Zimmerman, Steven v. 2G Staffing Services, Inc.

2016 TN WC 119
CourtTennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
DecidedMay 17, 2016
Docket2015-05-0283
StatusPublished

This text of 2016 TN WC 119 (Zimmerman, Steven v. 2G Staffing Services, 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
Zimmerman, Steven v. 2G Staffing Services, Inc., 2016 TN WC 119 (Tenn. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

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

STEVEN ZIMMERMAN ) Docket No.: 2015-05-0283 Employee, ) v. ) State File Number: 1045-2015 2G STAFFING SERVICES, INC. ) Employer. ) Judge Dale Tipps )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING REQUESTED MEDICAL BENEFITS

This matter came before the undersigned workers’ compensation judge on May 10, 2016, on the Request for Expedited Hearing filed by the employee, Steven Zimmerman, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239 (2015). The present focus of this case is Mr. Zimmerman’s entitlement to additional medical treatment. The central legal issue is whether the evidence is sufficient for the Court to determine that Mr. Zimmerman likely to establish at a hearing on the merits the requested treatment is medically reasonable and necessary. For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds Mr. Zimmerman has not met his burden of establishing entitlement to the requested medical benefits at this time.1

History of Claim

The following facts were established at the Expedited Hearing. Mr. Zimmerman is a forty-six-year-old sheet-metal mechanic residing in Maury County, Tennessee. On January 3, 2015, while installing ductwork on a construction site, he twisted his left knee and felt a pop. He reported the injury to his supervisor, and his employer, 2G, sent him for medical treatment at Maury Regional Hospital. The physicians at Maury Regional provided a knee immobilizer and referred him to an occupational medicine specialist. (Ex. 3.) 2G provided a panel of physicians, from which Mr. Zimmerman selected Dr. Caleb Wallwork.

After examining Mr. Zimmerman on January 9, 2015, Dr. Wallwork ordered an 1 A complete listing of the technical record and exhibits admitted at the Expedited Hearing is attached to this Order as an appendix.

1 MRI and assigned light-duty work restrictions. He then referred Mr. Zimmerman to an orthopedic specialist a few days later. (Ex. 4.) 2G provided another panel, and Mr. Zimmerman selected orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Tompkins.

Dr. Tompkins first saw Mr. Zimmerman on February 3, 2015. He noted Mr. Zimmerman’s knee was stiff but found no swelling. The MRI showed a partial ACL tear, but the knee felt stable. Dr. Tompkins ordered physical therapy for “range of motion, ACL protocol.” (Ex. 5.)

Mr. Zimmerman returned on February 25, 2015. Dr. Tompkins’ notes include information from the physical therapist, who reported Mr. Zimmerman was not bearing weight and was reluctant to comply with weight-bearing activities. The therapist said Mr. Zimmerman complained of unbearable pain and told her he wanted surgery. Dr. Tompkins examined Mr. Zimmerman, who was on crutches, and noted, “some pain behavior present. He is grimacing when I touch his knee; however, his left knee is not swollen. It still feels very stable on ligament testing.” He reviewed Mr. Zimmerman’s x- rays again and found they were normal. He stated, “Steven is having a lot of subjective pain out of proportion to the injury. I think his knee is stable. I do not think he has a significant ACL tear and I advised him to start getting serious about his physical therapy.” Id.

Following a functional capacity evaluation (FCE), Mr. Zimmerman returned to Dr. Tompkins on March 16, 2015. He reported increased pain in the back of his knee since the FCE. He was using crutches, limping, and grimacing with pain “with the lightest of touch.” Dr. Tompkins found no swelling, effusion, or fluid on the knee, and noted Mr. Zimmerman had full extension and normal ligament testing. Dr. Tompkins felt Mr. Zimmerman’s “symptoms are out of proportion to the physical findings and MRI findings. He does not complain of any instability at all, just posterior pain.” He released Mr. Zimmerman to return to work with a fifty-pound lifting restriction and occasional kneeling and crouching. Id.

Mr. Zimmerman continued to follow up with Dr. Tompkins until April 24, 2015. At that time, Dr. Tompkins reviewed a new MRI report, which showed some degeneration of the ACL with a small cyst, decreased in size from the prior MRI. Dr. Tompkins’ impression was:

Steven I think may have had a partial ACL tear, [but] the knee has always been stable. The small chondral defect, I do not think it is the source for his pain. [A]t least this small defect would not be enough to cause the amount of pain that he is having and certainly would not be enough to cause him to be on crutches now for 3½ months. As stated before, the subjective complaints are not matched with the physical findings and objective imaging results.

2 Dr. Tomkins found Mr. Zimmerman had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) and released him to return to full duty with no permanent impairment. Id.

Mr. Zimmerman disagreed with Dr. Tompkins’ conclusions and sought a private second opinion with Dr. Jason Haslam on June 8, 2015. He reported intense pain and difficulty bearing weight with his left knee since it popped at work on January 3, 2015. Dr. Haslam examined Mr. Zimmerman and noted tenderness of the left knee with no effusion, redness, or warmth. He found limited range of motion, but no instability. After reviewing the January 16, 2015 MRI, he assessed a possible ACL tear, chondromalacia, and acute pain. Dr. Haslam performed an injection and prescribed a Sterapred dosepak. He also discussed the need for a reaction knee brace, as well as the need for Mr. Zimmerman to bear weight on the knee and work on his range of motion. (Ex. 6.)

Mr. Zimmerman returned to Dr. Haslam on July 6, 2015, reporting no improvement. Dr. Haslam noted Mr. Zimmerman had failed conservative treatment since January and said Mr. Zimmerman “is insistent and would like to pursue surgical intervention.” Dr. Haslam referred him for a surgical consultation with Dr. William Fontenot. Id.

Mr. Zimmerman saw Dr. Fontenot on July 14, 2015. 2 Dr. Fontenot assessed a rupture of the ACL of the left knee. He noted further, “this is plain and clear – he had an injury at work with subsequent and current instability and an MRI [consistent with] an ACL tear. ACL tears do not heal on their own. I strongly recommend surgical reconstruction.” (Ex. 7.)

Mr. Zimmerman provided Dr. Haslam’s office records to 2G, who sent him back to Dr. Tompkins on August 19, 2015. Dr. Tompkins reviewed the records and noted they reflected no swelling or instability. He observed similar results in his own examination of Mr. Zimmerman that day. His assessment was:

Subjective knee pain. Again, I do not find a good reason to proceed with arthroscopy of his knee. He has had two MRIs of the knee neither of which show a problem that a scope would help. He does not need ACL reconstruction as his ACL exam is normal. The proposed surgery would be strictly exploratory in nature. I told him my honest opinion is that I would not recommend surgery on the knee. If another physician wants to do it then he could proceed, but I would not recommend this. The recommendation is based on multiple exams to the patient’s objective tests such as MRI and x-ray and physical findings. I told him of course I could

2 The only medical record submitted from Dr. Fontenot apparently references this visit, but is dated January 14, 2016.

3 be wrong, but I think it is more likely than not the intervention would not be helpful.

(Ex. 5.)

In response to Mr. Zimmerman’s subsequent surgery requests, 2G provided another panel for a second opinion, from which Mr. Zimmerman selected Dr. Brandon Downs. Dr. Downs examined Mr. Zimmerman on March 3, 2016, and reviewed his medical records and MRI results. He noted tenderness, but no swelling or effusion, near full range of motion, and no instability of the knee. Dr. Downs issued a Preliminary Report that indicated his initial diagnosis was left knee strain.

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2016 TN WC 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zimmerman-steven-v-2g-staffing-services-inc-tennworkcompcl-2016.