By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville There’s no place like home. Some people have to travel far from home for a settlement approval. Over the years, the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims has secured remote locations to hold settlement approval hearings. We’ve done this because our judges are located in eight cities across the … Continue reading In Re: Residents of Montgomery, Stewart, and Houston Counties
Category: Hon. Kenneth M. Switzer
Memphis Settlements: The Sequel
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville As Top Gun: Maverick has shown, sometimes a sequel can be a huge hit and even more successful than the original. We’re hoping for the same with this article. After publishing yesterday’s blog about an adjustment in the Memphis settlement process, we learned that some misunderstanding occurred in … Continue reading Memphis Settlements: The Sequel
Memphis Settlements: New Process and a Satellite Location
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville Memphis, Nashville, and Murfreesboro conduct the most settlement approvals in Tennessee. Memphis has presented difficulties for some time now with providing enough settlement times to accommodate the large volume. The location and accessibility of the Memphis office unfortunately complicate the matter. We’ve long heard stories of difficulty finding … Continue reading Memphis Settlements: New Process and a Satellite Location
Court Adopts Interpreter Protocol
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville [Note: Yesterday we posted an article about interpretation in the Court. It was in German. How frustrated did that make you feel if you don't read German? Some of you sent emails or made comments asking for help. Some of you thought we'd hit the wrong button. We didn’t. But did it make you … Continue reading Court Adopts Interpreter Protocol
Gerichtshof verabschiedet AuslegungsprotokollGerichtshof nimmt Auslegung an
Von Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville Im vergangenen November veröffentlichten wir einen Artikel über die Bedeutung der richtigen Interpretation während der Gerichtsverhandlungen - nicht nur Vergleiche, sondern auch beschleunigte Anhörungen und Entschädigungsanhörungen. Zuvor haben wir einige hybride Interpretationen zugelassen. Wir haben Konversationsdolmetschen, Simultanübersetzungen und geteilte Dolmetschungen erlaubt (bei denen der Mitarbeiter teilweise seine Sprache … Continue reading Gerichtshof verabschiedet AuslegungsprotokollGerichtshof nimmt Auslegung an
Remember to Set Approvals at Remote Locations
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville A quick reminder that the Court returns to in-person settlements this week across the state at our regional courtrooms. In addition, we remind of the following remote locations, with dates and contact information. Judge Addington: Hamblen County, first Wednesday each month from 9 a.m. Eastern Time to noon … Continue reading Remember to Set Approvals at Remote Locations
Returning to In-Person Settlements
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville The days are numbered for telephone settlement approvals. In just a few short weeks, we’ll return to in-person settlement approvals, on April 4, 2022. We announced this previously and promised a more detailed article once we ironed out the wrinkles. So here we go. In-person is the rule; … Continue reading Returning to In-Person Settlements
Amended rules take effect NOW
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville The Workers’ Compensation Law grants the administrator rule-making authority. That authority extends to the rules governing the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and Alternative Dispute Resolution. As we’ve promised, we review those rules constantly and make amendments to them about every two years. The last amendments were effective … Continue reading Amended rules take effect NOW
COVID, the Greek Alphabet, and Settlements
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville Reportedly, I’m of Greek heritage. I don’t speak Greek, and I don’t know the Greek alphabet. But if it has the same number of letters as the English alphabet, we’ve at least reached the fifteenth letter. (Does that mean when we get to Zeta, the pandemic must be … Continue reading COVID, the Greek Alphabet, and Settlements
Second Verse, Same as the First
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville We’ve tried this once before. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is a well-known phrase. I thought, where did that phrase originate? It’s amazing how a search of this phrase is attributed to different people: Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland in 1314 (picture Mel … Continue reading Second Verse, Same as the First
In Re: Accurate, Quality Court Interpretation
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville The Bureau’s annual educational conference took place two weeks ago and always produces several hidden gems. One that I found most intriguing was the session on interpretation. Interpreters have become an important part of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims over the last seven years. During that time, … Continue reading In Re: Accurate, Quality Court Interpretation
Surprised by Hope
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville “Surprised by Hope” is a book by well-known theologian, Tom Wright. An interesting read if you’re so inclined. I, too, am “surprised by hope"--the hope that someday soon we can get back to the normality of in-person settlements. That normality seems to be ever-moving forward, as the virus … Continue reading Surprised by Hope
Court Adopts New COVID-19 Order
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville In May of 2020, the Court issued a COVID-19 order that set standards for attending in-person hearings and trials. Those standards echoed the then-known risks of exposure to COVID-19 being identified by the medical community. Since that time, the exposure risks have been more clearly defined. For instance, … Continue reading Court Adopts New COVID-19 Order
Open for Comments and Questions
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville In previous years, I’ve made it a practice to travel across Tennessee to gather comments and answer questions from the public and practicing bar about the state of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. These meetings have been referred to as “Listening Tours” and “Coffee with the Court.” … Continue reading Open for Comments and Questions
Looking Back on 2020
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville Today is the first day of winter, and just a few days remain in the year. Much has been said about 2020, and understandably the theme overall has ranged from disappointment to sorrow. It’s been a year for reflection and reevaluating priorities. As a Court, we strived … Continue reading Looking Back on 2020
Guidance as in-person hearings resume
By Chief Judge Kenneth Switzer, Nashville “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t.” --Thomas Edison Right now, we’re all … Continue reading Guidance as in-person hearings resume
The Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and Settlement Approvals–Optimistic but Cautious
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville We are now completing our fifth week of all telephonic settlement approvals. As a previous post stated, the hearings are going very well. The Governor has now relaxed the stay-at-home directive. Attempts are being made to restart businesses and return to “normal” while keeping some common-sense restrictions in … Continue reading The Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and Settlement Approvals–Optimistic but Cautious
Updates from the Trial Court and Appeals Board
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville “Workers’ compensation is a very important field of the law, if not the most important. It touches more lives than any other field of the law. It involves the payments of huge sums of money. The welfare of human beings, the success of businesses, and the pocketbooks of … Continue reading Updates from the Trial Court and Appeals Board
Staying the Course
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville We’re working remotely but still doing our best to provide top-notch customer service in line with the mission statement of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. Just yesterday, Governor Lee announced that state employees who are currently working from home should continue doing so through April 24. So … Continue reading Staying the Course
Weathering the storm
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville As you all know, we recently experienced business interruption at the Nashville office due to the tornado. Comparatively speaking, this was just a minor inconvenience. Many people lost everything, and 25 persons lost their lives. When we look at things in those terms, we realize that missing a … Continue reading Weathering the storm
From the Bench 