Gibson, Jayetta v. Claiborne County Board of Education

2015 TN WC 191
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedDecember 21, 2015
Docket2015-02-0044
StatusPublished

This text of 2015 TN WC 191 (Gibson, Jayetta v. Claiborne County Board of Education) 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
Gibson, Jayetta v. Claiborne County Board of Education, 2015 TN WC 191 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT KINGSPORT

Jayetta Gibson ) Docket No.: 2015-02-0044 Employee, ) v. ) State File Number: 71577/2014 Claiborne County Board of Education ) Employer, ) Judge Brian K. Addington And ) TN Risk Mgt. Trust ) Insurance Carrier, ) And ) Second Injury Fund. ) )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING MEDICAL BENEFITS AND GRANTING TEMPORARY DISABILITY BENEFITS

This cause came to be heard on December 7, 2015, for an Expedited Hearing. The present focus of this case is Ms. Gibson's entitlement to temporary disability benefits and medical benefits following a fall at work. 1 For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds Ms. Gibson's injury is compensable and grants her temporary disability benefits at this time. Her request for medical benefits is denied at this time.

History of Claim

Employee, Jayetta Gibson, is a seventy-seven-year-old resident of Claiborne County, Tennessee. (T.R. 1 at 1.) She worked for over thirty years as a janitor and cafeteria assistant for the Claiborne County Board of Education. (Ex. 1 at 2.) On August 26, 2014, Ms. Gibson suffered a fall at work after a chair she carried caught on a door. ld. Ms. Gibson landed on her left side, hitting her shoulder, hip, and leg. ld.

Prior to the injury in question, Ms. Gibson sought medical treatment for arthritis in both knees from Dr. Paul Becker, an orthopedic surgeon with a subspecialty in sports medicine. (Ex. 3 at 2-3, 6, 47-48.) Dr. Becker performed a total right-knee replacement 1 Additional information regarding the technical record and exhibits admitted at the Expedited Hearing is attached to this Order as an Appendix. from which Ms. Gibson suffered significant recovery issues. !d. at 33-34. Dr. Becker also recommended a left total knee replacement, but in light of Ms. Gibson's poor post- operative recovery from the right-knee surgery, he elected not to perform the left-knee replacement. !d. at 33-35.

Following the fall at work, Claiborne County did not present Ms. Gibson a panel of physicians but provided medical treatment with Dr. Becker. Dr. Becker treated Ms. Gibson conservatively due to his concerns about her recovery from her prior surgery. !d. He placed her at maximum medical improvement (MMI) on December 15, 2014, and opined she suffered a one percent impairment to her body as a whole due to a contusion and motion defects. (Ex. 5 at 13.) He also assigned permanent work restrictions of limited standing and no lifting over ten pounds. !d. Ms. Gibson testified Claiborne County was unable to accommodate her restrictions.

On January 12, 2015, Dr. Becker recommended a medial unloader brace. !d. at 20. He measured Ms. Gibson for the brace, wrote a prescription, and recorded in his notes that he would try to get workers' compensation to approve it. !d. at 20, 25. In his January 30, 2015 notes, Dr. Becker observed Ms. Gibson struggled with her knee because she did not have the brace. !d. at 26. Dr. Becker responded to a causation question from the worker's compensation carrier on February 10, 2015, but his opinion was unclear as to whether the need for the unloader brace was due to Ms. Gibson's pre-existing osteoarthritis or her fall at work. !d. at 37. On April 28, 2015, Dr. Becker provided Ms. Gibson a warrior-type brace. !d. at 31. He noted, "I told her that she did not get approved for a lateral unloader brace because this is for osteoarthritis but I can give her a brace to help support her knee from the contusion which will be a warrior type brace." !d.

On January 30, 2015, Ms. Gibson returned to Dr. Becker, and he opined Ms. Gibson suffered pre-existing, significant osteoarthritis. He noted, "I think the fall did aggravate it but I did not think it caused more than 51% of her problems."

On February 27, 2015, Ms. Gibson saw her primary care provider, Dr. John Robertson. Dr. Robertson noted Ms. Gibson has suffered from anxiety for years and gradually worsened. (Ex. 5 at 65.)

On November 11, 2015, the parties took Dr. Becker's deposition. Concerning the brace in question, Dr. Becker testified as follows:

So down the road, I was feeling like a brace would help her condition and the brace that I was requesting is an unloader brace, but again, the chicken before the egg. That brace is designed for osteoarthritis. It unloads the compartment especially in someone with varus alignment so the brace-- ordering the brace is kind of a cloudy or gray area whether the arthritis was

2 already there before or after so I felt it would be difficult to get it approved and it was so the other braces that are double upright braces, those are for more ligament stability, that was offered to her but it was not helpful.

(Ex. 3 at 16.)

Concerning aggravation of Ms. Gibson's pre-existing osteoarthritis, Dr. Becker stated in his deposition:

Well, the problems which I should be stating more correctly is it didn't cause her osteoarthritis. So the whole story I'm trying to get relayed ... pretty much at this point was that her fall did not produce the arthritis. I do think that she had some increased symptoms but it didn't produce all of them.

!d. at 14.

Dr. Becker confirmed Ms. Gibson suffered increased symptoms after the fall, but she did not suffer any new traumatic injury. !d. at 15, 38. Dr. Becker also noted that a CT scan indicated Ms. Gibson had a five-millimeter loose body in her knee, but that the loose body was not related to trauma. !d. at 35-39.

On May 30, 2015, Ms. Gibson underwent a one-time examination by Dr. C.M. Salekin at her attorney's request. (Ex. 4.) Dr. Salekin is a neurologist and also practices occupational medicine. !d. at 10. Concerning Ms. Gibson's left leg, he noted she reached MMI on May 30, 2015, and suffered a four percent impairment to the body as a whole. !d. at 4. In his summary, he noted the CT scan indicated a large joint effusion, a five millimeter loose body in the intercondylar notch secondary to contusion and other degenerative changes. !d. at 2. He opined Ms. Gibson was unable to work from August 26, 2014, until May 30, 2015, and had permanent work restrictions of limited standing and no lifting over five pounds. !d. at 4-5.

Ms. Gibson testified she continues to have problems with her shoulder and hip. She cannot lift her left arm above her shoulder and cannot walk without crutches. She has been depressed since the accident, but admitted she suffered from depression prior to the accident. She has constant pain and cries all the time. She cannot perform the ordinary tasks she normally did before the fall. Both Ms. Gibson and her daughter, Leisa Carter, testified that her mental condition had not prevented her from working prior to the incident.

Ms. Gibson filed an amended Petition for Benefit Determination on May 26, 2015, seeking medical and temporary disability benefits. The parties did not resolve the disputed issues through mediation and the Mediating Specialist filed the Dispute

3 Certification Notice on June 24, 2015. Ms. Gibson filed a Request for Expedited Hearing, and the Court conducted an Expedited Hearing on December 7, 2015.

At the Expedited Hearing, the parties stipulated that Ms. Gibson suffered a compensable injury on August 26, 2014, and that her compensation rate was $245.89. After Ms. Gibson testified, Claiborne County agreed to provide panels of physicians for her alleged left shoulder and hip injuries. The parties informed the Court that the remaining issues were Ms. Gibson's entitlement to the unloader brace, medical benefits for her alleged mental injury, and temporary disability benefits. After the conclusion of the proof, and at the end of closing argument, Ms.

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2015 TN WC 191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gibson-jayetta-v-claiborne-county-board-of-education-tennworkcompcl-2015.