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TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS 

AT MURFREESBORO 

Rickie A. Brown, ) Docket No. 2016-05-0775

Employee, )

v. ) State File No. 45595-2015

Goodman Global, )

Employer, ) Judge Dale Tipps

and

Ace American Ins. Co.,

 Insurance Company.

)

)

)

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER DENYING BENEFITS

This matter came before the undersigned workers’ compensation judge on April 

12, 2017, on the Request for Expedited Hearing filed by Rickie Brown. The present 

focus of this case is whether Mr. Brown is entitled to medical and temporary disability

benefits for his alleged skin condition. The central legal issue is whether Mr. Brown is

likely to establish at a hearing on the merits that Goodman Global must provide 

additional medical treatment and temporary disability benefits. For the reasons set forth 

below, the Court holds Mr. Brown is not entitled to the requested benefits at this time.

History of Claim

Mr. Brown testified that, while working with fiberglass insulation at Goodman in 

June 2015, he noticed a rash on his arms, hands, and legs. He reported the condition to 

his supervisors. Goodman accepted the claim as compensable and provided a panel of 

medical providers from which Mr. Brown selected Skin Solutions in Pulaski, Tennessee.

The earliest medical record submitted by the parties is from Skin Solutions, dated 

January 5, 2016. Mr. Brown saw PA Darryl Smith for complaints of rash/fiberglass 
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reaction that began at work six months earlier. PA Smith assessed rash and pruritus and 

prescribed Zyrtex, Allegra, and Claritin. He also wrote that Mr. Brown could return to 

work without physical restrictions but recommended that he not work with fiberglass 

insulation until his condition resolved. Subsequent records show Mr. Brown returned for 

three visits in June to undergo patch testing to determine whether the rash resulted from 

an allergic reaction.

On Mr. Brown’s last visit to Skin Solutions on July 7, 2016, PA Kelsey Mauro 

interpreted the patch test results and provided Mr. Brown with handouts regarding the

allergens that caused a reaction. PA Mauro also either recommended or prescribed a 

cleanser and a moisturizer. She released Mr. Brown to return to regular work but said he 

should stay away from insulation and associated allergens. PA Mauro also filled out a 

Final Medical Report indicating that Mr. Brown reached maximum medical improvement 

(MMI) on June 17, 2016, and retained no permanent impairment.

Regarding the issues before the Court, Mr. Brown acknowledged Goodman 

initially provided and paid for his medical treatment. However, he testified that at some 

point the pharmacy refused to fill his prescriptions. 

Similarly, Mr. Brown testified that Goodman initially paid temporary disability 

benefits but later terminated those benefits. Although he was unsure exactly when his 

benefits stopped, he admitted it could have been after PA Mauro found him to be at MMI. 

Goodman never allowed him to return to work, and he remained unemployed until he 

found a new job in November 2016. He seeks temporary disability benefits for his period 

of unemployment and additional medical treatment.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

The following legal principles govern this case. Tennessee Code Annotated 

section 50-6-239(b)(1) (2016) states that “only issues that have been certified by a 

workers’ compensation mediator within a dispute certification notice (DCN) may be 

presented to the workers’ compensation judge for adjudication,” unless permission has 

been granted by the judge for parties to present additional issues. Because the DCN did 

not list compensability as a disputed issue and the parties did not request permission to 

present additional issues, the Court deems compensability of Mr. Brown’s claim to be

undisputed. Therefore, he is not required to make the usual showing that his alleged 

injury arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of his employment, as required 

by Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14) (2016).

However, because the DCN identified medical treatment as one of the disputed 

issues, Mr. Brown must show “to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that [his work]

contributed more than fifty percent (50%) in causing the . . . need for medical treatment, 

considering all causes.” The phrase “to a reasonable degree of medical certainty” means 
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that, in the opinion of the treating physician, it is more likely than not considering all 

causes as opposed to speculation or possibility. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14)(C)

and (D).

Because this case is in a posture of an Expedited Hearing, Mr. Brown need not 

prove every element of his claim by a preponderance of the evidence in order to obtain 

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

6, at *7-8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015). Instead, he must come forward with sufficient evidence 

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

Id.; Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1).

None of the records submitted by Mr. Brown contains any medical opinion as to 

whether the need for any future medical treatment is causally related to the work injury. 

