TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION 

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS 

AT GRAY 

PHILLIP HALL, 

Employee, 

v. 

LIFE CARE CENTERS OF 

AMERICA, INC., 

Employer, 

and 

OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE CO., 

Carrier. 

) Docket Number: 2018-02-0063 

) 

) 

) State File Number: 98623-2017 

) 

) 

) 

) Judge Brian K. Addington 

) 

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER 

This case came before the Court on October 4, 2018, on Phillip Hall's Request for 

Expedited Hearing. The issue is whether he is entitled to temporary partial disability 

benefits. For the reasons below, the Court holds that Mr. Hall is not likely to prevail at a 

hearing on the merits in proving that he is entitled to the requested benefits. 

History of Claim 

Life Care hired Mr. Hall as a certified nursing assistant in October 2017. He 

alleged three injuries before his employment ended in April 2018. For the purposes of 

this hearing, the parties focused on Mr. Hall's January 10, 2018 right great-toe fracture 

and his April 4, 2018 back injury. Life Care did not dispute the injuries occurred at work. 

Dr. Jeffrey Dikis treated Mr. Hall's toe. He restricted his work duties and placed 

him in a walking boot, which exposed his toes. Life Care provided light-duty work after 

the injury. Mr. Hall reinjured his toe at work on March 14 when he hit it on a stool. He 

testified he fell at least four times after January 10 due to the injury and the boot. 

During this time, Mr. Hall underwent work-related problems with other 

employees. He and co-workers complained about each other. The situation worsened 

and Life Care conducted an investigation. Mr. Hall admitted that he and a co-worker 

1 

FILED

Oct 09, 2018

11:40 AM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS
argued over a bonus that Life Care paid the co-worker. 1 Mr. Hall denied making 

inappropriate comments towards co-workers. He insisted they misconstrued his words. 

He accused them of making sexual, rude comments towards him and touching him. 

Several co-workers' statements indicated Mr. Hall often made sexual or inappropriate 

comments at work. 2 

During the evening of April 3, Life Care decided to suspend Mr. Hall. Misty Key, 

Executive Director, tried to contact him but was unable to reach him by phone. When 

Mr. Hall reported to work the next morning, Ms. Key asked him into a meeting and 

suspended him for conduct that created a poor image for the facility. Before the meeting, 

Mr. Hall slipped on a wet floor due to the boot. After his suspension, Mr. Hall called 

from home and requested treatment for back pain. 

Mr. Hall treated with Takoma Health Systems on April 4 for his back. Providers 

there restricted him to work where he could sit. Later, Life Care authorized Dr. Craig 

Schmalzreid to treat his back injury. 

Before seeing Dr. Schmalzreid, Life Care terminated Mr. Hall on April 9 for a 

code of conduct violation, which it described as "[P]oor image for the facility." 

Later, Mr. Hall saw Dr. Schmalzreid, who diagnosed his back injury as acute pain 

and sciatica and assigned restrictions. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Dikis placed Mr. Hall at maximum medical improvement for his 

toe and released him to full duty on April 20. Dr. Schamlzreid released him to full duty 

work on April 26. 

Life Care paid temporary partial disability benefits from April 4-20 for his toe 

injury. Mr. Hall requested temporary partial disability benefits from April 4-26 for his 

back, even though he received temporary partial benefits from April 4-20. He argued that 

he suffered two different injuries, so he was entitled to two separate disability payments, 

even if the times overlapped. He argued his back injury would not have occurred if Life 

Care followed its no open-toe shoe policy. Life Care argued Mr. Hall was not entitled to 

additional temporary partial disability benefits because it accommodated his restrictions 

before it terminated him. 

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law 

At an expedited hearing, Mr. Hall has the burden to present sufficient evidence 

1 Life Care offered a bonus to employees who referred successful job applicants. 

2 The Court gleaned this information from part of Mr. Hall's employment file, which entered the record as 

exhibit 9 without objection. 

2 
from which this Court can determine that he is likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits. 

