FILED 

TN COURI'OF 

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Time· 11 : IO ... W 

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION 

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS 

AT COOKEVILLE 

Linda Green, 

Employee, 

v. 

Rogers Group, 

Employer, 

And 

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 

Carrier. 

) Docket No.: 2016-04-0085 

) 

) 

) State File No.: 99072-2015 

) 

) 

) Judge Robert Durham 

) 

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER GRANTING TEMPORARY DISABILITY 

BENEFITS AND DENYING MEDICAL BENEFITS 

(Decision on the Record) 

This cause came before the undersigned Workers' Compensation Judge upon the 

Request for Expedited Hearing (REH) filed by Ms. Green to determine if Rogers Group 

is obligated to pay for medical treatment Ms. Green received following her fall at work as 

well as temporary total disability benefits. Ms. Green requested the Court issue a ruling 

based on a review of the file without an evidentiary hearing, and Rogers Group did not 

object. 

On March 16, 2017, the Court sent a Docketing Notice to the parties regarding the 

contents of the record before it. Neither party objected to the Court considering any of 

the records listed in the Docketing Notice in rendering its decision. Considering the 

positions of the parties, the applicable law, and all of the evidence submitted, the Court 

concludes it needs no further information to render judgment. The Court holds Ms. 

Green has provided sufficient evidence to establish she is likely to prevail at a 

compensation hearing with regard to temporary total disability benefits, but not regarding 

medical expenses incurred subsequent to her initial discharge from the hospital. 

History of Claim 

On December 11, 2015, Ms. Green was working as a dispatcher for Rogers Group, 

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a rock and gravel provider, when she fell approximately eight feet from a catwalk while 

at a ticket printer box. Although it did not dispute the fall occurred, Rogers Group 

originally denied the claim on the basis that Ms. Green was intoxicated at the time of the 

fall. 

Following an expedited hearing, the Court issued an order on February 21, 20 1 7, 

holding Rogers Group was unlikely to prevail at a compensation hearing on its 

intoxication defense. The Court ordered Rogers Group to pay for Ms. Green's 

emergency room treatment from December 11 through her initial discharge on December 

13, and further ordered Rogers Group to provide a panel of physicians from which Ms. 

Green could seek further medical care. However, the Court also held that Ms. Green did 

not provide sufficient evidence to establish the reasonableness and necessity of medical 

expenses incurred through her readmission to the hospital from December 13 through 1 7, 

or her request for temporary disability benefits while off work following her fall. (T .R. 

3.) Ms. Green filed this REH in an attempt to obtain those benefits. (T.R. 1.) 

At the prior hearing, Ms. Green and her husband, Larry Green, testified that 

immediately following her discharge from Skyline on the 13th, they received a phone call 

from Skyline urging her to return to the hospital as quickly as possible due to tests that 

revealed a serious oxygen deficiency. Ms. Green immediately returned by ambulance to 

Skyline complaining of "feeling terrible" and suffering from respiratory insufficiency. 

She was readmitted to the hospital, where she stayed until December 17. According to 

the discharge report recently provided by Ms. Green, Dr. David Bentley opined that Ms. 

Green had been discharged "prematurely" by the nursing staff at Skyline on December 

13. (Ex. 3.) 

According to the admission report from December 13, Ms. Green suffered 

"multiple right-sided rib fractures and transverse process fractures of her lumbar spine." 

Ms. Green underwent a chest CT that revealed a right hydropneumothorax that was not 

present on the study taken on December 11. Dr. Benjamin Tourkow also diagnosed Ms. 

Green with a pulmonary embolism in her right lung and a partial lung collapse. (Ex. 1 at 

1, 2, 7, 24.) Skyline treated Ms. Green's embolism with blood thinners, Heparin and 

Coumadin, and kept her under close observation during her hospital stay. When 

discharged, Dr. Haile Mezghebe recommended Ms. Green avoid strenuous activity, with 

no lifting more than three to five pounds; use home oxygen, an LSO brace, and an 

incentive spirometer at home; and continue taking pain medication and Coumadin with 

regular check-ups of her Coumadin levels. (Ex. 3.) 

As recommended by Dr. Mezghebe, Ms. Green sought additional treatment with 

her personal care physician, Richard Rutherford, at Carthage Family Practice (CFP), who 

monitored her Coumadin levels. 1 On January 18, 2016, Physician's Assistant Peter 

1 While Ms. Green primarily saw Physician's Assistant, Peter Alfano, at CFP, Dr. Rutherford reviewed and 

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Alfano recorded Ms. Green was there for "follow-up/recent evaluation of right rib 

fractures from a fall on 12/11115. Resulted in secondary pneumothorax and pulmonary 

embolus." (Ex. 3.) 

Ms. Green continued treatment with CFP, noting improvement on February 18, 

and stating she was "ready to return to work as a truck dispatcher." !d. at 16. Ms. Green 

provided a letter from Dr. Rutherford dated February 23, stating that Ms. Green was 

under his care beginning on December 21 , 2015, and was released to return to work on 

February 22, 2016. He further stated that "her loss of work during this time was directly 

related to her work comp. injury." (Ex. 4.) Ms. Green continued to treat at CFP for pain 

in her low back and right ribs until April 24. She also offered a note from Acute Surgical 

Care Specialists stating she was under doctor's care from December 13 through 

December 29, 2015. 

According to Ms. Green's wage statement, her average weekly wage with Rogers 

Group was $943.69, resulting in a compensation rate of$629.26. 

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law 

As in all workers' compensation actions, Ms. Green, as the claimant, has the 

burden of proof on all essential elements of her claim. Scott v. Integrity Staffing 

Solutions, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 24, at *6 (Aug. 18, 2015). However, 

since this is an expedited hearing, she only has the burden to come forward with 

sufficient evidence from which the trial court can determine she is likely to prevail at a 

hearing on the merits in order to meet her burden. McCord v. Advantage Human 

Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *7-8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015). 