Absent any such opinion, Mr. Brown has not demonstrated he is likely to prevail at a 

hearing on the merits on the issue of the cause of his current medical needs. 

Further, Mr. Brown presented no evidence or testimony indicating that he ever 

requested a return to his medical providers or that Goodman denied any such request. 

The only proof of any unpaid or denied medical treatment was Mr. Brown’s testimony 

that the pharmacy refused to fill his prescriptions. He failed, however, to provide any 

information about what prescriptions were unfilled, why they were prescribed, who 

prescribed them, or why they were denied. The lack of this information prevents the 

Court from concluding that Goodman denied medical benefits. Because Goodman does 

not dispute compensability, Mr. Brown may be entitled to continuing medical treatment, 

but he has not presented enough evidence to justify an order for such treatment at this 

time.

Mr. Brown also seeks payment of temporary disability benefits. An injured 

worker is eligible for temporary total disability (TTD) benefits if: (1) the worker became 

disabled from working due to a compensable injury; (2) there is a causal connection 

between the injury and the inability to work; and (3) the worker established the duration 

of the period of disability. Jones v. Crencor Leasing and Sales, TN Wrk. Comp. App. 

Bd. LEXIS 48, at *7 (Dec. 11, 2015). Mr. Brown presented no evidence that any medical 

provider ever took him completely off work. Therefore, he appears unlikely to prevail on 

a claim for TTD benefits at a hearing on the merits.

The only other category of temporary benefits the Court may consider is 

temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. TPD is a category of vocational disability 

available when the temporary disability is not total. Id.; see also Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-

6-207(1)-(2) (2016). Specifically, “[t]emporary partial disability refers to the time, if 

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

has not reached maximum recovery.” Id., (citing Williams v. Saturn Corp., No. M2004-

01215-WC-R3-CV, 2005 Tenn. LEXIS 1032, at *6 (Tenn. Workers’ Comp. Panel Nov. 
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15, 2005)).

The evidence shows that Mr. Brown’s providers recommended that he not work 

with fiberglass. To the extent this constituted a temporary disability, Mr. Brown may 

have been entitled to some period of TPD benefits. However, he failed to present any 

evidence proving the duration of that disability. The Court has no information as to when 

Goodman began paying temporary disability benefits, how much they paid, or when they 

stopped. Further, as noted above, Mr. Brown submitted no medical opinion as to the 

cause of his rash. Absent medical proof of a causal connection between the injury and 

the inability to work, as well as evidence establishing the duration of the period of 

disability, the Court cannot find Mr. Brown appears likely to prevail on a claim for TPD 

benefits at a hearing on the merits.

Based on the foregoing, as a matter of law, Mr. Brown has not come forward with 

sufficient evidence from which the Court can conclude he is likely to prevail at a hearing 

on the merits. His request for medical and temporary disability benefits is denied at this 

time.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Mr. Brown’s claim against Goodman and its workers’ compensation carrier for the 

requested medical and temporary disability benefits is denied. 

2. This matter is set for a Scheduling Hearing on June 28, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. You 

must call 615-741-2112 or toll free at 855-874-0473 to participate. Failure to call 

may result in a determination of the issues without your further participation. All 

conferences are set using Central Time (CT).

ENTERED this the 18th day of April, 2017.

_____________________________________

Judge Dale Tipps

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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APPENDIX 

Exhibits:

1. Affidavit of Rickie Brown

2. PA Darryl Smith’s January 5, 2016 Progress Note

3. Records from Skin Solutions

4. First Report of Injury

5. Wage Statement

6. Digital photograph disc (Identification Only)

7. CVS pharmacy prescription record (Identification Only)

8. January 5, 2016 return-to-work note

Technical record:

1. Petition for Benefit Determination

2. Dispute Certification Notice

3. Request for Expedited Hearing
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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

Denying Benefits was sent to the following recipients by the following methods of 

service on this the 18th day of April, 2017.

Name Certified 

Mail

Via 

Fax

Via 

Email

Email Address

Rickie Brown X X 316 McLean Street

Pulaski, TN 38478

lbrown@impactcenters.net

Peter Rosen, Attorney X prosen@levineorr.com

_____________________________________

Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov