The Appeals Board will hear three cases via TEAMS on October 23, so observing the proceedings could not be any easier. All three cases involve compensation orders.

At 9:00 a.m. Eastern/8:00 a.m. Central Time, counsel will argue Vanderford v. E.S. Dockery Co., a heart-attack death case where compensability (medical causation) is disputed, as well as whether an ex-stepdaughter is a dependent, and the propriety of a lump-sum, one-time attorney’s fee.

Then at 10:00 a.m. Eastern/9:00 Central Time, Leavell v. RCT Memphis, TN, P.C. is up, presenting the issues of whether the trial court erred by finding that the employee rebutted the presumption of correctness afforded to the treating physician’s medical causation opinion, and by disregarding a later intervening event—the employee’s daughter ran into his injured knee with a hoverboard.

Finally, in McCool v. Professional Care Services, the Board will consider a post-settlement dispute where an employee sought a second opinion after the authorized doctor recommended surgery. The trial court ordered the employer to provide the second opinion and pay employee’s attorney’s fees, and the employer appealed. Midstream, the Board issued this opinion vacating the fee award, which prompted the trial court to deny the fee request. Employee’s counsel appealed. This case kicks off at 11:00 a.m. Eastern/10:00 a.m. Central.

The docket is here.