In its defense of Ms. Green's claim for benefits, Rogers Group first argues that the 

Court has already rendered a decision with regard to these benefits. In its previous order, 

the Court ordered Rogers Group to provide a panel of physicians from which Ms. Green 

can choose an authorized physician and deferred any decision regarding temporary 

benefits and further reimbursement of past medical expenses until the authorized 

physician addressed these issues. Thus, Rogers Group argues, since Ms. Green has yet to 

choose an authorized physician, any decision regarding issues of temporary disability 

benefits and past medical expenses would be premature. 

The Court's February 21 Expedited Hearing Order was an interlocutory order. See 

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239( d)(l) (20 16). "Interlocutory" is defined as "provisional, 

temporary, not final, i.e., something intervening between the commencement and the end 

of the suit which decided some point or matter, but is not the final decision of the whole 

controversy." Gentry v. Gentry, 2016 Tenn. App. LEXIS 948, at 8 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 

approved the records as noted by his electronic signature. 

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9, 2016). Given that the Expedited Hearing Order is not the "final decision," both parties 

have the opportunity to present new evidence on issues that were decided by the Court 

based on the evidence that was before it at the time. !d. 

As to the Court's "deferral" of these issues until an authorized physician addressed 

them, such language was merely a means to indicate that the issues could be reintroduced 

once either party obtained additional evidence. To exclude either party from entering 

otherwise admissible evidence for the Court to consider on issues regarding medical 

benefits and temporary disability would be contrary to the intent of the Expedited 

Hearing process. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239( d)(l) (20 16). Therefore, the Court 

must consider whether Ms. Green provided sufficient additional evidence to warrant a 

holding that she is likely to prevail in establishing her entitlement to the medical expenses 

and temporary disability benefits in question. 

With regard to medical expenses, whether an employee is justified in seeking 

payment for unauthorized medical expenses from an employer depends upon the 

circumstances of each case. Buchanan v. Mission Ins. Co., 713 S.W.2d 654, 656 (Tenn. 

1986). An injured employee "has the burden of establishing the necessity and 

reasonableness of charges incurred under physicians not designated or otherwise 

approved by the employer." Russell v. Genesco, Inc., 651 S.W.2d 206, 211 (Tenn. 1983). 

Ms. Green's supplemental evidence establishes that her discharge from Skyline was 

"premature" and she was urged to return to the emergency room by Carthage Family 

Practice. While this evidence is sufficient to establish her need for continued medical 

treatment, it does not establish a causal link between her work accident and the need for 

treatment. Furthermore, no physician has addressed the reasonableness and necessity of a 

four-day stay in the hospital following her initial discharge or the subsequent treatment 

provided by Carthage Family Practice. Ms. Green must present expert medical opinion 

addressing these issues before the Court can determine she would be likely to prevail at a 

compensation hearing, and she has yet to do so. 

In order to receive temporary total disability benefits, Ms. Green must prove ( 1) 

total 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 Canst. Co., Inc., et al., 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. 

LEXIS 15, at *13 (Mar. 30, 2016). It goes without saying that Ms. Green was totally 

disabled while in the hospital on December 12 and 13, which the Court previously found 

was due to her work-related injury. Furthermore, Ms. Green provided a note from Dr. 

Richard Rutherford, her family practitioner, stating she was unable to work from 

December 21, 2015, through February 22, 2016, and her inability to work was "directly 

related" to her work injury. 

Therefore, based on the evidence before the Court at this time, the Court finds Ms. 

Green is likely to prove she is entitled to temporary total disability benefits for December 

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12 and 13, 2015, as well as from December 21, 2015, through February 22, 2016. Based 

on her compensation rate of $629.26, this totals $5,843.13 in temporary total disability 

benefits, which Rogers Group is obligated to pay Ms. Green. 

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED: 

1. Rogers Group shall pay temporary total disability benefits m the amount of 

$5,843.13. 

2. Rogers Group is not required to pay any medical expenses incurred subsequent to 

Ms. Green's initial discharge from Skyline Hospital on December 13, 2015, at this 

time. 

3. This matter is set for a Scheduling Hearing on April 10, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. C.S.T. 

The parties or their counsel must call615-253-0010 or toll-free at 855-689-9049 to 

participate in the hearing. Failure to call may result in a determination of the 

issues without your further participation. 

4. 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) 

(2016). 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 WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov or by calling (615) 

253-1471. 

ENTERED THIS THEt:;) _th DAY OF APRIL, 2017. 

R bert V. Durham, Judge 

Court of Workers' Compensation Claims 

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5th

APPENDIX 

Exhibits: 

1. All exhibits entered from the Expedited Hearing Order issued from an On~the~ 

Record determination on November 3, 2016, as well as all exhibits and testimony 

from the Expedited Hearing on February 10, 2017 

2. Affidavit of Ms. Green 

3. Additional medical records from Skyline Medical Center 

4. Letter from Dr. Richard Rutherford 

Technical Record: 

1. Request for Expedited Hearing 

2. Employer's Response to REH 

3. Expedited Hearing Order entered on February 21, 2017 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Expedited Hearing Order was 

sent to the following recipients by the following methods of service on this the _ day of 

April, 20 1 7. 

Name Certified 

Mail 

Linda Green X 

Heather Douglas 

Via Via Service sent to: 

Fax Email 

X P.O. Box 32, 

Riddleton, TN 3 7151 

cookiei oeg@gmail.com 

X hdouglas@Jmanierherod.com 

Pe ny Sh u , Clerk of Court 

Court of orkers' Compensation Claims 

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov 

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