1

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT COOKEVILLE

TRACY WRIGHT, ) Docket No. 2019-04-0270

Employee, )

v. ) State File No. 66044-2020

JOSHUA COOPER, d/b/a

J&K IMPROVEMENTS,

)

) Judge Robert Durham

Uninsured Employer. )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER GRANTING BENEFITS

(Decision on the Record)

This case came before the Court for an expedited hearing. After the parties’ 

agreement to accept a decision on the record, the Court issued a Docketing Notice that 

required responses by March 4. The issues are whether Mr. Wright provided sufficient 

evidence to establish a compensation rate for entitlement to temporary total disability 

benefits and whether Mr. Cooper’s wife, Kylie Cooper, is a partner in J&K 

Improvements, and thus also liable to Mr. Wright. The Court holds that the evidence 

supports an award of temporary disability at a compensation rate of $419.91, but only 

from August 29 through October 8, 2020. Further, the proof does not establish Mrs. 

Cooper’s liability to Mr. Wright for workers’ compensation benefits.

History of Claim

The Court previously held an expedited hearing on January 19, 2021, to determine 

whether Mr. Cooper is obligated to provide Mr. Wright medical and temporary disability

benefits for a work-related left-foot fracture. The evidence presented at that hearing, as 

well as the Court’s findings, are incorporated by reference. 

During that hearing, Mr. Cooper testified that as the sole proprietor of J&K 

Improvements, Mrs. Cooper did not have any ownership. Mr. Wright did not object to 

this representation or provide any evidence to the contrary. Further, the Uninsured 

Employer Investigation Report did not identify Mrs. Cooper as Mr. Cooper’s partner in 

J&K Improvements.

FILED

Mar 09, 2021

02:51 PM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS
2

As for temporary disability benefits, Mr. Wright provided medical evidence 

establishing his total disability from August 29 through October 8; that J&K paid him 

$16.00 an hour, which was paid at the end of each project; and that he worked “almost 

every day.” However, he did not provide any evidence regarding the actual days he 

worked or the specific amounts J& K Improvements paid.

After the January 19 hearing, the Court held Mr. Wright established he is likely to 

prove that he was Mr. Cooper’s employee when he was injured on August 28, 2020, thus 

making Mr. Cooper liable for benefits. The Court also held that Mr. Wright is likely to 

prove entitlement to payment of reasonable and necessary medical expenses causally 

related to his fracture and entitlement to temporary total disability from August 29 

through October 8. However, he did not provide sufficient evidence to determine his 

compensation rate. Finally, the Court found that Mr. Wright is eligible to receive 

benefits from the Uninsured Employer’s Fund under Tennessee Code Annotated section 

50-6-801.

After receiving the Court’s order, Mr. Wright filed another Request for Expedited 

Hearing. He attached a Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 72 Statement in which 

he asserted that when he was hired on May 18, 2020, he worked forty hours per week for 

two weeks at $14.00 per hour, and at the end of May, Mr. Cooper raised his pay to 

$16.00 per hour. The only additional evidence that Mr. Wright provided as to his actual

pay or the hours he worked while employed by Mr. Cooper was indirectly when he 

calculated his “lost wages” from his injury through January based on a forty-hour 

workweek. 

As for Mrs. Cooper, Mr. Wright added her as an employer at the top of the

Request for Expedited Hearing and asserted in his Rule 72 Statement that Mr. Cooper 

hired him for “his [sic] and his wife’s business, J&K Improvements.” He went on to say 

that “the Coopers” agreed to pay him $16.00 per hour, and he made multiple references 

to working for “the Coopers.”

Mr. Cooper did not provide any evidence in response to the request for expedited 

hearing.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Mr. Wright bears the burden of presenting sufficient evidence to show that he is 

likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1) 

(2020); McCord v. Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. 

LEXIS 6, at *7-8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015).

Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-207(1)(a) sets out that temporary total 

disability benefits are based on two thirds of the injured employee’s average weekly 
3

wage. The Court finds the undisputed evidence shows that Mr. Wright is likely to prove 

he worked forty hours per week during his employment with Mr. Cooper. He worked 

from May 18 through May 31 at $14.00 per hour and from June 1 until August 28 at 

$16.00 per hour. Based on this finding, the Court calculates Mr. Wright’s average 

weekly wage to be $629.86, and two-thirds of this amount leads to a compensation rate of 

$419.91.

