By Chris Acuff, Statistical Research Analyst

As part of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims’ ongoing efforts to assess the hearing and settlement process, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation distributed a brief questionnaire that attorneys and self-represented parties should have received within the last two weeks. This survey is similar to the one that many of you completed last year and will be used to assess customers’ experiences with our judges from March 2018 to February 2019.

This year, we again ask you to assess judges based on five key attributes: legal ability; written decisions; temperament; diligence; and impartiality. We’re asking you to provide a fair and honest evaluation based on these factors and hope that you will take this opportunity to provide valuable feedback as we compare the results to last year’s benchmarks.

To ensure the integrity and confidentiality of your responses, be assured that submissions are anonymous and surveys will not be used to identify any individual attorney or firm. The surveys you receive will be unique to each judge depending on the case(s) tried or settled over the last year, but no personally-identifying information will be asked or recorded. Additionally, results will be compiled by me; Court staff and judges will only see aggregate results once the survey is completed. We hope that this process will alleviate any concerns you might have regarding confidentiality and will encourage you to participate in this vital assessment.

For those of you who have already completed the survey, thank you. For those of you who still wish to provide feedback, we ask that you complete the survey(s) and return them by this Friday, May 3. We want to make sure that every opinion is recorded, so we’re extending the deadline another week.

Thanks for your participation in this important evaluation. We look forward to your feedback.