Tommy Freeman v. Madison County Sheriff's Department

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. The issues presented by this appeal are whether the trial court erred in finding that the statutory presumption created by Tenn. Code Ann. _ 7-51-21 applied to plaintiff and whether or not the defendant's medical proof overcame the presumption. The panel concludes that the judgment of the trial court awarding benefits should be reversed and the case dismissed for the reasons stated herein. Thomas Freeman ("plaintiff") was employed by the Madison County Sheriff's Department in 1971. He served as a deputy for a year and then was promoted to the rank of Captain. He stayed in the rank of Captain until 1991, when he was appointed Assistant Chief Deputy. He had been appointed to the position of Chief Deputy at the time of trial. In the early days following his promotion to Captain, plaintiff assumed supervisory duties along with his regular duties. However, as the department grew he began to delegate more of the regular duties and moved into a more supervisory role. With the promotion to Assistant Chief Deputy, he assumed even more of a supervisory and administrative position. Since 1991, his job duties have been primarily that of supervisor and he was not required to go out on patrol or do things such as working on accidents as part of his regular job duties. In November, 1994 plaintiff begin to experience symptoms of a heart attack while sitting at his desk at work. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred on the job either on that day or in the time period before that. He was subsequently treated for a heart attack at a local hospital and was diagnosed with coronary artery disease. He underwent quintuple bypass surgery thereafter. He returned to work on a gradual basis and is now working full time in his former position as Chief Deputy. Plaintiff was fifty-one years old at the time of his heart attack. The medical proof consisted of the testimony of several physicians by deposition, which testimony is summarized as follows: Dr. James Crenshaw, a cardiologist, testified that he was called to the emergency room to examine plaintiff, after plaintiff was admitted complaining of chest pains and suffering from an acute myocardial infarction. Following Dr. Crenshaw's examination, 2