By Judge Brian Addington, Kingsport It was 1751, and Francis Blandy was suspicious. As a loving father, Blandy suspected that Captain William Henry Cranstoun, his daughter's fiance, was already married. When Cranstoun left England to return to Scotland to have his previous marriage annulled, Blandy felt better about the situation. But as the months passed, … Continue reading Of love and other poisons
Tag: case law
Guest Blogger: An Intro to Occupational Diseases
As the title explains, below is a guest submission. It is meant to inform and offer her interpretation of the law. By Allison Lowry At this year’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, the Bureau celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the enactment of workers’ compensation laws in Tennessee. Among the numerous topics featured at the … Continue reading Guest Blogger: An Intro to Occupational Diseases
Put Me in, Coach–I’m ready to play (Oh, Wait, I Can’t)
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray Well, we’re in summer now, and what time is it? Baseball time. By the way, I’m a Braves fan; isn’t everybody? There’s just something about baseball as the perfect way to get folks together on a hot summer evening. Speaking of baseball, playing it in college remains one of my … Continue reading Put Me in, Coach–I’m ready to play (Oh, Wait, I Can’t)
Oral arguments revisit willful misconduct under Mitchell
By Sarah Byrne, staff attorney, Nashville The Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel, Middle Section, heard arguments on March 25 in Corey Bunton v. Sanderson Pipe Corp., a willful misconduct case appealed from the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. From the employee-appellant’s perspective, the Bunton facts illustrate what the Mitchell dissent predicted: the four-factor … Continue reading Oral arguments revisit willful misconduct under Mitchell
Who Let the Dogs Out?
By Judge Audrey Headrick, Chattanooga After reading Judge Brian Addington’s post about “The Lovable, Stubborn Mule,” I felt compelled to write about man’s best friend—dogs. I have to admit that I wasn’t always enamored with dogs. When I was a small child, I was bitten in an unprovoked attack by a bulldog. I thought I … Continue reading Who Let the Dogs Out?
The Loveable, Stubborn Mule
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray When I was a little boy, we had a friend who owned a farm. We visited often because the farm was on our way to church. One day, the farmer asked my brother if he wanted to ride his mule. My brother agreed, so the farmer brought out the mule. … Continue reading The Loveable, Stubborn Mule
Panel upholds constitutionality of law foreclosing undocumented workers’ eligibility for increased PPD
Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-207(3)(F) does not allow additional permanent partial disability benefits to undocumented workers. An injured worker challenged the law in the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims, but the trial court determined it had no authority to determine the facial constitutionality of a statute. Yesterday the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers' Compensation Appeals … Continue reading Panel upholds constitutionality of law foreclosing undocumented workers’ eligibility for increased PPD
Panel to clarify perm total analysis
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville Did the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board err by using the “meaningful return to work” analysis in determining the propriety of an award of permanent total disability benefits, when that analysis traditionally applies to permanent partial disability benefits? The Special Workers’ Compensation Panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court will … Continue reading Panel to clarify perm total analysis
Supreme Court adopts Appeals Board decision on permanent partial disability benefits
Yesterday, the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed an award of permanent partial disability benefits in Batey v. Deliver This, Inc. The high court reviewed an opinion from the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Appeals Board holding that the trial court erred when it held that the employee's "pre-injury occupation" on the Physician Certification Form to mean the employee’s … Continue reading Supreme Court adopts Appeals Board decision on permanent partial disability benefits
Recapping the Supreme Court Panel Opinions 2018
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville I recently wrote a three-part series on the Appeals Board’s work last year, briefly summarizing dozens of appellate opinions. In contrast, in 2018, the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel decided just eight post-Reform Act cases, along with many more “old law” opinions. It’s likely that the “new … Continue reading Recapping the Supreme Court Panel Opinions 2018
Still more Appeals Board Opinions from 2018
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Hello again. In the last post, I promised a discussion of 2018’s significant evidence opinions from the Appeals Board, along with civil procedure cases, and, well, everything else. Starting with evidence, a pair of cases discussed the admissibility of the C-32 Standard Form Medical Report. In Watson v. Catlett … Continue reading Still more Appeals Board Opinions from 2018
Revisiting the Appeals Board 2018 Opinions
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Welcome back to my recap of 2018 Appeals Board cases. In the last post, I highlighted some of the major opinions involving causation. In this edition, I’ll remind of the cases involving medical and disability benefits and defenses. Don’t forget to read the full-text of every case. I’ve given … Continue reading Revisiting the Appeals Board 2018 Opinions
Looking back at the Appeals Board’s 2018 Opinions
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Happy New Year! Following tradition, it’s an appropriate time to look back at last year’s Appeals Board opinions in a series of blog posts. This post will recap the opinions on causation. The next will look at medical, temporary and permanent disability benefits, and defenses. After that, we’ll focus … Continue reading Looking back at the Appeals Board’s 2018 Opinions
Life is a highway
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray I can still remember when the first Cars movie came out. I was excited because I thought my son, who was three at the time, would love it. Sure enough he did, and eventually he decorated his room with Cars memorabilia. His love of the Cars movies led to a love … Continue reading Life is a highway
Better Get it in Writing: A Few Takeaways
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Judge Robert Durham’s most recent blog post generated comments from court reporters, which deserve some follow-up. So here goes. [Official Disclaimer and Apology: These are the musings of a staff attorney, rather than official pronouncements of law from the Court. OK? Good. Also, unlike Judge Durham, I’m incapable of … Continue reading Better Get it in Writing: A Few Takeaways
Panel probes undocumented workers’ eligibility for increased benefits
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville Can undocumented injured workers collect increased permanent partial disability benefits in Tennessee under section 50-6-207(3)(B)? A Special Workers’ Compensation Panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court considered that question at oral arguments on November 19. Employee Salvador Sandoval asked the Panel to strike as unconstitutional the provision within the statute … Continue reading Panel probes undocumented workers’ eligibility for increased benefits
It’s not that funny
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray I like having fun. Through the years, I’ve had some great times with friends and family. I won’t tell who, but another judge on the Court of Worker’s Compensation Claims and I almost got thrown out of the University of Tennessee Law Library because our study group was laughing so … Continue reading It’s not that funny
Look, Ma, I’m on the World Wide Web!
By Judge Robert Durham, Cookeville In my early days as a lawyer, I would often take up quill and parchment and walk next door to the Legal Aid office where I could obtain my own personal legal charity—access to an honest-to-goodness law library. Ah, the good old days. Row upon row of casebooks, digests, and … Continue reading Look, Ma, I’m on the World Wide Web!
Rough as cob, sweet as corn
By Judge Brian Addington, Gray As summer winds up, soon we’ll be saying farewell to fresh corn on the cob. Sigh. I love corn: corn on the cob, popcorn, grilled corn with cheese, creamed corn, and plain old frozen or canned corn. My Nana could cook the heck out of corn. I used to fight … Continue reading Rough as cob, sweet as corn
Stick with the old reliables
By Judge Audrey Headrick, Chattanooga Do you love Wikipedia? Perhaps you’re a loyal reader of The Onion? Maybe you even cite to Wikipedia in briefs as a source for medical diagnoses/procedures or utilize it as a dictionary to define terms? If so, I have three cautionary words for you: Don’t. Do. It! Yes, I know … Continue reading Stick with the old reliables
