Frizzell, Anthony v. Tin Roof Acquisition Co., LLC

2018 TN WC 126
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedAugust 13, 2018
Docket2018-06-0636
StatusPublished

This text of 2018 TN WC 126 (Frizzell, Anthony v. Tin Roof Acquisition Co., LLC) 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
Frizzell, Anthony v. Tin Roof Acquisition Co., LLC, 2018 TN WC 126 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

FILED Aug 13, 2018 10:35 AM(CT) TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS

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

Anthony Frizzell, ) Docket No. 2018-06-0636 Employee, ) v. ) Tin Roof Acquisition Co., LLC, ) State File No. 87883-2018 Employer, ) And ) ZNAT Insurance, ) Judge Kenneth M. Switzer Carrier. )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER

This case came before the Court on August 9, 2018, on Anthony Frizzell's Request for Expedited Hearing. The present issues are whether Mr. Frizzell's current need for surgery relates to the original work-related injury and whether he is entitled to temporary partial disability benefits. The Court holds that his present need for surgery is a direct and natural consequence of the original work-related injury and he is entitled to surgery. However, on the present record Mr. Frizzell did not satisfy his burden to show entitlement to temporary disability benefits.

History of Claim

Mr. Frizzell worked as security manager for Tin Roof, a bar in downtown Nashville. On October 28, 2017, he injured his head, shoulders and neck at work during an altercation with several customers. Tin Roof did not offer any evidence or argument contesting the work-relatedness of the October 28 incident and Mr. Frizzell's resulting mJunes.

Regarding his entitlement to temporary partial disability benefits, Mr. Frizzell received authorized care from Dr. Steven Strickland, a neurologist, for his head injury. According to Mr. Frizzell's affidavit, Dr. Strickland "recommended that I should only be allowed to work jobs that were light duty and not be exposed to hazardous situations." However, Mr. Frizzell did not introduce medical records documenting the treatment,

1 restrictions, or their duration. Mr. Frizzell testified that Dr. Strickland placed restrictions but he could not recall any specifics. In December, Tin Roof offered light-duty work checking IDs at the door, but Mr. Frizzell declined.

Later, Tin Roof offered a panel of orthopedists, and Mr. Frizzell chose Dr. Blake Garside for his shoulder injury. Dr. Garside performed surgery in early June 2018 described as a "right shoulder arthroscopy with debridement, SAD, and biceps tenodesis." During his recovery, Mr. Frizzell slipped in the shower on July 7 while reaching for a towel with his left hand. As he fell, he instinctively extended his right arm to balance himself and felt a sudden "pop."

Neither party introduced treatment records. Rather, the parties agreed to introduce only one set of notes from a post-op visit on July 11 and Dr. Garside's response to a letter from Tin Roofs counsel asking a limited causation question.

The notes from the follow-up visit stated that Mr. Frizzell reported slipping in the shower and he "grabbed instinctively" with his right arm to catch his fall, re-injuring the arm. Dr. Garside wrote that his exam findings that day were "consistent with [the] rupture/failure of his right biceps tenodesis. This likely occurred secondary to his fall in the shower on Saturday, July 7." The doctor recommended surgery to repair the injury.

The next day, Tin Roof sent Dr. Garside a letter asking about causation for Mr. Frizzell's right biceps rupture and its relationship to the work-related injury of October 28, 2017. The specific question appears in the letter as follows:

In your expert medical opinion, due to the "increased pain complaints" and "obvious popeye deformity" noted by you on July 11, 2018, following a reported "slip in the shower" and acute pain complaints, and any and all other information you feel to be germane, did the work incident from October 28, 2017, contribute more than fifty percent (50%) in causing the right biceps rupture reported to you on July 11, 2018?

Below the question were blanks for the doctor to choose "yes" or "no." Dr. Garside selected neither and instead wrote "The current deformity & failure of the tenodesis is 'l to his slip/fall on 7/9/18."

2 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Mr. Frizzell need not prove every element of his claim by a preponderance of the evidence to obtain relief at an expedited hearing. Instead, he must present sufficient ~ evidence that he is likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50- 6-239(d)(l) (2017); McCord v. Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *7-8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015).

Medical Benefits

At the hearing Tin Roof did not dispute that Mr. Frizzell's injuries arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment. See Tenn. Code Ann.§ 50-6-102(14). Likewise, it did not dispute that the October 28 work injury caused the need for the original shoulder surgery. Tin Roof only questioned whether there-injury and need for additional surgery related to the October 28 incident. In other words, is the rupture/failure of his right biceps tenodesis a direct and natural consequence from the initial injury, or did an independent, intervening cause lead to the need for surgery?

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board adopted longstanding Tennessee law in Lee v. W Plastics, 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 53 (Oct. 20, 2016), when it held that "in Tennessee, the general rule is that a subsequent injury, whether in the form of an aggravation of the original injury or a new and distinct injury, is compensable if it is the direct and natural result of a compensable injury." !d. at *6 (citation omitted). The rule provides that when the primary injury is shown to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, every natural consequence that flows from the injury likewise arises out of the employment. !d. at *6-7. However, the rule has limits. Tennessee courts have consistently applied the principle that, in order for an employee's actions to constitute an independent, intervening incident sufficient to break the chain of causation, there must be negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct on the part of the employee. !d. at * 10 (emphasis added).

Here, Tin Roof argued that "the recommended surgery and current right shoulder condition is not primarily related to the incident at issue." It relied on Dr. Garside's characterization that the need for surgery was "secondary to the slip and fall" in July 2018.

The Court disagrees. Considering Dr. Garside's statement in the context of both the July 11 treatment notes and the causation letter, he clearly believes the re-injury and need for surgery was the result of Mr. Frizzell's slip in the shower. However, this Court is unwilling to characterize a slip in the shower-a purely accidental occurrence while engaging in customary personal hygiene-as negligent, reckless or intentional conduct on Mr. Frizzell's behalf constituting an independent, intervening cause under the Workers' Compensation Law. Therefore, his resulting need for surgery to repair the re-injured

3 shoulder was a direct and natural consequence of the original, primary injury-producing event: the injuries Mr. Frizzell suffered breaking up a fight at work. The Court holds that Tin Roof must authorize the surgery and follow-up care.

Temporary Disability Benefits

Turning now to Mr. Frizzell's request for temporary partial disability benefits, an injured worker may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits when the temporary disability resulting from a work-related injury is not total. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-207(1)-(2).

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Related

§ 50
Tennessee § 50
§ 50-6-102
Tennessee § 50-6-102(14)
§ 50-6-207
Tennessee § 50-6-207(1)

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Bluebook (online)
2018 TN WC 126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frizzell-anthony-v-tin-roof-acquisition-co-llc-tennworkcompcl-2018.