Court Opinion

ID: 6340162
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-05-12 16:35:34.269487+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:49:14.111340
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                              May 11, 2022
                                                                              07:09 AM(CT)
                                                                           TENNESSEE COURT OF
                                                                          WORKERS' COMPENSATION
                                                                                 CLAIMS

           TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
          IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
                           AT MEMPHIS

 CECILIA HOPSON,                              )   Docket No. 2021-08-0074
          Employee,                           )
 v.                                           )
 TRAVELERS PROPERTY CAS.                      )
 CORP.,                                       )   State File No. 76850-2014
          Employer,                           )
 And                                          )
 NEW HAMPSHIRE INS. CO.,                      )
          Carrier.                            )   Judge Deana Seymour

        COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

      The Court heard Travelers’ Motion for Summary Judgment on May 9, 2022.
Travelers contends Ms. Hopson filed her Petition for Benefit Determination outside the
one-year statute of limitations. For the reasons below, the Court grants the motion.

                                        Facts

      Ms. Hopson claimed injuries after an automobile accident at work on September 24,
2014. After reporting the accident, she received authorized treatment for headaches and
neck and back pain from multiple physicians.

      These physicians treated Ms. Hopson conservatively and placed her at maximum
medical improvement from an orthopedic, neurologic, and neurosurgical standpoint. Dr.
Bola Adamolekun, one of Ms. Hopson’s neurologists, noted that he could not relate her
symptoms to her work accident.

       After her release from Dr. Adamolekun on December 6, 2018, Ms. Hopson
requested additional medical treatment. However, Travelers denied the request based on
Dr. Adamolekun’s causation opinion. The last payment on the claim was made on
December 21, 2018, and a Notice of Controversy was issued in February 2019. Ms. Hopson
did not file a Petition for Benefit Determination until January 20, 2021.

                                          1
                                     Travelers’ Motion

      Travelers filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, along with a statement of
undisputed material facts. The Court summarizes the material facts as follows:

          • Ms. Hopson seeks benefits arising out of an incident at work on September
            24, 2014;
          • Travelers’ last payment on the claim was made on December 21, 2018; and
          • Ms. Hopson filed her petition on January 20, 2021.

Travelers contends it is entitled to summary judgment because Ms. Hopson waited more
than one year after Travelers’ last payment before filing her petition, thus falling outside
the one-year statute of limitations in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203(b)(2)
(2014).

       Although Ms. Hopson filed medical records, medical bills, and emails related to her
claim, she did not respond to the motion as required by Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure
56.03.

                                          Analysis

        Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there
is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment
as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04.

        As the moving party, Travelers must do one of two things to prevail on its motion:
(1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Ms. Hopson’s claim,
or (2) demonstrate that her evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of her
claim. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101; see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis,
MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015). If Travelers is successful in meeting this
burden, Ms. Hopson must then establish that the record contains specific facts upon which
the Court could base a decision in her favor. Id. at 265.

      Since Ms. Hopson did not respond to Travelers’ statement of undisputed facts, the
Court finds the motion and the facts undisputed. The issue then is whether summary
judgment is “appropriate” under Rule 56.06.

       Under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-203, an employee’s right to recover
compensation is forever barred unless the employee files a petition within one year after
the accident resulting in injury. The statute of limitations can be extended by payments
made on the claim. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-203(b)(2). According to Tennessee Code
Annotated section 50-6-203(c), “the issuing date of the last payment of compensation by
the employer, not the date of its receipt, shall constitute the time the employer ceased
making payments.”

                                              2
        In a similar case, the Appeals Board affirmed the trial court’s order for summary
judgment where the employee filed her Petition for Benefit Determination more than one
year following the last voluntary payment on the claim. Hancock v. Vanderbilt Univ. Med.
Ctr., 2022 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 1, at *7-8 (Jan. 5, 2022). The Board concluded
that the employer negated an essential element of the employee’s claim and demonstrated
that the employee’s evidence was insufficient to establish an essential element of her claim.
Id.

       Here, the undisputed facts conclusively show that a petition was not filed until
January 20, 2021, which was more than one year from Travelers’ last payment on
December 21, 2018. Thus, Travelers met its burden of negating an essential element of the
claim – filing within a year of the last paid benefit.

       The burden shifts to Ms. Hopson to show that the record contains specific facts upon
which the Court could find a factual dispute on that issue. Since Ms. Hopson did not
provide these facts, the Court holds that Travelers is entitled to summary judgment as a
matter of law.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

   1. Traveler’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and Ms. Hopson’s claim is
      dismissed with prejudice to its refiling.

