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
Tag: case law
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
Looking Back, Part Two
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Welcome back to the recap of the Appeals Board’s activities for the second half of 2017. Don’t forget that waiver you mentally signed last week. The Reform Act ushered in greater formality and (we hope) fairness into Tennessee workers’ compensation practice via the imposition of, or greater adherence to, … Continue reading Looking Back, Part Two
Looking Back at the 2017 Appeals Board Opinions, Part One
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville I recently promised an article about the Appeals Board’s activities from the second half of 2017. Here it is, in two parts. But first, please read and mentally sign the waiver below. Thanks. Now, before I delve into the cases, 2017 was memorable for the Appeals Board for reasons … Continue reading Looking Back at the 2017 Appeals Board Opinions, Part One
An Overview of 2017 Panel Opinions
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville January is traditionally a time to look back at the past year. In Tennessee workers’ compensation jurisprudence, 2017 marked the first time that Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panels reviewed opinions from the Appeals Board or the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. All told, the Panels released five cases reviewing … Continue reading An Overview of 2017 Panel Opinions
Talking Turkey
By Judge Dale Tipps, Murfreesboro Although my local grocery store was playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, we shouldn’t forget about Thanksgiving. More to the point, we should all be careful to adequately prepare for the hazards of Thanksgiving. I’m not talking about the usual issues of overeating or the general stress of being … Continue reading Talking Turkey
What is the Court Looking for from Physicians?
By Judge Amber Luttrell Lawyers and doctors. We’re a bit of an odd couple, considering the very different training, education and ways of thinking we generally possess. Yet, in the workers’ compensation system, we bring these differences together to (hopefully) ensure that injured workers get the care they need and that employees and employers alike … Continue reading What is the Court Looking for from Physicians?
In Re Labor Day
By Judge Brian Addington, Kingsport As a child, I always dreaded the end of summer. My school granted me three and a half months of freedom and I loved to take every advantage of it. I spent all day outside as often as I could, running from friend’s house to house and totally enjoying myself. … Continue reading In Re Labor Day
Appeals Board Opinions Recap, Part Two
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville Welcome back to our review of Appeals Board decisions for the first half of 2017. Now that we've celebrated the Fourth, it's time to start shopping for back to school, right? Last week, we looked at causation. This post will be about everything else. Turning first to some of … Continue reading Appeals Board Opinions Recap, Part Two
Looking Back at 2017’s Causation Cases — So Far
By Jane Salem, Staff Attorney, Nashville July 1 marks the third year of the effective date of the Reform Act. Happy birthday to the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims; the Appeals Board is a month away from its birthday. July also means the year is already half over, which makes it a suitable time to … Continue reading Looking Back at 2017’s Causation Cases — So Far
If Not Magic Words, Then What?
By Judge Thomas Wyatt, Chattanooga Remember Jack, the beanstalk guy who sold his cow for a pile of magic beans? It got him in trouble. As lawyers, we sometimes want to believe in magic -– especially “magic words.” However, the Appeals Board recently issued a case that dispels that tall tale. As a backdrop, remember … Continue reading If Not Magic Words, Then What?
You gotta eat!
By Judge Audrey Headrick, Chattanooga As a working mom, I’m always thinking about time-saving ways that I can plan ahead for a meal. On a recent drive to work, I thought about my homemade lasagna that everyone in my family loves. Lasagna isn’t hard to make, and I’ve made my recipe so many times that … Continue reading You gotta eat!
Appeals Board decisions from 2016, part two
By Jane Salem Welcome back to my recap of weighty Appeals Board decisions for the second half of 2016. Last week, I looked at a few compensation hearing appeals and started into the vast majority of the Board’s docket these days: expedited hearing appeals. Because there are so many, I won’t mention them all, but … Continue reading Appeals Board decisions from 2016, part two
A look back at the Appeals Board rulings 2016
By Jane Salem, staff attorney, Nashville A very belated Happy New Year to year, and I hope 2017 is starting off well! I recently realized it has been quite some time since I last wrote about the Appeals Boards’ opinions. So, what follows is a two-part recap of some of the more significant Board rulings for … Continue reading A look back at the Appeals Board rulings 2016
In re: ‘Tis the Season for Injuries
By Judge Brian Addington, Kingsport As Christmas music has taken over the radios this time of year, I’ve tried to think of my favorite songs. I wrote a blog post in October about the song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” but it is only one of many favorites. “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night,” “It Came Upon a Midnight … Continue reading In re: ‘Tis the Season for Injuries
From the Bench 