1 TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WOR KERS’ COMPENSATION

WORKERS’ COMPENSAT ION APPEALS BOARD

Carrie Robinson ) Dock et No. 2016-06-1563 )

v. ) State File No. 48284-2016 ) Vanderbilt University ) ) ) Appeal from the Court of Workers’ ) Compensation Claims, ) Joshua D. Baker, Judge )

Affirmed and Remande d - Filed April 18, 2017

In this interlocutory appeal, the employee challenges the trial court’s conclusion that she did not file her claim within the statute of limitations provid ed in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203 (2016 ). Although the employee alleged injuries as a result of her employment with her employer, she did not file a claim for those injuries until over one year after the alleged date of injury and over one year fro m the date she retired from her employment. Following an expedited hearing, the trial cour t concluded the employee’s claim was time barred. The employee has appealed. We affirm the trial

court’s decision and remand the case.

Presiding Judge Marshall L. Dav idson, III, delivered the opinio n of the Appeals Board in which Judge David F. H ensley and Judge Timothy W. Conner joined

.

Carrie Robinson, Nashville, Tenne ssee, employee-appellant, pro se

Nathaniel K. Cherry, Nashville, Tennessee, for the employer-app ellee, Vanderbilt University2 Memorandum Opinion 1

Carrie Robinson (“Employee”) alleged suffering injuries to her back as a result of her employment in a market at V anderbilt University (“Employer” ). While the precise theory of her claim is unclear, it appears she alleges sufferin g injuries to her back and neck as a result of repetitive lif ting of items in the store. Employee alleged a June 1, 2015 date of injury, and she retired from her employment with E mployer effective August 1, 2015 without having given notice of a work injury. I t is undisputed that she first provided notice of her inj uries to Employer in a letter d ated April 26, 2016.

Employer denied the claim, and Employee filed a petition for be nefit determination on August 18, 2016. After an expedited hearing, the trial court found Employee had failed to file her claim for benefits within the t ime period mandated by

Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203 and declined to award benefits. 2 Employee has appealed.

Employee has provided no argument or explanation on appeal ide ntifying or describing any errors she contends were made by the trial court

. 3 As stated by the Tennessee Supreme Court, “[i]t is not the role of the courts, t rial or appellate, to research or construct a litigant’s case or arguments for him or her.” Sneed v. Bd. of Prof’l Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tenn. , 301 S.W.3d 603, 615 (Tenn. 2010). Indeed, were we to search the record for possible errors and ra ise issues and arguments for Employee, we would essentia lly be acting as her counsel, wh ich the law prohibits us from doing. It is unclear how E mployee contends the trial cour t erred in resolving her case, and we decline to speculate.

Furthermore, without a record of the testimony presented to the trial court, the totality of the evidence introduc ed at the expedited hearing is unknown, and we will not speculate as to the nature and extent of the proof presented to the trial court. Consistent

1 “The Appeals Board may, in an effort to secure a just and spee dy determination of m atters on appeal and with the concurrence of all judges, decide an appeal by an abbr eviated order or by memorandum opinion, whichever the Appeals Board deems appropriate, in cases that ar e not legally and/or factually novel or complex.” Appeals Bd. Prac. & Proc. § 1.3.

2 Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203(b)(1) provides that “ [i]n instances when the employer has not paid workers’ compensation benefits . . . the right to comp ensation . . . shall be forever barred, unless the notice required by § 50-6-201 is given to the employer and a petition for benefit determination is filed with the bureau . . . within one (1) year after the accident resulting in injury.” Here, it is undisputed that Employer did not pay any workers ’ compensation benefits to Empl oyee.

3 The notice of appeal filed by Employee merely states: “I feel t hat there wasn’t statute of limitations,

because I talked to labor force and I was told that I still had time to file for workman’s comp, the date that was recorded is not the actually [sic] date that I filled [sic] for workman’s compensation. I was still working at Vanderbilt June 1, 2015.”3 with established Tennessee law, w e must presume that the trial court’s rulings were supported by sufficient evidence. See Leek v. Powell , 884 S.W.2d 118, 121 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994) (“In the absence of a transcript or a statement of t he evidence, we must conclusively presume that every fact admissible under the plead ings was found or should have been found favorably to the appellee.”).

Accordingly, the trial court’s decision is affirmed, and the ca se is remanded for any further proceedings t hat may be necessary.TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

WORKERS’ COMPENSAT I ON APPEALS BOARD

Carrie Robinson ) Docket No. 2016

- 06

- 1563

)

v. ) State File No. 48284

- 2016

)
Vanderbilt Uni versity )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Appeals Board’s decision in the referenced case was sent to the following recipients by the following methods of service

on this the 18th day of April, 2017

.

Name Certified

Mail First Class

Mail Via

Fax Fax

Number Via

Email Email Address

Carrie Robinson X robinsoncm61@gmail.com

Nathaniel K. Cherry X ncherry@howardtatelaw.com

Joshua D. Baker , Judge X Via Electronic Mail

Kenneth M. Switzer

, Chief Judge X Via Electronic Mail

Penny Shrum, Clerk,

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims X Penny.Patterson

- Shrum@tn.gov

Jeanette Baird Deputy Clerk, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board 220 French Landing Dr., Ste. 1 -B Nashville, TN 37243 Telephone: 615

- 253

- 0064

Electronic Mail: WCAppeals.Clerk@tn.gov