However, to receive temporary total disability benefits, Mr. Wright must also

show he is likely to prove: (1) a disability from working as the result of a compensable 

injury; (2) a causal connection between the injury and the inability to work; and (3) the 

duration of the period of disability. Shepherd v. Haren Const. Co., Inc., 2016 TN Wrk. 

Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 15, at *13 (Mar. 30, 2016). While medical proof is not an 

“absolute prerequisite” to receiving temporary disability benefits, any award must be 

consistent with the medical evidence. Austin v. Genlyte Thomas Grp., LLC, No. M2009-

01601-WC-R3-WC, 2010 Tenn. LEXIS 652, at *10,11 (Tenn. Workers’ Comp. Panel 

July 12, 2010).

Previously, the Court found Mr. Wright was entitled to temporary total disability 

benefits from August 29 through October 8. While Mr. Wright alleged that he did not 

work from August 29 through February 2, 2021, the Court holds that his allegation 

without medical proof is insufficient to show he is likely to prove at trial that his inability 

to work extended beyond October 8. Thus, the Court holds that Mr. Cooper must pay 

temporary total disability benefits from August 29 through October 8, 2020, at a 

compensation rate of $419.91 for a total of $2,459.47. Mr. Wright’s claim for additional 

temporary disability benefits is denied at this time.

Regarding Mr. Wright’s assertion that Mrs. Cooper was a partner in J&K 

Improvements and thus was also his employer, the Court holds the scant evidence he 

provided is insufficient to overcome Mr. Cooper’s assertions to the Court and to the 

Uninsured Employer’s Fund investigator that he was the business’s sole proprietor. As a 

result, the Court holds at this time that Mrs. Cooper was not Mr. Wright’s employer.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that:

1. Mr. Cooper shall pay Mr. Wright temporary total disability benefits in the amount of 

$2,459.47.

2. Mr. Wright is eligible to receive an award from the Uninsured Employer’s Fund 

under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-801 for the past temporary total 

disability benefits owed by Mr. Cooper based on the Court’s holding set out in its 

previous Expedited Hearing Order. Mr. Wright may request this award using the 

attached form.
4

3. Mr. Cooper remains obligated to pay Mr. Wright’s past and future expenses for the 

reasonable and necessary treatment of his work-related injuries, and Mr. Wright 

remains eligible to receive reimbursement from the Uninsured Employer’s Fund for 

expenses from providers identified in the previous Expedited Hearing Order.

4. Mrs. Cooper retains no liability for Mr. Wright’s claim at this time.

5. This case is set for a Scheduling Hearing on April 15, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. Central 

Time. The parties must call 615-253-0010 or toll-free at 855-689-9049 to 

participate. Failure to call may result in a determination of the issues without your 

further participation. 

6. Unless interlocutory appeal of the Expedited Hearing Order is filed, compliance 

with this Order must occur no later than seven business days from the date of entry 

of this Order as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(d)(3). The 

Insurer or Self-Insured Employer must submit confirmation of compliance with this 

Order to the Bureau by email to WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov no later than the 

seventh business day after entry of this Order. Failure to submit the necessary 

confirmation within the period of compliance may result in a penalty assessment for 

non-compliance. For questions regarding compliance, please contact the Workers’ 

Compensation Compliance Unit via email at WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov.

ENTERED March 9, 2021.

__________________________________

Robert V. Durham, Judge

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

APPENDIX

Exhibits:

1. Request for Investigation Report

2. Dr. Simpson’s Report

3. Prescription receipts and medical bills

4. Additional prescription receipts and medical bills

5. J&K Improvements Commercial Liability Policy

6. Expedited Hearing Order dated January 29, 2021

7. Mr. Wright’s T.R.C.P. Rule 72 Statement

Technical Record:
5 

1. Petition for Benefit Determination 

2. Expedited Request for Investigation

3. Dispute Certification Notice 

4. Request for Expedited Hearing 

5. Second Request for Expedited Hearing 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on March 9, 2021. 

Name Certified 

Mail

Via

Fax

Via 

Email

Service sent to:

Tracy Wright X X 123 Stone Avenue, Apt. 2

Crossville, TN 3855 

wrightnormantracy@gmail.com

Joshua Cooper X X 150 Grandview Drive,

Crossville, TN 38555 

Jkimprovements20@gmail.com

Uninsured Employers 

Fund

 X Lashawn.pender@tn.gov 

 

_____________________________________ 

 Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court 

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims 

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov