The Murfreesboro court (and offices) will be closed for renovations beginning in October. We anticipate the process will take about four months. During this time, all in-person hearings in Judge Tipps’ court will take place at the Rutherford County Courthouse, located at 116 West Lytle Street, Murfreesboro. Parties with cases pending will be notified in … Continue reading MURFREESBORO COURT TEMPORARILY RELOCATES
Tag: hearings
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
Announcing a New, Temporary Location for Chattanooga Trials
By Judge Audrey Headrick, Chattanooga With COVID-19 and the advent of social distancing, we’ve been looking for a better location for Chattanooga regional trials. If you’ve ever visited the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims Chattanooga courtroom, you know it’s a bit “cozy.” Unfortunately, it’s too cozy for us to conduct trials during the pandemic and … Continue reading Announcing a New, Temporary Location for Chattanooga Trials
Workers’ Comp in the Bluegrass State
By Judge Robert V. Durham, Cookeville Back when the world was normal, I traveled to Kentucky to observe how its court conducted workers’ compensation hearings. While anyone who practices workers’ comp in Tennessee would have little difficulty getting up to speed on Kentucky law, they’d encounter several procedural differences that I found very interesting. To … Continue reading Workers’ Comp in the Bluegrass State
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
Calling for your settlement approval or other hearing
As we prepare for the beginning of telephonic settlement approval hearings next week, we’d like to remind you of the telephone numbers our judges and staff use for conference calls, listed below. Location JUDGES Toll-Free Local CHATTANOOGA Audrey Headrick 855-383-0001 423-634-0164 CHATTANOOGA Thomas Wyatt 855-747-1721 615-741-3061 MEMPHIS Rhoberta Orsland 855-543-5045 901-543-2669 MEMPHIS Deana Seymour 866-943-0014 … Continue reading Calling for your settlement approval or other hearing
Changing the Rules
In June 2014, a group of fresh-faced workers’ compensation judges in Tennessee – none of whom had actually heard a case yet – developed a set of rules for the newly minted Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. They relied on their lengthy collective experience as trial attorneys and specialist 4s to come up with a … Continue reading Changing the Rules
Be Prepared!
By Judge Thomas Wyatt, Chattanooga I could’ve named this article as I did because I was a Boy Scout. More pertinent to its purpose, however, I gave it this name because I was a trial attorney for 32 years. The motto resonates with me. I recently did a little research about the famous Scouting motto … Continue reading Be Prepared!
Your Gift to the Court
By Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer, Nashville We are on your "nice" list, right? We suggest that you consider these gift-like actions of counsel in these recent, distinct cases: The parties submitted a joint motion along with a draft order for the Court’s signature. They took it one step further, including a Word version of … Continue reading Your Gift to the Court
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?
But I’m Entitled to One Phone Call, Right?
By Judge Robert Durham, Cookeville Cell phones. The term is so inadequate, it’s almost quaint. To call the portable computer in your purse or attached to your hip a phone is like calling an automobile a portable radio. Today, they are ubiquitous, and frankly it would be foolhardy to practice law without one. However, many … Continue reading But I’m Entitled to One Phone Call, Right?
Appeals Board Issues Opinion Disfavoring Bifurcation
The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board sent a rather forceful message regarding the bifurcation of compensation hearings yesterday in Cotton v. HUMACare, Inc., et al. In a word, don’t. The case involved Karen Cotton’s entitlement to survivor benefits after her husband fell to his death from atop a cell tower on the job for Central … Continue reading Appeals Board Issues Opinion Disfavoring Bifurcation
From the Bench 