By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville
Since the creation of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims in 2014, we have held all our settlement approvals and trials in our eight locations around the state. For more information about these locations and their individual procedures, click here. We soon realized that some of these locations are long distances from where injured workers live, while large portions of the state seemed under-served.
In 2018, the judges of the 22nd Judicial District permitted us to use Maury County courtrooms for settlement approvals. This pilot program worked well, and now each month, Judge Dale Tipps approves 15-20 settlements in Maury County. Contact Patsy Bumbalough at 615-848-6743 to schedule appointments there.
In 2019, Hamblen County judges allowed us to use their courtroom for settlement approvals. Judge Addington appears there on the first Wednesday of every month and likewise approves 15-20 settlements. Call 423-854-5160 for scheduling there.
This left upper-west Tennessee and upper-middle Tennessee without local settlement approval locations, requiring attorneys and injured workers to travel to Jackson or Nashville for approvals and trials. We’re pleased to announce that beginning January of 2020, this will change.
The 27th Judicial District has agreed to open its courtroom in Weakley County (Dresden) on the third Thursday of each month. Those dates will be January 16, February 20, March 19, April 16, May 21, and June 18 for the first six months of 2020. Settlements will be by appointment only from the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Contact Tina Woods at 731-426-0837 in Jackson to schedule court appearances there.
Likewise, the judges of the 19th Judicial District have opened their Clarksville Courtroom 406 for settlements and trials on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of each month. For the first six months of 2020, those dates will be: January 8, February 5, March 4, April 8, May 6, and June 3. Settlements will be by appointment from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. To schedule them, contact Brooke Griffith at the Nashville office at 615-253-6769.
Our goal is to make the Court easily accessible to local injured workers and the lawyers involved in their cases for settlements and trials. Further, to the practicing bar, consider this a call for your input, and let us know if you believe other locations might be helpful for you, your clients and other parties and counsel.
We thank the judges of the various judicial districts for allowing us access to their courtrooms.
From the Bench 