Opinion ID: 1873993
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Injury to the Body as a Whole

Text: Long next argues that the trial court erred in declining to apportion his injury to the body as a whole. The trial court apportioned a 40% vocational disability to Long's right foot only. Long's complaint alleged injuries to his right foot, right ankle, right leg, and back, and further alleged that these injuries resulted in weight gain and sleep apnea. Mid-Tennessee argues that the medical proof does not support a finding that Long's foot injury caused permanent injuries to other parts of the body. The trial court and the Panel agreed with Mid-Tennessee, holding that Long had failed to sufficiently establish causation and permanency for the other alleged injuries. Injuries to the foot and to the leg are scheduled injuries, as they are provided for in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-207(3)(A)(ii)(n) and ( o ) (1999). An injury to the back is not scheduled; nor is disability resulting from weight gain or sleep apnea. See id. Although a disability limited to a scheduled member must be attributed exclusively to that member, where the injury has caused disability to a portion of the body that is not statutorily scheduled, recovery may be had for disability to the body as a whole. Thompson v. Leon Russell Enters., 834 S.W.2d 927, 929 (Tenn. 1992). The mere fact that the AMA Guides provide a method for converting a scheduled member impairment to a whole body impairment does not permit an award for whole body disability. Rather, we must find a whole body impairment under Tennessee law. Id.; see also Reagan v. Tenn. Mun. League, 751 S.W.2d 842, 843 (Tenn.1988). Such an award is only appropriate if it is shown that the scheduled member injury caused a permanent injury to an unscheduled portion of the body. Thompson, 834 S.W.2d at 929. An award based on disability to the body as a whole is appropriate where, for example, an injury to the foot or leg causes an employee to limp or otherwise develop gait problems which cause permanent disability to the back. See, e.g., Riley v. Aetna Cas. & Sur., 729 S.W.2d 81, 84 (Tenn.1987); McWhirter v. Kimbro, 742 S.W.2d 255, 259 (Tenn.1987). Here, there was no evidence of an injury to Long's back or leg caused by the 1995 injury. There are notes in the medical record that Long complained of pain in his back, as well as speculation by Dr. Rosen that Long's injury and its effect on his gait could cause Long to have back problems. Evidence of pain and speculation about back problems, however, is not sufficient to support a finding that Long has suffered a disability to the body as a whole. As to the weight gain and sleep apnea, as the Panel noted, the record is devoid of evidence that those conditions are permanent. Both Dr. Noah and Dr. Paffrath declined to assess impairment ratings for the sleep apnea, and Dr. Noah specifically noted that when treated, sleep apnea does not cause permanent disability. In the absence of expert medical evidence establishing permanency for the conditions Long argues would support an award of disability to the body as a whole, we must affirm the trial court's and the Panel's decisions limiting Long's award to his foot. See Corcoran v. Foster Auto GMC, Inc., 746 S.W.2d 452, 458 (Tenn.1988) (expert medical evidence required to show permanence in all but the most obvious cases). [2]