1

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT MEMPHIS

CECILIA HOPSON, ) Docket No. 2021-08-0074

Employee, )

v.

TRAVELERS PROPERTY CAS. 

CORP.,

)

)

) State File No. 76850-2014

 Employer,

And

NEW HAMPSHIRE INS. CO.,

)

)

) 

 Carrier. ) Judge Deana Seymour

COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The Court heard Travelers’ Motion for Summary Judgment on May 9, 2022.

Travelers contends Ms. Hopson filed her Petition for Benefit Determination outside the 

one-year statute of limitations. For the reasons below, the Court grants the motion. 

Facts

Ms. Hopson claimed injuries after an automobile accident at work on September 24, 

2014. After reporting the accident, she received authorized treatment for headaches and 

neck and back pain from multiple physicians.

These physicians treated Ms. Hopson conservatively and placed her at maximum 

medical improvement from an orthopedic, neurologic, and neurosurgical standpoint. Dr. 

Bola Adamolekun, one of Ms. Hopson’s neurologists, noted that he could not relate her 

symptoms to her work accident.

After her release from Dr. Adamolekun on December 6, 2018, Ms. Hopson 

requested additional medical treatment. However, Travelers denied the request based on 

Dr. Adamolekun’s causation opinion. The last payment on the claim was made on 

December 21, 2018, and a Notice of Controversy was issued in February 2019. Ms. Hopson 

did not file a Petition for Benefit Determination until January 20, 2021.

FILED

May 11, 2022

07:09 AM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS
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Travelers’ Motion

Travelers filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, along with a statement of 

undisputed material facts. The Court summarizes the material facts as follows:

• Ms. Hopson seeks benefits arising out of an incident at work on September 

24, 2014; 

• Travelers’ last payment on the claim was made on December 21, 2018; and 

• Ms. Hopson filed her petition on January 20, 2021. 

Travelers contends it is entitled to summary judgment because Ms. Hopson waited more 

than one year after Travelers’ last payment before filing her petition, thus falling outside 

the one-year statute of limitations in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203(b)(2) 

(2014).

Although Ms. Hopson filed medical records, medical bills, and emails related to her 

claim, she did not respond to the motion as required by Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 

56.03.

Analysis

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to 

interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there 

is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment 

as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04. 

As the moving party, Travelers must do one of two things to prevail on its motion: 

(1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Ms. Hopson’s claim, 

or (2) demonstrate that her evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of her 

claim. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101; see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, 

MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015). If Travelers is successful in meeting this 

burden, Ms. Hopson must then establish that the record contains specific facts upon which 

the Court could base a decision in her favor. Id. at 265.

Since Ms. Hopson did not respond to Travelers’ statement of undisputed facts, the 

Court finds the motion and the facts undisputed. The issue then is whether summary 

judgment is “appropriate” under Rule 56.06.

Under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203, an employee’s right to recover 

compensation is forever barred unless the employee files a petition within one year after 

the accident resulting in injury. The statute of limitations can be extended by payments 

made on the claim. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-203(b)(2). According to Tennessee Code 

Annotated section 50-6-203(c), “the issuing date of the last payment of compensation by 

the employer, not the date of its receipt, shall constitute the time the employer ceased 

making payments.”
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In a similar case, the Appeals Board affirmed the trial court’s order for summary 

judgment where the employee filed her Petition for Benefit Determination more than one 

year following the last voluntary payment on the claim. Hancock v. Vanderbilt Univ. Med.

Ctr., 2022 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 1, at *7-8 (Jan. 5, 2022). The Board concluded 

that the employer negated an essential element of the employee’s claim and demonstrated

that the employee’s evidence was insufficient to establish an essential element of her claim.

Id.

Here, the undisputed facts conclusively show that a petition was not filed until 

January 20, 2021, which was more than one year from Travelers’ last payment on 

December 21, 2018. Thus, Travelers met its burden of negating an essential element of the 

claim – filing within a year of the last paid benefit. 

