Opinion ID: 1057637
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admission of Dr. Thurman's Report

Text: This appeal requires us to determine whether Dr. Thurman's report was properly admitted into evidence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(6), an exception to the hearsay rule. Duro Standard argues that Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-235, addressing the introduction of medical evidence in workers' compensation cases, provides the exclusive method of introducing Dr. Thurman's report. This issue of statutory construction is a question of law, which we review de novo. In re Estate of Tanner, 295 S.W.3d 610, 613 (Tenn.2009); Gleaves v. Checker Cab Transit Corp., 15 S.W.3d 799, 802 (Tenn.2000); Myint v. Allstate Ins. Co., 970 S.W.2d 920, 924 (Tenn.1998). Our primary objective in construing statutes is to carry out legislative intent without broadening or restricting the statute beyond its intended scope. Houghton v. Aramark Educ. Res., Inc., 90 S.W.3d 676, 678 (Tenn. 2002). We begin our analysis with section 50-6-235(c) of the Workers' Compensation Law, which provides: (1) Any party may introduce direct testimony from a physician through a written medical report on a form established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish by rule the form for the report. All parties shall have the right to take the physician's deposition on cross examination concerning its contents. . . . (2) The written medical report of a treating or examining physician shall be admissible at any stage of a workers' compensation claim in lieu of a deposition upon oral examination, if notice of intent to use the sworn statement is provided to the opposing party or counsel not less than twenty (20) days before the date of intended use. If no objection is filed within ten (10) days of the receipt of the notice, the sworn statement shall be admissible as described in this subsection (c). In the event that a party does object, then the objecting party shall depose the physician within a reasonable period of time or the objection shall be deemed to be waived. Duro Standard argues that parties in a workers' compensation action are obligated to comply with Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-235(c) before attempting to introduce medical proof and may not circumvent the requirements of that statute by relying on generally applicable rules of evidence to introduce such proof. Duro Standard argues that the trial court frustrated its statutory right to depose Dr. Thurman by allowing Ms. Arias to introduce the report pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(6). Our reasoning in Martin v. Lear Corp., 90 S.W.3d 626 (Tenn.2002), is instructive in determining the interplay between a rule of evidence or procedure and the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Law. In Martin , we were asked to determine the admissibility of a report of a physician who was consulted for an independent medical evaluation. Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 26.02(4) governs the discovery of opinions held by experts. Rule 26.02(4)(B) does not permit the discovery of the opinion of an expert witness who is consulted in preparation for trial but who will not be called as a witness at trial by the party procuring the expert's opinion. [3] On the other hand, Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(f) (Supp. 2009), governing workers' compensation cases, permits the discovery of opinions of physicians who are paid by employers and who treat or examine employees and requires those physicians to testify at trial. Although Rule 26.02 protects most consulting experts, we concluded that the legislature determined that physicians who are hired by employers in workers' compensation cases may be required to testify. Thus, we concluded that Rule 26.02 was inconsistent with the more specific rule governing workers' compensation cases and held that the specific rule controlled. In this case, however, Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(6) and section 50-6-235(c) are not inconsistent. Instead, section 50-6-235(c) and Rule 803(6) simply provide alternative means of introducing medical evidence in workers' compensation cases. The prerequisites for admission under the statute differ from those provided in the evidentiary rule, but neither the statute nor the rule is the exclusive method of admissibility. To conclude otherwise would negate another portion of the workers' compensation statute specifically providing that the Tennessee Rules of Evidence apply to all civil actions seeking workers' compensation benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(b) (2008). Whenever possible, courts should construe component parts of a statute so that the parts are consistent and reasonable. See State v. Alford, 970 S.W.2d 944, 946 (Tenn.1998). We are mindful of the holding of the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel in Baker v. Sally Beauty Supply, No. 02S01-9709-CH-00078H, 1998 WL 742386 (Tenn.Workers Comp.Panel Oct. 26, 1998), which reached the opposite conclusion. In Baker, the Panel considered whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence reports from an orthopedic surgeon and physical therapists pursuant to Rule 803(6) as records of regularly conducted activity. Id. at . The employer in Baker failed to provide notice of its intent to introduce the reports as required by section 50-6-235(c), and the employee had no opportunity to object to the admission of the documents or to take the surgeon's deposition. The Panel noted that there was considerable confusion in the preparation of the records that may have kept them from being properly admitted pursuant to Rule 803(6) but did not reach that issue in light of its holding. Id. at  n. 1. The Panel in Baker instead concluded that Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-235(c) provides the exclusive means of introducing medical evidence in workers' compensation cases. The Panel reasoned that a conflict existed between Rule 803(6), which it described as a general statute, and section 50-6-235(c), which it described as a specific statute. The Baker Panel applied the familiar rule that [w]here there is a conflict between a specific statute and a general statute, the specific statute will be given effect. Id. at . We disagree with the Panel's holding. We conclude that the legislature plainly intended the Rules of Evidence to complement the Workers' Compensation Law. We see no reason to hold that a conflict exists requiring us to choose one means of introducing medical records over another. Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-235 does not preclude the introduction of Dr. Thurman's report so long as the report satisfies the requirements for admission provided in Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(6). To the extent Baker held otherwise, it is overruled.