   2. Unless appealed, this order shall become final thirty days after entry.

   3. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Travelers under Tennessee Compilation
      Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.06 (February, 2022), payable to the Clerk
      within five days of this order becoming final.

   4. Travelers shall prepare and submit the SD-2 with the Clerk within ten days of the
      date of judgment.

ENTERED May 11, 2022.

                                   _______________________________________
                                   Judge Deana C. Seymour
                                   Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

                                             3
                            CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

       I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on May 11, 2022.
Name                    Certified    First    Email Service sent to:
                         Mail        Class
                                     Mail
Cecilia Hopson,             X         X          X    9432 Mary Tucker Cove
Employee                                              Memphis, TN 38133
                                                      chopson21@comcast.net
Emily Faulkner,                                  X    emily.faulkner@mgclaw.com
Employer’s Attorney

                                                 _____________________________
                                                 Penny Shrum, Court Clerk
                                                 Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
                                                 WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

                                             4
                        Compensation Hearing Order Right to Appeal:
     If you disagree with this Compensation Hearing Order, you may appeal to the Workers’
Compensation Appeals Board or the Tennessee Supreme Court. To appeal to the Workers’
Compensation Appeals Board, you must:
   1. Complete the enclosed form entitled: “Notice of Appeal,” and file the form with the
      Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims within thirty calendar days of the
      date the compensation hearing order was filed. When filing the Notice of Appeal, you
      must serve a copy upon the opposing party (or attorney, if represented).

   2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten
      calendar days after filing of the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at
      any Bureau office or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the
      alternative, you may file an Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s
      website or any Bureau office) seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully-
      completed Affidavit of Indigency within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of
      Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will
      result in dismissal of your appeal.

   3. You bear the responsibility of ensuring a complete record on appeal. You may request
      from the court clerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. A licensed court
      reporter must prepare a transcript and file it with the court clerk within fifteen calendar
      days of the filing the Notice of Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the
      evidence prepared jointly by both parties within fifteen calendar days of the filing of the
      Notice of Appeal. The statement of the evidence must convey a complete and accurate
      account of the hearing. The Workers’ Compensation Judge must approve the statement
      of the evidence before the record is submitted to the Appeals Board. If the Appeals
      Board is called upon to review testimony or other proof concerning factual matters, the
      absence of a transcript or statement of the evidence can be a significant obstacle to
      meaningful appellate review.

   4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the court clerk transmits
      it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties. The appealing
      party has fifteen calendar days after the date of that notice to submit a brief to the
      Appeals Board. See the Practices and Procedures of the Workers’ Compensation
      Appeals Board.
To appeal your case directly to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Compensation Hearing
Order must be final and you must comply with the Tennessee Rules of Appellate
Procedure. If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the trial court’s
Order will become final by operation of law thirty calendar days after entry. See Tenn.
Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7).

For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.
                                              NOTICE OF APPEAL
                                      Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
                                        www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries-at-work/
                                        wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1-800-332-2667

                                                                                  Docket No.: ________________________

                                                                                  State File No.: ______________________

                                                                                  Date of Injury: _____________________

         ___________________________________________________________________________
         Employee

         v.

         ___________________________________________________________________________
         Employer

Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________
                         [List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.]

appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the
Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (check one or more applicable boxes and include the date file-
stamped on the first page of the order(s) being appealed):

□ Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ □ Motion Order filed on ___________________
□ Compensation Order filed on__________________ □ Other Order filed on_____________________
issued by Judge _________________________________________________________________________.

Statement of the Issues on Appeal
Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Parties
Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee
Address: ________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________
Email: __________________________________________________________
Attorney’s Name: ______________________________________________ BPR#: _______________________
Attorney’s Email: ______________________________________________ Phone: _______________________
Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________
                           * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant *

LB-1099 rev. 01/20                              Page 1 of 2                                              RDA 11082
Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: _____________________ Date of Inj.: _______________

Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee
Appellee’s Address: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________
Email: _________________________________________________________
Attorney’s Name: _____________________________________________ BPR#: ________________________
Attorney’s Email: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________
Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________
                              * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *

                                             CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a
true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described
in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800-02-21, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this
case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____.

                                                           ______________________________________________
                                                            [Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]

LB-1099 rev. 01/20                                 Page 2 of 2                                        RDA 11082