The burden shifts to Ms. Hopson to show that the record contains specific facts upon 

which the Court could find a factual dispute on that issue. Since Ms. Hopson did not 

provide these facts, the Court holds that Travelers is entitled to summary judgment as a 

matter of law.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Traveler’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and Ms. Hopson’s claim is 

dismissed with prejudice to its refiling.

2. Unless appealed, this order shall become final thirty days after entry.

3. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Travelers under Tennessee Compilation 

Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.06 (February, 2022), payable to the Clerk 

within five days of this order becoming final.

4. Travelers shall prepare and submit the SD-2 with the Clerk within ten days of the 

date of judgment.

ENTERED May 11, 2022.

_______________________________________

Judge Deana C. Seymour

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on May 11, 2022. 

Name Certified 

Mail 

First 

Class 

Mail

Email Service sent to:

Cecilia Hopson, 

Employee 

X X X 9432 Mary Tucker Cove

Memphis, TN 38133 

chopson21@comcast.net

Emily Faulkner,

Employer’s Attorney 

X emily.faulkner@mgclaw.com

 _____________________________ 

 Penny Shrum, Court Clerk 

 Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims 

 WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov 
For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.

Compensation Hearing Order Right to Appeal:

If you disagree with this Compensation Hearing Order, you may appeal to the Workers’ 

Compensation Appeals Board or the Tennessee Supreme Court. To appeal to the Workers’ 

Compensation Appeals Board, you must:

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled: “Notice of Appeal,” and file the form with the 

Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims within thirty calendar days of the 

date the compensation hearing order was filed. When filing the Notice of Appeal, you 

must serve a copy upon the opposing party (or attorney, if represented). 

2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten 

calendar days after filing of the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at 

any Bureau office or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the 

alternative, you may file an Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s 

website or any Bureau office) seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fullycompleted Affidavit of Indigency within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of 

Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will 

result in dismissal of your appeal.

3. You bear the responsibility of ensuring a complete record on appeal. You may request 

from the court clerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. A licensed court 

reporter must prepare a transcript and file it with the court clerk within fifteen calendar 

days of the filing the Notice of Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the 

evidence prepared jointly by both parties within fifteen calendar days of the filing of the 

Notice of Appeal. The statement of the evidence must convey a complete and accurate 

account of the hearing. The Workers’ Compensation Judge must approve the statement 

of the evidence before the record is submitted to the Appeals Board. If the Appeals 

Board is called upon to review testimony or other proof concerning factual matters, the 

absence of a transcript or statement of the evidence can be a significant obstacle to 

meaningful appellate review.

4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the court clerk transmits 

it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties. The appealing 

party has fifteen calendar days after the date of that notice to submit a brief to the 

Appeals Board. See the Practices and Procedures of the Workers’ Compensation 

Appeals Board. 

To appeal your case directly to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Compensation Hearing 

Order must be final and you must comply with the Tennessee Rules of Appellate 

Procedure. If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the trial court’s 

Order will become final by operation of law thirty calendar days after entry. See Tenn. 

Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7).
LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082 

NOTICE OF APPEAL 

Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries-at-work/ 

wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1-800-332-2667 

Docket No.: ________________________

State File No.: ______________________ 

Date of Injury: _____________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Employee

v.

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Employer

Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________ 

[List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.]

appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the 

Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (check one or more applicable boxes and include the date filestamped on the first page of the order(s) being appealed):

□ Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ □ Motion Order filed on ___________________

□ Compensation Order filed on__________________ □ Other Order filed on_____________________

issued by Judge _________________________________________________________________________. 

Statement of the Issues on Appeal 

Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal: 

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Parties

Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee 

Address: ________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________ 

Email: __________________________________________________________ 

Attorney’s Name: ______________________________________________ BPR#: _______________________ 

Attorney’s Email: ______________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ 

Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ 

* Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant *
LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082 

Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: _____________________ Date of Inj.: _______________ 

Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee 

Appellee’s Address: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ 

Email: _________________________________________________________ 

Attorney’s Name: _____________________________________________ BPR#: ________________________ 

Attorney’s Email: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ 

Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ 

* Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a 

true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described 

in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800-02-21, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this 

case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____. 

 ______________________________________________ 

[Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]