (Supp. 2009). The trial court conducted a bench trial and determined that the employee’s latex allergy was an occupational disease. The trial court also determined that the employee had a fifteen percent impairment to the body as a whole and awarded her permanent partial disability at fifty percent. The employer has appealed. We have determined that the trial court erred by failing to require the employee to submit to an independent medical examination. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment and remand the case for further proceedings.