Reese, Ronald v. Waste Connections, Inc.

2016 TN WC 24
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedFebruary 2, 2016
Docket2015-03-0231
StatusPublished

This text of 2016 TN WC 24 (Reese, Ronald v. Waste Connections, 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
Reese, Ronald v. Waste Connections, Inc., 2016 TN WC 24 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT KNOXVILLE

RONALD REESE, ) Docket No.: 2015-03-0231 Employee, ) v. ) State File Number: 15986-2015 WASTE CONNECTIONS, INC. ) Employer, ) Judge Pamela B. Johnson and ) ESIS, INC. ) Carrier. ) )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING TEMPORARY DISABILITY AND MEDICAL BENEFITS

This matter came before the undersigned workers' compensation judge on the Request for Expedited Hearing filed by the Employee, Ronald Reese, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239 (2015). The central legal issues are (1) whether Mr. Reese sustained an injury arising primarily out of and in the course and scope of his employment with the Employer, Waste Connections, Inc. (WCI); (2) whether Mr. Reese is entitled to past and/or future medical benefits; and (3) whether Mr. Reese is entitled to past or future temporary disability benefits. For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds that Mr. Reese demonstrated that he is not likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits on the central legal issues. Accordingly, his request for temporary disability and/or medical benefits is denied. 1

History of Claim

Mr. Reese is a fifty-one-year-old resident of Knox County, Tennessee. Mr. Reese worked for WCI as a truck driver for ten years. Mr. Reese's job required him, among other things, to bend and twist at the waist, pick up seventy-five pounds approximately two hundred times per day, climb in and out of the truck cab approximately three hundred and fifty times per day with a fifty-six inch step, and walk ten or more miles per day. (Ex. 5.) His job further required him to collect garbage and recycling from an average of 1 A complete listing of the technical record and exhibits admitted at the Expedited Hearing is attached to this Order as an appendix.

1 five hundred to one thousand, two hundred homes or sites per day, and up to seventy residences per hour. (Ex. 5.) Mr. Reese testified that, due to the strenuous physical nature of his job, he often felt pain at the end of the day and end of the workweek. He further testified that he went home, recovered over the weekends, and returned to work the following workweek.

On February 13, 2015, Mr. Reese testified he felt back pain at the end of his shift. He further testified that he intended to go home, recover over the weekend, and return to work as usual the following workweek. Mr. Reese testified that, the following morning (Saturday), he woke up in pain. Later that day, he picked up a bag of groceries, felt pain, and "went down to the floor."

Mr. Reese testified that, when his supervisor contacted him on Sunday to ask him to report to work early due to an approaching winter storm, he testified he told his supervisor that he thought he hurt his back badly and advised it might become necessary for him to seek medical treatment.

Due to the winter weather, Mr. Reese was unable to seek medical treatment for several days. On February 17, 2015, Mr. Reese sought medical care from Dr. William Broome. (Ex. 4, 02117/2015 Office Visit.) Dr. Broome noted:

The patient is seen today because of sudden onset of left lower back pain. The pain started initially 3 days ago. He was carrying some groceries. No injury. He had surgery for a herniated disc about 15 years ago. He has a job that requires a lot of bending, and stooping and lifting. He has some pain radiating into his left buttocks.

!d. Dr. Broome diagnosed Mr. Reese with low back pain and lumbar degenerative disc disease. !d. Dr. Broome further indicated, "This patient has acute ankle [sic] back pain with possible left-sided nerve root compression." !d. Dr. Broome referred Mr. Reese to physical therapy and placed him off work for the "next 4-5 days." !d.

On February 23, 2015, Mr. Reese saw Dr. J. Donald King, Jr. at Nova Medical Center. (Ex. 4, 02/23/2015 Office Visit.) The "Description of Injury" provided in the February 23, 2015 Office Note stated, "On 02/13/2015 After 3:00pm lifting trash cans and sustained injury to left lower back." Id. Dr. King obtained x-rays and diagnosed "Left Sprain sacroiliac-Sprain of sacroiliac ligament" and "Left Not elsewhere classified- Sacroillitis." Id. Dr. King recommended physical therapy, prescriptive medication therapy, ice, and a steroid injection. Id. Dr. King assigned work restrictions including no lifting more than five pounds per day and limited standing/walking/climbing, kneeling/squatting, bending/stooping, pushing/pulling, and twisting. (Ex. 4, 02/23/2015 Work Status/Restrictions Form.)

2 Mr. Reese continued to treat with Dr. King, who recommended continuation of physical therapy and work restrictions. On March 12, 2015, when Mr. Reese failed to improve after completing physical therapy and receiving cortisone injections, Dr. King recommended a lumbar spine MRI scan. (Ex. 4, 03/12/2015 Office Visit.) The MRI showed: (1) "Degenerative disc disease with left posterolateral annular fissure at L3-4"; (2) "Small left posterolateral disc herniation at L4-5 extending into the left foramen. No frank nerve root impingement is seen"; and (3) "Sacroiliac joint arthritis on the right." (Ex. 4, 04/03/2015 Office Visit.) On April 3, 2015, Dr. King continued Mr. Reese's work restrictions and noted, "Orthopedic consultation is pending." !d.

On April 27, 2015, WCI issued a Notice of Denial of Claim for Compensation, Form C23, stating, "There was no compensable injury by accident that occurred within the claimant' s course and scope of employment with Waste Connections." (Ex. 2.)

Mr. Reese filed a Petition for Benefit Determination on June 10, 2015, seeking medical and temporary benefits. The parties did not resolve the disputed issues through mediation, and the Mediating Specialist filed a Dispute Certification Notice (DCN) on July 28,2015. Mr. Reese filed a Request for Expedited Hearing on September 17,2015, and this Court heard the matter on December 15, 2015.

At the Expedited Hearing, Mr. Reese asserted he sustained a gradual injury to his low back, caused by the strenuous physical activity required by his job, and resulting in a herniated disc at L3-4. He argued his low back injury occurred during the course of his employment and did not occur due to lifting a light bag of groceries at home. He asked the Court for temporary disability benefits and past and future medical benefits.

WCI countered that Mr. Reese' s alleged date of injury is not credible and conflicts with the medical records. WCI argued it was well after February 2015 before Mr. Reese mentioned a work-related injury. WCI asserted that Mr. Reese failed to meet the definition of injury by accident and failed to demonstrate a causal relationship between his employment and his alleged injury. WCI additionally asserted that Mr. Reese failed to establish entitlement to temporary disability benefits.

During the Expedited Hearing, Mr. Reese sought to introduce an April 20, 2015 medical report from Dr. Broome, three letters from Dr. Greg King at Knoxville Pain Center to Dr. J. Jonathan Degnan, and a WCI Certification of Health Care Provider/ Return to Work Recommendations. (Exs. 6, 7, and 9, Marked for Identification Only.) WCI objected to the introduction of these documents on grounds that Mr. Reese failed to provide copies prior to the Expedited Hearing and in violation of this Court's Practices and Procedures and the Mediation and Hearing Procedures. This Court marked the documents for identification only and advised that the matter would be taken under advisement.

3 Rule 0800-02-21-.10(2) (2015) of the Tennessee Compilation of Rules and Regulations provides:

After a petition for benefit determination is filed, each party shall promptly provide the other parties with copies of any medical records in their possession.

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Related

§ 50-6
Tennessee § 50-6
§ 50-6-102
Tennessee § 50-6-102(13)
§ 50-6-116
Tennessee § 50-6-116

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Bluebook (online)
2016 TN WC 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reese-ronald-v-waste-connections-inc-tennworkcompcl-2016.