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Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

What Happened in Felix vs. Weber Metals Reconsideration?

Claimant, a school bus driver, suffered muscle spasms and lower back pain attributed to her work, including lifting a nonambulatory child and enduring kicks from an autistic child. After seeking chiropractic and medical treatment, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and permanent disability. The Workers’ Compensation Board, however, only found a minor back strain that had resolved, largely relying on a medical expert who deemed the fibromyalgia a preexisting condition. The claimant appealed for a higher degree of disability, but the Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, finding substantial evidence to support the Board's conclusion that the fibromyalgia was not a causally related disability.

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryFibromyalgiaCausationMedical OpinionDisabilityAppellate ReviewPreexisting ConditionSubstantial EvidenceSchool Bus Driver

References

Case No. 2019-03-0360

Regular Panel Decision

Oct 07, 2019

How Did the WCAB Rule in Hardgrove vs. Intercon Security?

Elman Gonzales, an employee, filed a claim alleging that his hernias arose from lifting a heavy dumpster at work in August 2017. Despite reporting pain and undergoing emergency treatment, initial medical assessments by providers at University General Surgeons did not confirm a work-related hernia or attributed his pain to other sources like a rectus muscle strain. Later, Dr. Roy Frank Roberts identified an inguinal hernia but specifically stated he could not causally link it to Mr. Gonzalez’s work activities due to a significant treatment gap and other non-work-related factors. Consequently, the Court found that Mr. Gonzales failed to provide sufficient medical expert opinion to prove his hernias were work-related, leading to the denial of his requested medical benefits at the expedited hearing.

HerniaWork InjuryCausationMedical EvidenceExpedited HearingDenial of BenefitsTennessee Workers' CompensationUmbilical HerniaInguinal HerniaMedical Expert Opinion

References

Case No. 2016-02-0037

Regular Panel Decision

May 17, 2016

What Did the WCAB Decide in Cuadra vs. Community Home Care?

Jerry Fannon, a sixty-seven-year-old retired employee of Ron’s Millwright Service, Inc., filed a Request for Expedited Hearing seeking temporary disability and medical benefits for an alleged work injury. He claimed to have sustained muscle and joint strains on his first day of employment while lifting a heavy steel propane tank. The employer and its insurance carrier, FCCI Insurance Co., disputed the claim, arguing that Mr. Fannon failed to establish a compensable injury under Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law. The Court found that Mr. Fannon did not provide sufficient evidence, including expert medical evidence, to prove the employment contributed more than fifty percent in causing his alleged injury. Consequently, the Court denied his requests for additional medical and temporary disability benefits at this time.

Workers' CompensationExpedited HearingTemporary DisabilityMedical BenefitsCompensabilityWork InjuryBurden of ProofExpert Medical EvidenceCausationTennessee Law

References

Case No. 2016-08-0701

Regular Panel Decision

Sep 07, 2017

How Were Death Benefits Handled in Bocanegra vs. Sun-Gro Commodities?

Kine Gueye, an employee of Federal Express Corp., sustained a low back injury on April 9, 2015. Federal Express stipulated a compensable low back injury and agreed to provide reasonable medical treatment for it. However, the dispositive issue was whether Ms. Gueye's additional complaints of muscle weakness, paresthesia, dizziness, ataxia, and 'brain compression' causally related to this work injury and entitled her to additional medical and disability benefits. The authorized treating physician, Dr. Arsen Manugian, released Ms. Gueye at maximum medical improvement on June 25, 2015, with no restrictions, attributing her continued low back and leg pain to pre-existing spondylosis. Despite Ms. Gueye's testimony that these symptoms began after her fall, the court found insufficient medical evidence to establish a causal link to the work injury. Consequently, the court denied Ms. Gueye's request for additional medical and temporary or permanent disability benefits for these other complaints, affirming that she is only entitled to future medical treatment from Dr. Manugian for her work-related low back strain.

Workers' Compensation ClaimsCausation DisputeLumbar StrainPre-existing ConditionsMedical Opinion EvidenceDisability Benefits DenialExpedited Hearing OutcomeNeurological SymptomsWorkers' Compensation JudgeTennessee Labor Law

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Can a WCJ Be Disqualified for Appearance of Bias?

