Opinion ID: 1060489
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: vocational disability rating

Text: The Panel reduced the trial court's permanent partial disability award from 90% to 50%. The Panel pointed to Dr. Cate's diagnosis of an 8.4% hearing loss on November 14, 1997, and Dr. Haynes' diagnosis of a 17% hearing loss on May 7, 1998. The Panel also noted that Mr. George is able to hear in environments without high levels of background noise away from industrial settings and that Mr. George's hearing impairment did not interfere with his job performance or cause him to miss any time from work. The extent of vocational disability is a question of fact to be determined from all the evidence, including lay and expert testimony. Nelson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 8 S.W.3d 625, 629 (Tenn.1999). Anatomical impairment is a distinct finding from vocational disability and is but one factor to be considered in determining the extent of vocational disability. Cleek v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 19 S.W.3d 770, 774 (Tenn.2000); Story v. Legion Ins. Co., 3 S.W.3d 450, 456 (Tenn.Sp. Workers Comp.1999). That an injured worker has not missed work does not preclude an award of workers compensation benefits. Story, 3 S.W.3d at 454. [A] vocational impairment is measured not by whether the employee can return to her former job, but whether she has suffered a decrease in her ability to earn a living. Id. at 456. In determining the extent of vocational disability, the trial court should consider the employee's age, education, job skills and training, the extent and duration of anatomical impairment, local job opportunities, and the employee's capacity to work at the types of employment available considering the employee's disabled condition. Id.; Cleek, 19 S.W.3d at 774; McIlvain v. Russell Stover Candies, Inc., 996 S.W.2d 179, 183 (Tenn.1999). The trial court's determination of the extent of vocational disability is reviewed de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of the correctness of the finding, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn.R.App.P. 13(d); see also Nelson, 8 S.W.3d at 629. The trial court in this case properly considered the above-outlined factors in making its disability award. The court based its determination of 90% permanent partial disability on the medical testimony of Drs. Cate and Haynes, including their assignment of anatomical impairment, and Mr. George's advancing age, limited education, length of time at one job, and lack of broad based skills. Mr. George was sixty-two years old at the time of trial. He had worked in the same industrial setting for thirty-eight years. There is no evidence in the record showing that Mr. George had other education, skills, or training that would enable him to work in a different environment. His capacity to work in an industrial setting has decreased due to hearing loss connected with his work environment. Based upon our review of the record, we do not find that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding of 90% permanent partial disability in this case. We therefore reject the Panel's recommendation and reinstate the trial court's judgment awarding Mr. George benefits based upon 90% permanent partial disability to both ears.