McCord v. Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at 

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

Before addressing the temporary benefits issue, the Court notes that although 

parties identified two distinct injury dates, the Court finds Mr. Hall's injury date is 

January 10, 2018. Mr. Hall testified he fell at least four times due to the injury to his 

great toe and boot. According to Mr. Hall, the boot slip on the wet floor at work is what 

caused him to injure his back. Therefore, the April 4 event is a natural consequence of 

his toe injury and not a distinct new injury. See Anderson v. Westfield Grp., 259 S.W.3d 

690, 696-7 (Tenn. 2008). 

Mr. Hall requested temporary partial disability, which refers to the time, if any, 

during which the injured employee is able to resume some gainful employment but has 

not reached maximum recovery." Frye v. Vincent Printing Co., 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. 

App. Bd. LEXIS 34, at *15-16 (Aug. 2, 2016.) He requested the period from April4-26, 

even though Life Care paid him temporary partial disability benefits from April 4-20. 

Mr. Hall did not present any statute or case law indicating an employee is entitled to 

multiple temporary disability payments for the same time period, and the Court is 

unaware of any. Therefore, the Court denies his request for additional temporary 

disability benefits solely for the back injury for April 4-20. This leaves his request for 

April 21-26. 

Concerning the latter period, Mr. Hall presented a physician's note indicating Dr. 

Schmalzreid restricted his work for that time period, and he testified he did not work due 

to his termination. Life Care did not dispute these facts. 

However, even though an employee has a work-related injury for which temporary 

benefits are payable, an employer may still enforce workplace rules. Thus, a termination 

due to a violation of workplace rules may relieve an employer of its obligation to provide 

temporary partial disability benefits, provided the termination was related to the 

workplace violation. Courts must "consider the employer's need to enforce workplace 

rules and the reasonableness of the contested rules." An employer will not be penalized 

for enforcing a policy if the court determines "( 1) that the actions allegedly precipitating 

the employee's dismissal qualified as misconduct under established or ordinary 

workplace rules and/or expectations; and (2) that those actions were, as a factual matter, 

the true motivation for the dismissal." See Jones v. Crencor Leasing and Sales, 2015 TN 

Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 48, at *7-9 (Dec. 11, 2015). 

Here, Life Care terminated Mr. Hall for creating a poor image for the facility. 

Essentially, Life Care accused him of making remarks that were inappropriate in the 

workplace. These not only included sexual, rude comments but also remarks concerning 

a bonus Life Care paid another employee when it hired Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall did not deny 

3 
he confronted the other employee about the bonus. Although he explained he did not 

make the other comments or that the person hearing the comments wrongly construed 

them, multiple co-workers' statements contradicted Mr. Hall. The Court finds Mr. Hall 

made inappropriate remarks that violated ordinary workplace expectations, and this was 

Life Care's true motivation for his dismissal. 

The Court finds the termination reasonable and unrelated to his worker's 

compensation claim. The Court holds that Mr. Hall is not likely to succeed at a hearing 

on the merits in proving his entitlement to temporary partial disability benefits for the 

period from April21-26, 2018. 

IT IS THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows: 

1. Mr. Hall's requested relief is denied at this time. 

2. This case is set for a Status Hearing on November 30, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. The 

parties must call 855-543-5044 to attend the hearing. Failure to call may result in 

a determination of the issues without your participation. 

ENTERED October 9, 2018. 

IS/ Brian K. Addington 

BRIAN K. ADDINGTON, JUDGE 

Court of Workers' Compensation Claims 

4 
APPENDIX 

Evidence: 

1. Affidavit of Mr. Hall 

2. Employer's First Report of Injury 

3. Employee's Choice of Physician 

4. Wage Statement (February 5, 2018) 

5. Medical Records of East Tennessee Spine and Orthopaedic Specialists 

6. Medical Records of Takoma Regional Hospital 

7. Medical Records of Summit Family Medicine 

8. Deposition of Karen Harper 

9. Incomplete Personnel File of Mr. Hall 

Technical Record: 

1. Petition for Benefit Determination, May 16, 2018 

2. Dispute Certification Notice, June 11, 2018 

3. Request for Expedited Hearing, June 25, 2018 

4. Objection to Request for Expedited Hearing on the Record 

5. Order Denying Request for a Decision on the Record and Setting an 

Evidentiary Hearing 

6. Order on Status Hearing and Consolidating Claims 

7. Notice ofFiling of Wage Statement and attachments 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that a true and correct copy of the Order was sent to the following 

recipients by the following methods of service on October 9, 2018. 

