By Judge Allen Phillips, Jackson Before becoming our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln was a midwestern prairie lawyer. Handling a variety of cases, it is said his fees were generally in the $5 to $20 range, though he once charged a railroad $5,000 (a fee equal to over $169,000 in today’s dollars) to handle a particularly … Continue reading Learning from Lincoln: The Ethics of Attorney’s Fees
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray It was a pleasure to host the Tennessee Avenue Christian Academy BETA club at the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Gray location on January 22nd. Eight students and two teachers attended the first “Workers’ Comp 101” class. What is that, you ask? It’s a high school/college level one-hour introduction to workers’ … Continue reading Gray welcomes students for Workers’ Comp 101
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville Welcome back once again to our review of last year’s workers’ compensation appellate opinions. This article will summarize the 2019 opinions from the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel. First up are appeals from the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims applying the “new law.” Then I’ll mention a … Continue reading Supreme Court Panel Opinions, 2019
Starting now, parties who wish to appeal an opinion from the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims with the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board may use this new form to initiate the appeal. The new form means the Board is doing away with the two separate forms it currently uses (Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal-LB-1103, and … Continue reading Appeals Board simplifies notice procedure with new form
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville Welcome back to our annual year-in-review series of articles. This post will look at last year’s Appeals Board cases on compensability, defenses, civil procedure, evidence, and fees. Starting with compensability, the Board found no exception to the Coming-and-Going rule in Smith v. Macy’s Corp. Servs. The employee suffered injuries … Continue reading Revisiting 2019 Appeals Board Decisions
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville Happy New Year! It’s become tradition for me to kick things off with a recap of the previous year’s appellate cases. But first, another tradition: the disclaimer. Remember that I’m a staff attorney, and I’m not speaking on behalf of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. What follows is … Continue reading A Look Back at 2019 Appeals Board Opinions
The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation welcomed its newest jurist on Friday, January 17. Pele I. Godkin is now a judge on the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, sitting in Nashville. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle administered the oath at the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Tennessee State Capitol. Photos by Kyle Jones, Bureau … Continue reading It’s official! Welcome, Judge Godkin
The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation will host its annual Physician Education Conference on Saturday, February 29, 2020. This one-day conference will be held at the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation main office in Nashville. 220 French Landing Drive. Among the topics are: Risks of Long Term Opioids Marijuana Update for Tennessee Alternatives to Opioids in … Continue reading Bureau to host Medical Education Conference
Abbie Hudgens, administrator of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, announced today that Gov. Bill Lee has appointed a new Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board Judge, Pele Godkin. Ms. Godkin is a former workers’ compensation specialist in what was then called the Division of Workers’ Compensation in both the Nashville and Murfreesboro offices. In 2008 she … Continue reading Governor Lee Appoints new Appeals Board Judge
For Holidays: December 24, 25 and 31, 2019; and January 1 and 20, 2020. For a Judges’ meeting: January 9 (Except in Nashville) and January 10 statewide.
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims, Nashville When Judge Marshall L. Davidson, III, reported for his first day as presiding judge of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, he entered the building and asked the guards how to find the appellate court clerk’s office. They looked puzzled and told him there … Continue reading Good Bye and Good Luck, Judge Davidson
The film “Field of Dreams” launched the phrase, “If you build it, they will come.” We hope our dream is realized with new settlement approval locations, set to begin in 2020. In a previous post, we announced new locations in Clarksville and Dresden. We asked that anyone who is interested in taking advantage of these … Continue reading If you build it…
By Judge Lisa Lowe. Knoxville Yes, just like the Byrds told us, to everything there is a season. (By the way, they stole that from King Solomon; apparently his copyright had expired.) You might ask, dear readers, “Which season is it now? Is it winter or the holiday season?” No, friends…it’s the season to check … Continue reading To Everything, There is a Season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
By Judge Deana Seymour, Memphis Have you noticed the recent popularity of escape rooms? You know – those games where a team, confined to a room, studies the clues and tries to escape? If the team follows the clues, the escape occurs without a hitch. But sometimes a missed clue along the way prevents release. … Continue reading Getting in — and out — of the game
By Judge Dale Tipps, Murfreesboro I usually get nervous when I receive an email titled “friendly reminder,” because it’s often a euphemism for “final warning.” This post isn’t intended as a warning, final or otherwise. However, I’ve noticed some settlement approval concerns over the past few months. Below are some ways to avoid future “friendly … Continue reading Some Friendly Reminders
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 … Continue reading Coming soon to a courtroom near you
On Monday, the Appeals Board released its opinion in Sharee Clay v. Signature Healthcare. The Board heard argument in the case on Oct. 1. It affirmed Judge Joshua Davis Baker’s compensation hearing order. The case asked the Board to consider the trial court’s decision to exclude Signature Healthcare’s expert testimony as hearsay, finding that counsel … Continue reading Appeals Board issues opinion on competing experts
Today the Appeals Board affirmed a trial court decision denying a motion in limine that sought to exclude an expert’s deposition testimony because the physician had no training in use of the AMA Guides and stated at one point that she could not recall how she arrived at her rating. In Ailshie v. TN Farm … Continue reading Appeals Board affirms opinion on admissibility of ‘self-taught’ expert’s testimony, clarifies discovery rights
The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has appointed its inaugural position for the new Next Step Program. Marion Southall White was hired as the first Vocational Recovery Specialist for the Next Step Program. Marion comes from a career development background with the Institute for Career Development for the United Steelworkers. She brings years of manufacturing … Continue reading Next Step Program Specialist Announced
Today the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board reversed a trial court order allowing an employee to have his own physician “present” by electronic means at an independent medical examination. Read the opinion here.
