Kimery, Robert v. Trillium Staffing

2015 TN WC 141
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedOctober 13, 2015
Docket2015-08-0166
StatusPublished

This text of 2015 TN WC 141 (Kimery, Robert v. Trillium Staffing) 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
Kimery, Robert v. Trillium Staffing, 2015 TN WC 141 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT JACKSON

ROBERT KIMERY ) Docket No.: 2015-08-0166 Employee, ) v. ) State File No.: 91670-2014 ) TRILLIUM STAFFING ) Judge Amber E. Luttrell Employer, ) And ) ) CORVEL ENTERPRISE COMPANY ) Insurance Carrier. ) )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING MEDICAL BENEFITS AND TEMPORARY DISABILITY BENEFITS

THIS CAUSE came before the undersigned Workers' Compensation Judge upon the Request for Expedited Hearing (REH) filed by the employee, Robert Kimery, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239 (2014). Mr. Kimery seeks medical benefits and temporary disability benefits for a left-knee injury. The central issue for determination is whether Mr. Kimery presented sufficient medical proof of a knee injury arising primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment. If the Court finds Mr. Kimery sustained a compensable injury, the extent of medical and temporary benefits is at issue. For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds Mr. Kimery did not carry his burden of proving entitlement to the requested benefits at this time.

History of Claim

Mr. Kimery is a forty-one year-old resident of Tipton County, Tennessee. He worked for Trillium Staffing, 1 an industrial staffing service, as a journeyman pipefitter.

1 Mr. Kimery initially testified he worked for Industrial Mechanical Contractors (IMC) in Memphis, Tennessee through Trillium Staffing. He later testified he worked for Trillium Staffing. The testimony indicates the immediate onsite supervisors were employees of Industrial Mechanical Contractors. The Court is unclear of the relationship between these two companies. However, the pleadings filed indicate the employer is Trillium Staffing, and the parties did not raise the identity of the proper employer as a disputed issue in the Dispute Certification Notice. On October 22, 2014, Mr. Kimery worked a shutdown project at DuPont Protein Technologies in Memphis, Tennessee. On that date, he and a coworker, "Nathan," carried a twenty-foot long stainless steel pipe when Nathan dropped his end of the pipe, causing Mr. Kimery to fall to the ground. Mr. Kimery's hands and knees hit the floor. The onsite project manager, John Comacho, assisted Mr. Kimery off the floor. Mr. Kimery experienced difficulty walking the remainder of the day. Mr. Kimery testified he could not move the next morning; therefore, he called Mr. Comacho and advised that he would seek medical attention.

On October 23, 2014, Mr. Kimery presented to Ashley Pennington, NP at Somerville Medical Clinic. (Ex. 1 at 5.) He gave Ms. Pennington a history of falling at work, injuring his left knee. He complained it hurt to walk. He described the injury by stating his left knee twisted when he fell on it yesterday. Ms. Pennington diagnosed a left-knee sprain, prescribed medication, and recommended a splint for Mr. Kimery's knee. She advised if he did not improve, she would order an MRI of the knee. Mr. Kimery wrapped his knee with an ACE bandage and returned to work the next day. He spoke to the job supervisor and safety director for IMC, Vince Ciancioso, who advised that he could not let Mr. Kimery work without a doctor's release. The next medical record indicates Mr. Kimery had an MRI of his left knee on October 31, 2014, which revealed a medial meniscus tear. Following the MRI, Mr. Ciancioso advised Mr. Kimery to contact "Brandon" at Trillium.

Mr. Kimery contacted Brandon, the recruiter at Trillium, and reported the work injury to his knee. He informed Brandon that his supervisor would not let him return to work until a doctor released him. Trillium offered Mr. Kimery a panel of orthopedic physicians from which he selected Dr. Riley Jones. (Ex. 3.) Trillium first instructed Mr. Kimery to seek treatment at Concentra Medical Center, which evaluated him.

On November 11, 2014, the Concentra doctor diagnosed a left-knee medial meniscus tear and large joint effusion.

Mr. Kimery next presented to Dr. Jones at Memphis Orthopedic Group on November 21, 2014. Upon examination and review of the MRI results, Dr. Jones confirmed the medial meniscus tear diagnosis and scheduled outpatient surgery on December 3, 2014. Dr. Jones took Mr. Kimery off work and advised him to return for follow up after surgery.

The day prior to Mr. Kimery's surgery, the workers' compensation carrier cancelled the surgery pending further investigation of the claim. The carrier filed a Notice of Denial and Notice of Controversy on December 9, 2014, stating, "Employee did not suffer an injury compensable under the Tennessee Workers ' Compensation Act." (Ex. 3.)

Trillium requested and obtained Mr. Kimery's complete records from Somerville

2 Medical Center, his PCP, which revealed pre-existing swelling in Mr. Kimery's left knee. The records further indicated Mr. Kimery presented to Ms. Pennington on October 4, 2013, reporting swelling and tightness in the left knee and pain in both knees. Ms. Pennington noted, "[left] knee swollen and tight, worse over last couple of days." On examination, Ms. Pennington observed, "left knee swelling, tender patellar tendon fluid pocket." Ms. Pennington diagnosed left-knee pain, left-knee swelling, and high blood pressure. On October 6, 2014, two weeks prior to his work injury, Mr. Kimery returned to Ms. Pennington reporting left-leg swelling, shortness of breath, and cough. Ms. Pennington diagnosed uncontrolled high blood pressure and left-leg swelling.

Trillium sent Ms. Pennington's records to Dr. Jones for review and requested his opm10n on medical causation. By letter dated June 10, 2015, Dr. Jones opined the following:

It is apparent that the patient has documented swelling of the left knee and pain as far back as October 6, 2014. This is two weeks prior to when he said he had his injury. As such, it appears that he had a preexisting problem which he did not relate to us. From the history, it appears he well could have had a tom meniscus that was giving him trouble prior to any injury on the job. Based on the fact that he did not inform us about this treatment I would consider it higher than a grade of 51% that this is not work related.

Mr. Kimery testified he sought treatment from Ms. Pennington on October 6, 2014, for his uncontrolled high blood pressure. His wife expressed concern that he might have a blood clot in his leg prompting him to seek medical attention. Mr. Kimery denied any prior injury to his left knee and testified he had no real issues with his knee prior to the work injury.

Following Trillium's denial of the claim, Mr. Kimery sought no further treatment for his left-knee injury and did not return to work for Trillium? In late July 2015, Mr. Kimery began working for Tradesman International, another industrial staffing company, earning twenty dollars per hour as a millwright. Mr. Kimery described the job duties of a millwright as a much less physical job than the job duties of a pipefitter. Prior to working for Tradesman International, Mr. Kimery performed one small painting job for a friend from church and earned three hundred dollars.

Mr. Kimery filed a Petition for Benefit Determination on May 29, 2015, seeking medical and temporary disability benefits. (T.R. 1.) The parties did not resolve the disputed issues through mediation; therefore, the Mediation Specialist filed the Dispute Certification Notice on July 21, 2015.

2 The record is unclear when Mr. Kimery was separated from his employment at Trillium.

3 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

The Workers' Compensation Law shall not be remedially or liberally construed in favor of either party but shall be construed fairly, impartially and in accordance with basic principles of statutory construction favoring neither the employee nor employer. Tenn. Code Ann.

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Bluebook (online)
2015 TN WC 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kimery-robert-v-trillium-staffing-tennworkcompcl-2015.