TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT MEMPHIS

NICOLE STEEN

, ) Docket No. 2017

- 08

- 081 5 Employee, )

v. ) IDEXX LABORATORIES, INC.

, ) State File No. 5539 2

- 2017 Employer, )

A nd )

TRAVELERS INDEMNITY CO.

, ) Judge Deana C. Seymour

Insurance Carrier. )

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER

DENYING MEDICAL AND TEMPORARY DISABILITY BENEFITS

This case came before the Court on August 29 , 201 8

, up on Nicole Steen ’s Request for Expedited Hearing (REH)

. 1 The central legal issue i s whether Ms. Steen is likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits on entitlement to medical and temporary disability

benefits. T he Court holds she is not likely to do so and denies the request ed benefits at
this time

.

History of Claim

M s

. Steen worked as a lab liaison for IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. ( IDEXX). She

claimed exposure to f ormaldehyde, methanol and mold at work o n January 20 , 201 7

, causing nausea, stomach pains, and shortness of breath

. Ms. Steen reported the exposure

to the nurse case manager at IDEXX

. IDEXX denied the claim without providing medical

care. 2 Ms. Steen received medical treatment on her own from Dr. Ronald Michael at

1 Ms. Steen initially filed three petitions for three different dates of injury. I n her REH, Ms. Steen used the

s tate f ile n umber associated with the January 20, 2017 injury but the docket number for an August 12, 2016 injury. The parties agreed to January 20 as the correct date of injury. Thus

, the Court heard this case

under docket number 2017

- 08

- 0815 and state file number 55392

- 2017 asso ciated with the January 20

claim . The Court dismissed the other claims for failure to prosecute

.

2 IDEXX filed a Form C

- 23 Notice of Denial of Claim for C ompensation on August 24, 2017. It li sted “statutory definition of accident not met; no medical evidence of injury; not major contributing cause” as

1 

### FILED Sep 07, 2018 08:41 AM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMSMethodist Healthcare and Region IV Mental Health Services

. 3 However

, no medical

records from that treatment were admitted into evidence

. 4

Ms. Steen filed a Petition for Benefit Determination asking the Court to order

IDEXX to provide medical treatment and temporary disability benefits. Ms. Steen

testified on her own behalf that she became ill at IDEXX

. However, she admitted that she suffered from Crohn’s Disease and experienced gastrointestinal issues since 2009. She

descri b ed a strong odor in the lab that she reported to the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA). Ms. Steen claimed that IDEXX retaliated against her for filing the TOSHA complaint and refused to allow her to work from home so she

coul d continue her job . She has not worked since she resigned on April 21, 2017

.

IDEXX presented testimony from its Senior Lab Manager, Adam Winter, and Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Scott Chubbuck, that Ms. Steen was not exposed to formaldehyde, methanol, or mold. Mr. Winter and Mr. Chubbuck testified that IDEXX used formalin, which was only four percent formaldehyde diluted in water, in the lab. They testified that Ms. Steen did not work in the area where the chemical was used.

Mr. Chubbuck also testified that IDEXX only used methanol in an analyzer machine that was not open to the general lab where Ms. Steen worked . He further stated that air

quality tests showed that IDEXX did not have problems with mold. According to Mr. Chubbuck, no other empl oyees complained of the issues raised by Ms. Steen.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Standard Applied

M s

. Steen bears the burden of proof on the essential elements of h er claim. Scott v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 24, at *6 (Aug. 18, 2015). Sh e does not have to prove every element of h er claim by a preponderance of t he

evidence but must present sufficient evidence for the Court to determine s 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 *9 (Mar. 27, 2015).

basis for denial. IDEXX also raised the defenses of notice and statute of limitations.

3 During the hearing, Ms. Steen mentioned treatment for depression and anxiety. However, she did not raise a mental injury in her Petition for Benefit Determination (PBD) or Dispute Certification Notice.

4 Ms. Steen attempted to introduce medical records for this treatment into evidence, but IDEXX objected

since the y were only partial records and did not contain the medical providers’ signature s

. The Court sustained the objection and exclude d the records

.

2Causation

To recover benefits , M s

. Steen must show h er alleged injury arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of h er employment. T enn. Code Ann. § 50

- 6

- 102(14)(B ) (2017) . “An injury ‘arises primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment’ only if it has been shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the employment contributed more than fifty percent (50%) in causing th e injury, considering all causes.”

Id

. This contribution must be established to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, which means that, in the opinion of the physician, it is more likely than not considering all causes, as opposed to speculation or pos sibility

. Id

.

Here, Ms. Steen introduced no medical proof of a work injury. Since n o physician

has determined that Ms. Steen’s condition is related to her work , the Court holds Ms.

Steen is unlikely to prevail at a hearing on the merits for entitlement to medical and temporary disability benefits

.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Ms. Steen ’s claim against IDEXX for medical and temporary disability benefits is

denied at this time.

2. This matter is set for a Scheduling Hearing on October 22

, 2018 , at 11:00 a.m.

Central Standard Time. The parties must call (toll

- free) 866

- 943

- 0014 to participate in the Hearing. Failure to call in may result in a determination of the issues without the parties’ participation.

ENTERED September 7 , 201 8

.

_____________________________________ JUDGE DEANA C. SEYMOUR Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

3APPENDIX

Exhibits:

1. Form C

- 41 Wage Statement

2. Ms. Steen’s Resignation Letter of April 21, 2017

3. Affidavit of Bruce Harrod

4. Affidavit of Schuyler Crowe

5. Affidavit of Helen King

- Atallah

6. Charge of Discrimination form filed with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission on November 13, 2017 (ID only)

7. Denial letter from the Social Security Administration, dated May 26, 2017

8. C

- 23 Notice of Denial of Claim for Compensation

9. Dispute Certification Notices

10. Dai ly News article regarding IDEXX

11. Emails between Ms. Steen and representatives of IDEXX (ID only)

12. Petitions for Benefit Determination

Technical record:

1. Petition f or Be nefit Determination (DOI:8/12/16)

1a. Petition for Benefit Determination (DOI: 1/20/17)

2. Disp ute Ce rtification Notice (DOI: 8/12/16) 2a. Dispute Certification Notice (DOI: 1/20/17)

3. Request for Expedited Hearing and attached affidavit (Collective)

4. Ms. Steen’s Response to the Dispute Certification Notice

5. Order on Show Cause Hearing

6. Employer’s Exhibit List

7. Employer’s Witness List

8. Employer/Carrier’s Expedited Hearing Pre

- Trial Brief

9. Motion to Exclude Exhibits

4CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was sent to the following recipients by the following methods of service on this the 7th day of September , 201 8

.

Name Certified

Mail Fax Email Service sent to:

Nicole Steen

, Self

- represented Employee X nicolesteen32@yahoo.com

Paul Nicks

, Employer’s Attorney X pnicks@travelers.com

_____________________________________ PENNY PATTERSON

- SHRUM, CLERK

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

5