TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT NASHVILLE

CARRIE ROBINSON, ) Docket No. 2016-06-1563

Employee, )

v. ) State File No. 48284-2016

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, )

Employer. ) Judge Joshua Davis Baker

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING 

REQUEST FOR MEDICAL BENEFITS

This claim came before the Court on March 2, 2017, on the request for expedited 

hearing filed by Carrie Robinson pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-

239 (2016). The present focus of this case is whether Ms. Robinson is entitled to medical 

benefits for alleged work-related neck and back injuries.

1 Vanderbilt denied the claim 

and raised the statute of limitations as a defense. For the reasons set forth below, the 

Court finds Ms. Robinson would be unlikely prevail at a hearing on the merits because 

she failed to timely file a workers’ compensation lawsuit. 

History of Claim

This claim concerns a neck and back condition that allegedly resulted from 

repetitive lifting. Ms. Robinson worked in a small market and deli located on Vanderbilt 

University’s campus. Her duties at the market required her to move large boxes of fruit 

and other sundries from the stock room, unpack the items from their boxes, and place 

them on shelves and displays. 

On August 1, 2015, after working for Vanderbilt for approximately forty years, 

Ms. Robinson retired. After retiring, she sought treatment for back and neck pain and 

underwent an MRI that revealed degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, including 

several disc bulges and annular tears, as well as osteoarthritis, stenosis and foraminal 

narrowing. 

 

1 The Dispute Certification Notice listed temporary disability benefits as a disputed issue. At the hearing, Ms. 

Robinson stated she was not pursuing those benefits. 
2

On April 26, 2016, after receiving the MRI results, Ms. Robinson sent a letter to 

Vanderbilt informing them of the condition of her back and her continued pain. The 

letter stated that the tears and bulging discs in her back were, “due to lifting heavy items 

on the job.” It further stated she had spoken with a representative from the Department 

of Labor who advised her to write Vanderbilt about filing a workers’ compensation 

claim. 

Tracey Woodard, senior claims supervisor for Vanderbilt, testified she denied the 

claim based on lack of proper notice and lack of a specific injury. She further testified 

Vanderbilt never paid any workers’ compensation benefits to Ms. Robinson. 

Ms. Robinson filed a Petition for Benefit Determination (PBD) with the Bureau of 

Workers’ Compensation. In her PBD, Ms. Robinson listed her date of injury as June 1, 

2015. Although she signed the PBD on August 1, 2016, Ms. Robinson did not file it until 

August 19, 2016, more than one year after she retired from Vanderbilt. 

At the hearing, Ms. Robinson testified she began having problems with her back 

before she retired from Vanderbilt. Her trouble began when a reduction in market 

staffing forced her to take a more active role in transporting and stocking items. She also 

testified about problems she experienced in performing day-to-day activities after she 

began experiencing back pain. Annie Wright, Ms. Robinson’s sister, also described the 

difficulty Ms. Robinson experienced after developing back pain. 

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

The following legal principles govern the Court’s analysis of this claim. In order 

to ultimately prevail, Ms. Robinson has the burden of proving all essential elements of 

her claim by a preponderance of the evidence. Scott v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, 2015 

TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 24, at *6 (Aug. 18, 2015). At an expedited hearing, 

however, her burden of proof is lower and requires her only to come forward with 

sufficient evidence from which this Court can determine that she is likely to prevail at a 

hearing on the merits. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1) (2016); McCord v. 

Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *9 (Mar. 27, 

2015). The Court holds Ms. Robinson failed to carry this burden because she filed her 

PBD beyond the statute of limitations. 

Vanderbilt raised several affirmative defenses to Ms. Robinson’s claim including 

the assertion that her claim is time-barred because she failed to file a PBD within the 

statute of limitations. In cases where the employer paid no benefits, the Workers’ 

Compensation Law provides that, the employee’s “right to compensation shall be forever 

barred” unless the employee files a PBD within one year after the work-related accident. 

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-203(b)(1) (2016). Ms. Woodard testified that Vanderbilt denied 

Ms. Robinson’s claim and never paid her workers’ compensation benefits. Because she 
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never received benefits from Vanderbilt, Ms. Robinson had to file a PBD within one year 

of her date of injury to maintain a viable claim for benefits. 

Ms. Robinson listed her date of injury as June 1, 2015. Accordingly, using this 

date as the date of injury, she needed to file a PBD no later than July 1, 2016, to prevent 

the statute of limitations from barring her claim. However, because Ms. Robinson’s 

claim indicates a gradual or repetitive-stress type injury as opposed to an acute incident, 

her date of injury is the last day she worked for Vanderbilt under the “last day worked” 

rule. See Building Materials Corp. v. Britt, 211 S.W.3d 706, 711-14 (Tenn. 2007). Even 

utilizing this date as her date of injury, her claim is still time-barred. Ms. Robinson last 

worked for Vanderbilt on August 1, 2015, so her statute of limitations ran as of that date 

in 2016. While Ms. Robinson signed her PBD on August 1, 2016, she did not file it with 

the Bureau until August 18. Accordingly, the statute of limitations barred her claim. The 

Court, therefore, holds Ms. Robinson is unlikely to prevail at a hearing on the merits in 

proving her entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits. Her claim for medical 

benefits is denied. The Court will entertain an appropriate motion from Vanderbilt for 

dismissal of this claim. 

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Ms. Robinson’s claim for medical benefits is denied. 

 

2. This matter is set for a scheduling hearing on April 3, 2017, at 10:30 a.m.

(CDT). The Court will convene the scheduling hearing telephonically. The 

parties must dial (615) 741-2113 or (855) 874-0474 to participate. Failure to 

participate in the scheduling hearing may result in a determination of issues 

without further input.

ENTERED ON THIS THE 10TH DAY OF MARCH, 2017.

___________________________________

Joshua Davis Baker, Judge

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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APPENDIX 

Exhibits:

1. Medical records

2. Affidavit of Carrie Robinson and attached documents

3. Affidavit of Tracey Woodard and attached documents

4. Wage Statement

Technical record:

1. Petition for Benefit Determination

2. Dispute Certification Notice

3. Request for Expedited Hearing

4. Vanderbilt’s Response in Opposition to Request for Expedited Hearing
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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

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

of March, 2017.

Name Certified 

Mail

Via

Fax

Via 

Email

Service sent to:

Carrie Robinson X X 800 Paige Ct.

Nashville, Tennessee 37207

robinsoncm61@gmail.com

Nathaniel Cherry X ncherry@howardtatelaw.com

_____________________________________

Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

10th