Wilson, Derrick v. Randstad, Inc.

2022 TN WC 57
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedAugust 9, 2022
Docket2021-07-0482
StatusPublished

This text of 2022 TN WC 57 (Wilson, Derrick v. Randstad, 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
Wilson, Derrick v. Randstad, Inc., 2022 TN WC 57 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2022).

Opinion

FILED Aug 09, 2022 03:50 PM(CT) TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS

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

DERRICK WILSON, ) Docket No.: 2021-07-0482 Employee, ) v. ) State File No.: 53458-2021 RANDSTAD, INC., ) Employer, ) Judge Robert Durham And ) INDEMNITY INS. CO. OF N.A., ) Insurer. )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER GRANTING MEDICAL BENEFITS

This Court held an Expedited Hearing on July 28, 2022, where Mr. Wilson requested an order requiring Randstad to offer a panel of physicians to treat his alleged work-related left-shoulder injury. Randstad defended on the grounds of notice and causation. The Court holds that Mr. Wilson is likely to prevail at trial on these issues and orders Randstad to provide a panel of orthopedists.

History of Claim

Before outlining the events surrounding Mr. Wilson’s alleged work-related injury, it is necessary to set out his medical history before working for Randstad.

In February 2009, Mr. Wilson filed a claim against his then-employer also alleging a left-shoulder injury. The authorized physician eventually diagnosed him with left- shoulder impingement syndrome and assigned a one-percent impairment. He also gave Mr. Wilson permanent physical restrictions of no more than occasional lifting overhead with the left shoulder and no lifting more than forty-five pounds overhead or sixty pounds from floor to waist. Mr. Wilson obtained a five-percent impairment from an independent medical examination. He settled that claim with open medical benefits in January 2010.

In 2010, Mr. Wilson stopped working due to multiple health complaints, primarily sarcoidosis, a condition that affects his breathing, and diabetes, although he also treats for chronic low-back pain and severe anxiety. In 2015, he began receiving disability benefits.

1 Mr. Wilson sees Dr. Stephen Collier monthly for maintenance of his health problems. 1 According to Dr. Collier’s December 2020 note, Mr. Wilson suffered not only from sarcoidosis and diabetes, but also chronic low-back pain and a “history of generalized osteoarthritis shoulder pain.”

During the February 2021 visit, Dr. Collier noted that Mr. Wilson complained of “chronic low back pain secondary to degenerative disc disease.” Mr. Wilson did not mention shoulder pain, and he did not describe any recent acute injuries or accidents. However, he did say that he had “trouble climbing stairs. Has to climb a lot of ladders. His job at the factory is very stressful and repetitive, but that is the best he can do right now.” The March record repeats the history given in the February note.

Regarding his employment history after receiving disability, Mr. Wilson testified that while he worked at a couple of factories through temporary employment agencies, he could not remember when he worked for them. Mr. Wilson did not elaborate on Dr. Collier’s notes on his employment, either on direct or cross-examination.

On March 1, 2021, Mr. Wilson applied with Randstad, a temporary employment agency. In the process, he signed acknowledgements that Randstad prohibited employees from lifting more than fifty pounds, and it required them to immediately report any work injury.

Randstad assigned Mr. Wilson to work at Sonoco, where he began on March 15. Mr. Wilson’s job required him to remove cans from an assembly line and place them in boxes. He did this assignment for thirty minutes and then stacked the boxes on pallets, which required him to occasionally lift the boxes over his head. Mr. Wilson estimated the boxes weighed between fifty and sixty pounds, but Brittany Bowles of Randstad testified the boxes weighed fewer than thirty pounds.

Mr. Wilson testified that he could not remember the exact date he injured his left shoulder, but it occurred when his shift was short-handed. He felt a pop in his left shoulder but continued to work, thinking that he might have simply strained it. He did not report it to his supervisor at the time. Over the next few weeks, his shoulder pain worsened, and he told his wife that “something wasn’t right.” He estimated that the injury occurred a few weeks before his regularly scheduled visit with Dr. Collier, which occurred on June 8.

1 Although Mr. Wilson regularly treated with multiple physicians over the last decade, the only medical records in evidence that preceded his alleged injury were from his previous workers’ compensation claim and Dr. Collier’s records from December 2020 through March 2021. Randstad’s counsel said she had Dr. Collier’s records from 2018, and she asked about Mr. Wilson’s failure to respond to her efforts to obtain additional doctors’ notes as well as employment records. However, she did not file a motion to compel discovery. 2 At that visit, Dr. Collier noted that Mr. Wilson was “working at a factory job” and had the “same chronic dull ache and stiffness as before.” However, he further observed that Mr. Wilson complained of “more shoulder pain” and recommended an MRI. He diagnosed chronic pain syndrome secondary to degenerative disease and prescribed medication for “left shoulder pain.” Mr. Wilson continued to work full-duty and had the MRI on June 30. It revealed a “full thickness, full width tear” with retraction of the supraspinatus tendon.

Mr. Wilson said that the next week, before he knew the MRI results, he told his shift leader, Adriane Ingram, that his shoulder hurt. However, he asked her not to report it because he wanted to give it the weekend to see if it would get better. Ms. Ingram’s affidavit differs somewhat. She stated that she saw Mr. Wilson doing shoulder exercises and asked him if he hurt it at work. She claimed he told her that he was not hurt at Sonoco but on a previous job. He told her about the MRI, but he repeated that his problem did not happen at Sonoco.

Ms. Ingram informed her supervisor of their conversation. She said that when Mr. Wilson found out, he confronted her, stating that “he did not want anyone to know that his shoulder was hurting, as it was not work-related.”

Randstad also provided the affidavit of Tony Phelps, Sonoco’s Production Shift Supervisor. He said that he spoke with Mr. Wilson about his left shoulder, although he could not remember the date. Mr. Wilson did not inform him of any specific work injury; instead, he said his left shoulder was “ok” and he “was fine.” He asserted that Mr. Wilson did not report an injury or ask for medical treatment, and he did not attend any meetings with Mr. Wilson or other Sonoco employees about Mr. Wilson’s work status.

Mr. Wilson’s recollection was quite different. He testified that after speaking with Ms. Ingram, he met with her, Mr. Phelps, and two other Sonoco employees, “Chris” and “Oliver.” Mr. Phelps offered to move him to another position, but Mr. Wilson declined because he liked his current job.

Regardless, Brittany Boles, manager for Randstad, texted Mr. Wilson and asked him to come to Randstad’s office on July 9. At this meeting, Mr. Wilson filled out several forms stating that he suffered a work-related injury to his left shoulder, although he could not remember the exact date. Ms. Boles testified that he told her he had no idea when it happened. It appears that for the sake of the forms, both Ms. Boles and Mr. Wilson used July 8 or July 9 for the accident date. The incident form also stated that Mr. Wilson said the injury occurred gradually while he was lifting boxes.

After this meeting, Randstad offered Mr. Wilson a panel of physicians. He chose Dr. Gary McBride, whom he saw on July 10. The note stated that Mr. Wilson was suffering from left shoulder pain for at least a month. Dr. McBride did not review the MRI, but Mr.

3 Wilson told him that it showed a tear. Dr. McBride placed Mr. Wilson on light duty and referred him for orthopedic care.

Before Mr.

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§ 50-6-102
Tennessee § 50-6-102(14)(A)

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2022 TN WC 57, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-derrick-v-randstad-inc-tennworkcompcl-2022.