Dix, Jr., Jimmy v. Nyrstar Clarksville, Inc.

2021 TN WC 222
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedSeptember 2, 2021
Docket2020-06-0716
StatusPublished

This text of 2021 TN WC 222 (Dix, Jr., Jimmy v. Nyrstar Clarksville, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dix, Jr., Jimmy v. Nyrstar Clarksville, Inc., 2021 TN WC 222 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2021).

Opinion

FILED Sep 02, 2021 12:21 PM(CT) TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT NASHVILLE

Jimmy Dix, Jr., ) Docket No. 2020-06-0716 Employee, ) ) State File No. 41018-2019 v. ) Nyrstar Clarksville, Inc., ) Judge Kenneth M. Switzer Self-Insured Employer. )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER

This case came before the Court on August 23, 2021, for an expedited hearing. The issues are Jimmy Dix, Jr.’s entitlement to additional medical and temporary disability benefits. He asserted that the authorized treating physician, Dr. Kurtis Kowalski, did not treat an injured hamstring but rather his preexisting osteoarthritis. Nyrstar Clarksville, Inc. countered that the doctor treated him for both conditions until placing him at maximum medical improvement. For the reasons below, the Court agrees with Mr. Dix and grants the requested medical benefits but denies temporary disability benefits at this time.

Claim History

Mr. Dix alleged that he injured his right hamstring while changing a pump for Nyrstar on April 4, 2019. Nyrstar offered a panel, and he chose an urgent care clinic.

The doctor there ordered an MRI of his knee, which revealed a “full-thickness tear of the distal biceps femoris tendon with approximately 3 cm of retraction of the tendon margin” and osteoarthritis in the knee.1 The doctor referred him to an orthopedist, and Mr. Dix chose Dr. Kowalski from a panel.

Mr. Dix saw Dr. Kowalski three times, and according to Mr. Dix, he did not treat his hamstring tear but focused only on his knee arthritis. At the first visit, Dr. Kowalski

1 The medical proof showed that the tear was a hamstring tear, so the Court will refer to it in that manner.

1 diagnosed “right knee arthritis with probable biceps strain.” He injected the knee, and prescribed Mobic. The diagnosis at the next visit was “right knee arthritis with underlying muscle strain,” and Dr. Kowalski ordered physical therapy. The physical therapy order states: “reason: primary osteoarthritis of right knee.” Mr. Dix underwent the physical therapy, which he testified was almost exclusively geared toward his knee.

At the final visit on August 9, 2019, Dr. Kowalski diagnosed “muscle strain with preexisting aggravation of underlying arthritis.” He placed Mr. Dix at maximum medical improvement “in regards to the muscle strain,” writing that “greater than 50% of his symptoms he is currently experiencing is due to the underlying arthritis of the knee.” He removed all restrictions and wrote that Mr. Dix may return as needed.

Afterward, Mr. Dix told Nyrstar’s plant nurse that he needed to see another doctor. She responded that Dr. Kowalski had placed him at maximum medical improvement and would not change his mind. According to Mr. Dix, she then told him he could see “any doctor he wanted.”

Mr. Dix then went on his own to Dr. Philip Karpos, a physician he had seen since 2015 for his knees.

At the first visit, Dr. Karpos noted preexisting osteoarthritis in the knees but also said the “April 2019 injury represent[s] a significant hamstring tear.” He recommended physical therapy for “hamstring strengthening.” He took Mr. Dix off work until October 4, 2019, and then Mr. Dix could work with restrictions of sitting work only. Mr. Dix did not undergo physical therapy for hamstring strengthening, because the workers’ compensation carrier did not approve it.

Mr. Dix testified that he again spoke with the plant nurse, who suggested another opinion, adding that she would arrange it. Mr. Dix attended an employer’s examination with Dr. Chad Price, whose opinions mostly mirrored those of Dr. Kowalski. Dr. Price did not mention whether he considered Dr. Karpos’s post-injury records.2

At a return visit in January 2020, Dr. Karpos again diagnosed a right hamstring tear. He wrote, “While I do not disagree that the patient has severe underlying arthritis, his work history demonstrates that he functioned at a high level despite his arthritis until his April 4, 2019, injury.” Dr. Karpos continued, “He had significant and sudden deterioration with his April 2019 injury, which was [a] demonstrated hamstring tear on MRI. In my opinion, the patient’s arthritis is not related to his work related injury, but his current deterioration

2 Dr. Kowalski signed a declaration repeating his conclusions and willingness to see Mr. Dix again in support of Nyrstar’s motion for summary judgment, which the Court heard but deferred ruling upon. In light of the conclusions reached in this order, the Court finds it appropriate to rule on that motion when Mr. Dix completes treatment.

2 from work function is related to his injury/hamstring tear.” Dr. Karpos wrote an addendum a few days later, stating:

[T]he sequelae of the patient’s hamstring injury causing some posterior knee discomfort are in my opinion permanent. . . . The injury was in my opinion greater than 50% responsible for him being unable to return to work; however, in my opinion, the injury is not responsible for the osteoarthritis involving the right knee.

Mr. Dix testified that he asked Dr. Karpos to complete a Form C-32 and paid the fee, but the doctor, under the direction of an office manager, refused to do so because he did not see Mr. Dix as a workers’ compensation patient.3

However, Dr. Karpos was willing to respond to a letter from Nyrstar’s attorney, in which Nyrstar asked, “While you felt [Mr. Dix] could benefit from aggressive hamstring therapy, you do not dispute Dr. Kowalski’s and Dr. Price’s finding that anatomically, he was at maximum medical improvement as of August 9, 2019, correct?” Dr. Karpos checked “yes.”4

Mr. Dix testified he has neither worked nor received temporary disability benefits since August 10, 2019. He does not believe he would pass a “fit for duty” examination and said he cannot do his job because it requires frequent stair climbing. He further stated that the witnesses Nyrstar disclosed before the hearing could have supported his request, but they did not appear. Mr. Dix did not subpoena them.

Mr. Dix requested that the Court order Nyrstar to pay for a return to either the urgent care physician or designate Dr. Karpos as the authorized treating physician. He also requested temporary disability benefits.5 He repeatedly contended that Dr. Kowalski only treated his preexisting arthritis and not the hamstring tear.

3 As explained in an April 26, 2021 status hearing order, Dr. Karpos may complete form C-32. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-235(c)(1) (“Any party may introduce direct testimony from a physician[.]”) (2020). The statute does not state that only physicians who are authorized under workers’ compensation may complete the form. 4 The three-page letter contains eight paragraphs of background information. Mr. Dix objected to the letter’s admissibility. The Court admitted it into evidence as a signed medical record. See Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 0800-02-21.-15(2) (August, 2019). The Court gives the letter little weight, as it contains hearsay, leading questions, and misstatements of law. For example, Nyrstar wrote in the letter that Dr. Karpos’s opinion on medical necessity is presumed correct. It is not, because Mr. Dix did not choose Dr. Karpos from a panel. 5 Mr. Dix additionally seeks lifetime medical benefits, which the Court may not award at an expedited hearing. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1).

3 Nyrstar countered that it has provided all the benefits to which Mr. Dix is entitled. It asserted that Dr. Kowalski appropriately treated the work-related “muscle strain” and that Dr.

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Related

§ 50-6-204
Tennessee § 50-6-204(a)(3)(A)(i)
§ 50-6-235
Tennessee § 50-6-235(c)(1)
§ 50-6-239
Tennessee § 50-6-239(d)(1)

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Bluebook (online)
2021 TN WC 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dix-jr-jimmy-v-nyrstar-clarksville-inc-tennworkcompcl-2021.