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State vs. Sneed 03C01-9610-CR-00371 Originating Judge:Frank L. Slaughter	Sullivan County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
State vs. McDonald 03C01-9611-CR-00414 Originating Judge:R. Steven Bebb	McMinn County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
State vs. Richard McAdams 01C01-9604-CC-00134	Rutherford County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
State vs. Douglas Russell Deloit 01C01-9606-CR-00275 Originating Judge:Fred A. Kelly	Davidson County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
03C01-9611-CR-00429 03C01-9611-CR-00429 Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.	Sullivan County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
State vs. Breeden 03C01-9606-CR-00217 Originating Judge:Ray L. Jenkins	Knox County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
Bunch vs. Cooper 03A01-9705-CV-00154	Knox County	Court of Appeals	09/30/97
State vs. Martha Pennington 01C01-9607-CC-00323 Originating Judge:Leonard W. Martin		Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
James H. Turner vs. State 01C01-9608-CC-00365	Hickman County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/30/97
Christopher v. Sockwell 03S01-9701-CH-00005 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. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment in this case wherein the deceased was found dead in his truck, having died, according to the Certificate of Death, of "natural causes," not otherwise defined. The appellants conceded that the cause of death of their decedent, Mr. Arons, was unknown, and it was essentially upon this basis that the claim for benefits was denied. The surviving dependents of Mr. Arons appeal and present for review the propriety of summary judgment "when a worker is found dead at his post with no proof of the cause of death." Mr. Arons was 44 years old when he died on November 19, 1993. The appellant is his second wife, to whom he was married in 1973. They had one child, Nichole, who was born in 198. Mr. Arons and his first wife had four children. The family was dysfunctional, with the father being completely estranged from these children for a variety of causes, apparently attributable to drug and alcohol abuse. His second marriage was not idyllic; he abused alcohol to the extent he required hospitalization and, on occasion, his wife sought an order of protection. He was an inveterate cigarette smoker -- forty to sixty per day for 15 years -- and his eating habits were unusual in that he ate only one meal--breakfast--each day, snacking on junk food thereafter. His daughter, Nichole, was injured in a serious traffic accident on October 1, 1993 and his request for time-off from work was granted. He returned to work on November 3, 1993 and was found dead in his truck on November 19, 1993. After he returned to work, the decedent performed his duties without incident. He was not required to load, unload, supervise or do anything except drive. He had not engaged in any strenuous activity and had no altercations. He had made no complaints about illness and had never been treated for cardiovascular disease. 2 Authoring Judge: William H. Inman, Senior Judge Originating Judge:Hon. Sharon J. Bell	Knox County	Workers Compensation Panel	09/30/97
Charley Clunan Co. Inc. vs. Joyce Martin 02A01-9704-CH-00087 Originating Judge:C. Neal Small	Shelby County	Court of Appeals	09/29/97
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
Shipley vs. Shipley 03A01-9611-JV-00369	Greene County	Court of Appeals	09/29/97
State vs. Dubose 01S01-9602-CC-00029		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. Gordon 01S01-9605-CC-00084		Supreme Court	09/29/97
William D. Carroll vs. Fred Raney, Warden 02S01-9610-CC-00086		Supreme Court	09/29/97
State DHS vs. Russell 03A01-9701-CV-00002	Hawkins County	Court of Appeals	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
State vs. Dubose 01S01-9602-CC-00029 Originating Judge:Henry Denmark Bell	Williamson County	Supreme Court	09/29/97
McDaniel vs. CSX Transportation, Inc. 01S01-9605-CV-00095		Supreme Court	09/29/97
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
State vs. Michael Davis 02C01-9706-CR-00222	Shelby County	Court of Criminal Appeals	09/26/97