This case concerns an appeal from a Workmen's Compensation Board decision filed November 22, 1974. The board had found that prolonged emotional stress and strain contributed to the death of a 50-year-old building manager, whose existing hypertensive cardiovascular disease was exacerbated by the stress. The stress stemmed from a portion of his building's cornice falling, leading to the manager's collapse and subsequent death from a massive intercerebral hemorrhage. Medical experts provided conflicting testimony regarding the causality between the emotional strain and death. However, the Board, exercising its fact-finding powers, accepted the opinion that the emotional strain was an unusual factor contributing to his fatal attack. The appellate court affirmed the Board's decision, concluding it was supported by substantial medical evidence and should not be disturbed.

emotional stresshypertensive cardiovascular diseaseintercerebral hemorrhageworkplace accidentmedical causalitycompensable deathWorkers' Compensation Lawsubstantial evidenceBoard decision affirmedcoronary heart disease

References

Case No. 2019-08-0045

Regular Panel Decision

Sep 14, 2020

What Were the Key Rulings in Torrez vs. SuperShuttle?

Employee Michael Mask, a truck driver, suffered a low back injury at work but was subsequently diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The employer, Hub Group, Inc., provided workers' compensation benefits for the back strain but denied further benefits for conditions related to his cancer, asserting it was not work-related. Mask sought additional medical and disability benefits, arguing his ongoing pain was connected to the work injury. The trial court, Judge Allen Phillips presiding, found Mask only established entitlement to benefits for his low back strain and not for temporary or permanent disability or cancer-related treatment, crediting Dr. Wolf's opinion that his pain stemmed from cancer. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed the trial court's decision, concluding Mask was only entitled to reasonable and necessary future medical care for his low back strain, thereby denying benefits for cancer or additional disability.

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryMultiple MyelomaCausationMedical BenefitsDisability BenefitsTemporary DisabilityPermanent DisabilityAppeals BoardPro Se Litigant

References

Case No. 2018-06-0018

Regular Panel Decision

Jul 26, 2018

Why Was Removal Denied in Rush vs. California Correctional Institution?

Gerald C. Coon, an employee, filed a request for temporary disability and medical benefits after an alleged back injury on September 22, 2017, due to a malfunctioning safety lanyard at Commercial Warehouse and Cartage, Inc. (CWC). Mr. Coon claimed continuous pain and denial of medical treatment by CWC. However, CWC witnesses testified Mr. Coon did not exhibit pain or request medical care until November 19, 2017. The Court found Mr. Coon's testimony not credible. Medical opinions varied, with Dr. Robert Carver, a panel physician, determining Mr. Coon's conditions (degenerative disc disease and lumbosacral radiculopathy) were not work-related. Dr. William M. Gavigan diagnosed a work-related lumbar strain but a non-work-related disc herniation. The Court credited Dr. Gavigan's opinion as most persuasive, confining the compensable injury to a lumbar strain, and found Mr. Coon unlikely to prevail on entitlement to additional medical treatment or temporary disability benefits, as no doctor took him off work for the strain. The Court, therefore, denied Mr. Coon's request for benefits.

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryLumbar StrainDegenerative Disc DiseaseLumbosacral RadiculopathyMedical CausationCredibility AssessmentExpedited HearingTemporary Disability BenefitsMedical Benefits

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Aug 18, 1971

What Did the WCAB Clarify in Ontiveros vs. Savers Stores?

Appeal from a decision of the Workmen’s Compensation Board which allowed a claim for death benefits. The decedent, a principal in the appellant corporation, died from cardiac failure during an emotional discussion about a vault tax assessed against a related corporation and paid by the appellant. The board found that the tax problems arose from decedent's employment with the appellant and that the emotional strain caused his death. The court affirmed the board’s finding that the problems over the vault tax arose out of and during the course of decedent’s employment and that the emotional strain and anxiety from dealing with the tax problems caused decedent’s death.

Death benefitsCardiac failureEmotional strainEmployment-related deathVault taxWorkmen's Compensation Board appealCausationSubstantial evidenceEmployer liability

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Mar 30, 1966

Why Was Reconsideration Denied in Gomez vs. Dorothy Stevens?

