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TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT MEMPHIS

ANTHONY TERRY,

 Employee,

)

)

)

Docket No. 2016-08-1054

 

v.

WHALEY’S TOWING, 

 Uninsured Employer. 

)

)

)

)

State File No. 73704-2016

 

 

Judge Allen Phillips 

COMPENSATION HEARING ORDER 

This case came before the Court by telephone on July 6, 2020 for a Compensation 

Hearing. For the following reasons, the Court holds Mr. Terry is entitled to medical, 

temporary total, and permanent partial disability benefits.

Mr. Terry was injured while working as a tow truck driver. Whaley, an uninsured 

employer, contended Mr. Terry was not its employee but instead was an independent 

contractor. It also questioned whether the injury occurred.

After an Expedited Hearing, the Court entered an Order for Medical Benefits that it 

incorporates by reference. In that order, the Court found Mr. Terry would likely prevail at 

a hearing on the merits in establishing he was Whaley’s employee and that he sustained an 

injury arising primarily out of his employment. Further, the Court ordered that Whaley pay 

for Mr. Terry’s medical treatment.

Whaley paid only a small amount of Mr. Terry’s medical bills. Further, when Mr. 

Terry completed medical treatment in August 2018, the treating physician would not 

provide an impairment rating. So, Mr. Terry’s attorney arranged an independent medical 

evaluation with Dr. Samuel Chung who assessed an eight percent rating under the 

American Medical Association Guidelines to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 6th

Edition. Whaley stipulated that the rating was correct and admissible in evidence.
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The parties also stipulated to the following:

• Mr. Terry sustained a compensable injury on July 27, 2016;

• Mr. Terry’s compensation rate is $378.85 per week;

• Mr. Terry is entitled to temporary total disability benefits form July 27, 2016, 

through August 1, 2018, the date he reached maximum medical 

improvement, a period of 105.5 weeks in the amount of $39,968.68;

• Mr. Terry is entitled to an original award of eight percent permanent partial 

disability, plus enhancing factors for not having returned to work, for being 

more than forty years of age, and for having less than a high school education 

for a total award of permanent partial disability benefits of $32,037.07; and 

• Mr. Terry received authorized medical treatment from Methodist Hospital 

and Dr. Samuel Murrell and is entitled to payment of past and future medical 

expenses under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(a)(1)(A). 

 

Finally, the Court incorporates its finding in the Expedited Hearing Order that Mr. 

Terry established the factors of Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-801(d)(1)-(4) for 

a claim to the Uninsured Employers Fund. Specifically, Mr. Terry 1) worked for an 

employer who failed to secure payment of compensation; 2) suffered an injury primarily 

in the course and scope of his employment after July 1, 2015; 3) was a Tennessee resident 

on the date of the injury; and 4) he provided notice to the Bureau of his injury and of 

Whaley’s failure to secure the payment of compensation within sixty days of his injury by 

filing a Petition for Benefit Determination on September 23, 2016.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Whaley shall pay Mr. Terry temporary total disability benefits of $39,968.68 for the 

period of July 27, 2016, through August 1, 2018.

2. Whaley shall pay Mr. Terry permanent partial disability benefits of $32,037.07.

3. Whaley shall pay all past and future reasonable and necessary medical expenses to 

treat Mr. Terry’s July 27, 2016 injury under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-

6-204(a)(1)(A).

4. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Whaley to be paid to the Court Clerk under 

Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.06 (August, 2019) 

within five business days of this order becoming final, and for which execution 

might issue if necessary.

5. Whaley shall file a Statistical Data Form (SD-2) with the Court Clerk within five 

business days of the date this order becomes final.

6. Absent an appeal, this order shall become final thirty days after entry.

 ENTERED July 8, 2020.
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_______________________________

Judge Allen Phillips

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

APPENDIX

Exhibits

1. Medical Report of Dr. Samuel Chung

2. Medical Records of Methodist Healthcare

3. Bureau’s Expedited Request for Investigation Report 

Technical record

1. Expedited Hearing Order with Exhibits

2. Amended Scheduling Order

3. Dispute Certification Notice

4. Dispute Certification Notice—Additional Issues Certification

5. Joint Pre-Hearing Statement

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of this Compensation Hearing Order was sent as indicated on July 

8, 2020.

Name Certified 

Mail

First 

Class 

Mail

Via 

Email

Service Sent To:

Jonathon L May,

Employee’s Attorney

X jmay@forthepeople.com

William A. Wooten, 

Employer’s Attorney

X wawooten@gmail.com

_____________________________________

Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court

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]