Name Certified Fax 

Mail 

Phillip Hall, 

Employee X 

Debra Fulton, 

Employer's Attorney 

Email Service sent to: 

112 S. Sunset St. 

Greeneville, TN 37743 

X dfulton@fmsllp.com 

~ ~Uk- Penn m, Clerk 

W '.Cout i.Cierk@tn.gov 

5 
Expedited Hearing Order Right to Appeal:

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

Compensation Appeals Board. To appeal an expedited hearing order, you must:

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

form with the Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims within seven 

business days of the date the expedited hearing order was filed. When filing the Notice 

of Appeal, you must serve a copy upon all parties. 

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 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 the 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. If a transcript of 

the proceedings is to be filed, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript and file 

it with the court clerk within ten business days of the filing the Notice of 

Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the evidence prepared jointly by both 

parties within ten business 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 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. If you wish to file a position statement, you must file it with the court clerk within ten

business days after the deadline to file a transcript or statement of the evidence. The 

party opposing the appeal may file a response with the court clerk within ten business 

days after you file your position statement. All position statements should include: (1) a 

statement summarizing the facts of the case from the evidence admitted during the 

expedited hearing; (2) a statement summarizing the disposition of the case as a result of 

the expedited hearing; (3) a statement of the issue(s) presented for review; and (4) an 

argument, citing appropriate statutes, case law, or other authority.

For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.


ll 

. 

Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation 

220 French Landing Drive, 1-B 

Nashville, TN 37243-1002 

800-332-2667 

AFFIDAVIT OF INDIGENCY 

.. I 

I, , having been duly sworn according to law, make oath that 

because of my poverty, I am unable to bear the costs of this appeal and request that the filing fee to appeal be 

waived. The following facts support my poverty. 

1. Full Name: ___________ _ 2. Address:-------------

3. Telephone Number:--------- 4. Date of Birth:-----------

5. Names and Ages of All Dependents: 

----------------- Relationship:-------------

----------------- Relationship:-------------

---------------- - Relationship:-------------

----------------- Relationship:-------------

6. I am employed by: ------------------------------,-

My employer's address is:-------------------------

My employer's phone number is:-----------------------

7. My present monthly household income, after federal income and social security taxes are deducted, is: 

$ _______ __ 

8. I receive or expect to receive money from the following sources: 

AFDC $ per month beginning 

SSI $ per month beginning 

Retirement $ per month beginning 

Disability $ per month beginning 

Unemployment $ per month beginning 

Worker's Camp.$ per month beginning 

Other $ per month beginning 

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082 
9. My expenses are: ' ; !• 

' 

Rent/House Payment $ per month Medical/Dental $ per month 

Groceries $ per month Telephone $ per month 

Electricity $ per month School Supplies $ per month 

Water $ per month Clothing $ per month 

Gas $ per month Child Care $ per month 

Transportation $ per month Child Support $ per month 

Car $ per month 

Other $ per month (describe: 

10. Assets: 

Automobile $ ____ _ 

Checking/Savings Acct. $ ____ _ 

House 

) 

Other 

11. My debts are: 

Amount Owed 

$ _ ___ _ 

$ ____ _ 

To Whom 

(FMV) - ---------

(FMV) ----------

Describe: _____ _____ _ 

I hereby declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing answers are true, correct, and complete 

and that I am financially unable to pay the costs of this appeal. 

APPELLANT 

Sworn and subscribed before me, a notary public, this 

___ dayof _____________ ,20 ___ _ 

NOTARY PUBLIC 

My Commission Expires: _ _ _____ _ 

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082