A claimant appealed a decision by the Workmen’s Compensation Board denying death benefits for a decedent. The 55-year-old decedent, a trucking terminal manager, died from a myocardial infarction shortly after a heated argument with a truck driver, Joseph Gambino, regarding his work. Dr. Meyers examined the decedent, noting chest pain and an irregular heartbeat before his death. The Board concluded that the decedent's activities did not involve strain greater than that occasionally experienced by all workers, a finding affirmed on appeal based on established precedent regarding emotional strain as accidental injury.

Death BenefitsMyocardial InfarctionEmotional StrainAccidental InjuryCourse of EmploymentWorkers' Compensation LawBoard Decision AffirmedMedical ExaminationCausationWork-Related Argument

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Why Was Reconsideration Dismissed in Sabino vs. Johnson Pump Company?

The Workmen’s Compensation Board determined that emotional stress and strain experienced during employment were causative factors in the claimant's myocardial infarction and subsequent death. The Board concluded that the effort involved a greater degree of emotional strain and tension than what workers are typically subjected to, thus constituting an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of employment, with the death causally related to this injury. The court, acting on an appeal from these decisions, reviewed the findings. Ultimately, the court affirmed the board's determination, citing substantial evidence to support the original findings. Costs were awarded to the respondents who filed briefs against the appellants.

Workers' CompensationMyocardial InfarctionEmotional StressCausationAccidental InjuryCourse of EmploymentSubstantial EvidenceBoard DeterminationAppealAffirmed

References

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Updated Daily

Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

What Happened in Felix vs. Weber Metals Reconsideration?

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryFibromyalgiaCausationMedical OpinionDisabilityAppellate ReviewPreexisting ConditionSubstantial EvidenceSchool Bus Driver

References

Case No. 2019-03-0360

Regular Panel Decision

Oct 07, 2019

How Did the WCAB Rule in Hardgrove vs. Intercon Security?

HerniaWork InjuryCausationMedical EvidenceExpedited HearingDenial of BenefitsTennessee Workers' CompensationUmbilical HerniaInguinal HerniaMedical Expert Opinion

References

Case No. 2016-02-0037

Regular Panel Decision

May 17, 2016

What Did the WCAB Decide in Cuadra vs. Community Home Care?

Workers' CompensationExpedited HearingTemporary DisabilityMedical BenefitsCompensabilityWork InjuryBurden of ProofExpert Medical EvidenceCausationTennessee Law

References

Case No. 2016-08-0701

Regular Panel Decision

Sep 07, 2017

How Were Death Benefits Handled in Bocanegra vs. Sun-Gro Commodities?

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Can a WCJ Be Disqualified for Appearance of Bias?

References

Case No. 2019-08-0045

Regular Panel Decision

Sep 14, 2020

What Were the Key Rulings in Torrez vs. SuperShuttle?

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryMultiple MyelomaCausationMedical BenefitsDisability BenefitsTemporary DisabilityPermanent DisabilityAppeals BoardPro Se Litigant

References

Case No. 2018-06-0018

Regular Panel Decision

Jul 26, 2018

Why Was Removal Denied in Rush vs. California Correctional Institution?

Workers' CompensationBack InjuryLumbar StrainDegenerative Disc DiseaseLumbosacral RadiculopathyMedical CausationCredibility AssessmentExpedited HearingTemporary Disability BenefitsMedical Benefits

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Aug 18, 1971

What Did the WCAB Clarify in Ontiveros vs. Savers Stores?

Death benefitsCardiac failureEmotional strainEmployment-related deathVault taxWorkmen's Compensation Board appealCausationSubstantial evidenceEmployer liability

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Mar 30, 1966

Why Was Reconsideration Denied in Gomez vs. Dorothy Stevens?

Death BenefitsMyocardial InfarctionEmotional StrainAccidental InjuryCourse of EmploymentWorkers' Compensation LawBoard Decision AffirmedMedical ExaminationCausationWork-Related Argument

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Why Was Reconsideration Dismissed in Sabino vs. Johnson Pump Company?

Workers' CompensationMyocardial InfarctionEmotional StressCausationAccidental InjuryCourse of EmploymentSubstantial EvidenceBoard DeterminationAppealAffirmed

References

Showing 1-10 of 136 results

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