1 TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT GRAY

JONATHAN WEBB , ) Docket No. : 202 3

- 02

- 7158

Employee, )

v. ) GEM CARE, INC

. ,

Employer, ) ) State File No.: 68594

- 2023

A nd ) QBE INSU R ANCE CORP

. ,

Carrier. ) ) Judge Brian K. Addington

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER

The Court held an expedited hearing on February 1, 2024, to determine whether Mr. Webb is entitled to benefits. Resolution of this issue rests on credibility. For the reasons below, the Court denies the requested benefits.

Claim History

Since 1997, Mr. Webb experienced off and on pain and swelling with his left leg. He acknowledged he settled two workers’ compensation cases in 2023 involving his left leg. Mr. Webb also agreed he received left

- knee treatment in March 2023 for swelling, and the physician recommended a return visit to an orthoped ist to treat severe osteoarthritis.

As for the present claim, Gem Care employed Mr. Webb at Matsu o as a spring inspector

. 1 He testified he injured his left knee at Matsu o on August 21, 2023, when he tripped on a four

- inch

- thick rubber mat at his workstation. N o one witnesse d the incident. He described feeling immediate burning pain and swelling in his left knee

. He testified he continued to work his shift hoping the pain would improve.

1 Mr. Webb first described his job title a s spring inspector but later changed it to circuit board inspector in a different plant location than the spring inspector job

. 

### FILED Feb 08, 2024 09:26 AM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS2

Right before the shift ended, a Matsu o worker told Mr. Webb he needed to work an additional two hours moving material

. Mr. Webb disagreed. He confirmed with his supervisor that he did not need to work the extra hours and left at his normal time.

O n his way home from work

, a recruiter for Gem Care

, told Mr. Webb that Matsuo fired him

. 2 He told the recruiter about his injury, and she instructed him to go to Gem Care to complete paperwork

. The next day Mr. Webb met with Gem Care and selected an urgent care clinic from a panel.

Mr. Webb visited the clinic , and the physician g ave restrictions of “sit down work only

. ” T he examination showed severe degenerative changes

. When Mr. Webb later returned to the clinic, a physician assistant ordered an MRI to rule out a meniscus tear.

Mr. Webb requested the MRI recommended by his auth orized physician and temporary disability benefits for the time he missed work.

For its part, Gem Care introduced photographs of a workstation floor mat. Kourtni Bybee, a nother Gem Care recruiter

, testified that the photo graph showed a spring inspector workstation. She described the mat as being one

- half inch in height. Gem Care offered a photo of the mat confirming this.

Gem Care also introduced Mr. Webb’s previous criminal convicti on that involved matters of dishonesty and untruthfulness. 3 It asked the C ourt to deny Mr. Webb’s claim.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Mr. Webb must prove a likelihood of prevailing at a hearing on the merits that he is entitled to the requested benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50

- 6

- 239(d)(1) (2023); McCord v. Advantage Human Resourcing , 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *7

- 8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015)

.
Specifica lly, Mr. Webb must show he suffered an “injury” as defined by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50

- 6

- 102(12)

. Section 50

- 6

- 102(12) defines an injury as an “accident” that “arises primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment” that results in “disablement or the need for medical treatment of the employee.” Further, he must show that his injury was caused by a specific incident identifiable b y time and place. Id. at

- 102(12)(A).

A pplying this standard, the C ourt holds Mr. Webb is not likely to prove a work

related injury. H e described a specific in cident . However

, the lack of witnesses and his

2 Mr. Webb testified he did not know Gem Care also terminated him

. 3 Mr. Webb acknowledge d the conviction but stated he was a changed man because he needed to work

.3

failure to report the injury until after Matsuo terminated him call into question whether the incident occurred. Compounding the issue was Mr. Webb’s statement that he tripped at a location other than where he originally testified. Further, Gem Care ’s photograph of the

mat show ed only a half

- inch

- thick pad and not a four

- inch

- thick pad.

Equally disconcerting are the longstanding problem s involving Mr. Webb’s left leg

. Important ly

, he rec eived a referral to return to an orthopedi st five month s before his alleged injury.

M r. Webb ’s credibility is tied to h is claim that he injured his left leg when he tripped

on a mat at work. Gem Care impeached his testimony

. Considering the evidence, t he Court does not find Mr. Webb credible. Therefore, Mr. Webb is not likely to prevail on the merits of establishing that he suffered an injury at work at this time

.

IT IS ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The Court denies Mr. Webb’s requested benefits.

2. The Court set s a status hearing on April 11, 2024, at 10:00 Eastern . You must call 855

- 543

- 5044 to participate in the hearing.

ENTERED February 8, 20 2 4

.

/s/ Brian K. Addington

________ ______________________________ BRIAN K. ADDINGTON , JUDGE Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

Appendix

Technical record : 1. Petition for Benefit Determination 2. Dispute Certification Notice 3. Hearing Request 4. Employer’s Motion for Evidentiary Hearing 5. Order Denying Decision on the Record 6. Employer’s Notice of Witness and Exhibit List

Exhibits : 1. Declaration of Mr. Webb4

2. Physician Panel 3. Wage Statement 4. Notice of Denial 5. Separation Notice , emails, text message 6. Sworn Statement of Ms. Estep 7. Employer’s Notice of Filing Medical Records 8. Drug Screen

- Fastpace Health 9. Gem Care Incident Report 10. Employer’s Request for Discovery from Employee 11. Workers’ Compensation Settlement Agreements 12. Call Log 13. Photos

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a correct copy of this Order was sent on February 8 , 20 2 4

.

Name Certified

Mail Fax Email Service sent to:

Jonathan Webb

, Employee X X webbj1308@gmail.com 734 Bailey Road Rutledge, TN 37861 Allen Callison, Employer’s Attorney X allen.callison@mgclaw.com

______________________________________ PENNY SHRUM, COURT CLERK wc.courtclerk@tn.govLB -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’ Co mpensation 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 fil ed 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: _______________________________________________________

_ Ph one: ___________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Na me:

_____________________________________________ _ BPR#: _______________________ Attorney’s E mail: _____________________________________________

_ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Ad dress:

_________________________________________________________________________ * 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 App ellee’s Address:

_____________________________________________ _ Phone:

_ ___________________ Email: _________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Na me:

_____________________________________________ B PR#: ________________________ Attorney’s E mail: _____________________________________________ Phone:

_______________________ Attorney’s Ad dress:

_________________________________________________________________________ * 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

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, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____.

__ ____________________________________________ [Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]