Court Opinion

ID: 5122385
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2021-11-01 16:19:09.141948+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:22:27.830854
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                                Nov 01, 2021
                                                                                08:34 AM(CT)
                                                                             TENNESSEE COURT OF
                                                                            WORKERS' COMPENSATION
                                                                                   CLAIMS

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

 CHARLES MILLINDER,                          )     Docket No. 2020-07-0174
          Employee,                          )
 v.                                          )
 MAPLEWOOD HEALTH CARE,                      )     State File No. 74357-2014
         Employer,                           )
 And                                         )
 OCCUSURE CLAIMS SERVICES,                   )     Judge Allen Phillips
          Carrier.                           )

        COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

       The Court heard Maplewood’s Motion for Summary Judgment on October 28, 2021.
Maplewood asserted it was entitled to summary judgment because of a medical opinion
that Mr. Millinder’s injury did not arise primarily out of his employment. The Court agrees
and grants the motion.

                                          Facts

      Maplewood filed a Statement of Undisputed Facts as required under Tennessee
Rules of Civil Procedure 56.03, which the Court summarizes as follows:

      • Mr. Millinder alleged a back injury on September 9, 2014, and Maplewood
        provided a panel of physicians.
      • The first physician Mr. Millinder chose placed him at maximum medical
        improvement in 2016. That physician later retired.
      • Maplewood provided Mr. Millinder another panel of physicians, from which he
        chose Dr. Fereidoon Parsioon.
      • Dr. Parsioon completed a Declaration under Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure
        72 in which he agreed Mr. Millinder reached maximum medical improvement
        in 2016 with no permanent impairment related to the September 9, 2014 injury.

                                            1
       • Dr. Parsioon also stated that the injury did not cause any anatomical changes in
         Mr. Millinder’s back; instead, all findings were either chronic, degenerative, or
         congenital.
       • Dr. Parsioon said none of Mr. Millinder’s conditions were primarily related to
         the work injury but instead to the other conditions.
       • Dr. Parsioon recommended no further treatment for the work injury.

       Mr. Millinder did not file a written response.

       Based on the undisputed facts, Maplewood argued it was entitled to summary
judgment because Dr. Parsioon said that the injury did not arise primarily out of the
employment. Mr. Millinder admitted he filed no response to the motion and could not
dispute Maplewood’s facts.

                                          Analysis

      Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 56 provides specific filing requirements for
both parties in summary judgment cases that “are not mere suggestions” but rather plain
and unambiguous requirements. Thomas v. Zipp Express, 2017 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd.
LEXIS 22, at *11 n.4 (Mar. 15, 2017).

       Specifically, as the moving party, Maplewood must file a statement of undisputed
material facts with citations to the record. It did so. As the nonmoving party, Mr. Millinder
must respond to Maplewood’s statement of undisputed facts, indicating his agreement with
them or demonstrating how they are disputed. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.03. He did not do so.
Thus, the Court considers Maplewood’s motion unopposed and considers whether
summary judgment is appropriate.

        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. To prevail, Maplewood must do one of two
things: (1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Mr. Millinder’s
claim, or (2) demonstrate that his evidence is insufficient to establish entitlement to
benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101 (2021). See also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. Of
Memphis, MPLLC., 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015).

       Under law, Mr. Millinder must show that his injury was caused by a specific incident
arising primarily out of his employment. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14)(A) (Emphasis
added). Based on the undisputed facts, Maplewood negated the essential element of the
injury arising primarily out of the employment through Dr. Parsioon’s declaration.
Specifically, Dr. Parsioon said Mr. Millinder’s conditions were primarily related to other

                                              2
conditions, not the injury. In the absence of any countervailing facts, Maplewood is entitled
to judgment as a matter of law.

THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

       1. The Court grants Maplewood’s Motion for Summary Judgment on grounds that
          Mr. Millinder’s injury did not primarily arise out of his employment, and his
          claim against Maplewood is dismissed with prejudice to its refiling.

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

       3. The Court assesses the $150.00 filing fee against Maplewood, for which
          execution might issue as necessary. Maplewood shall pay the filing fee to the
          Clerk within five business days of the order becoming final.

       4. Maplewood shall file Form SD-2, Statistical Data form, with the Clerk within
          five business days of this order becoming final.

       ENTERED November 1, 2021.

                                          _____________________________________
                                          JUDGE ALLEN PHILLIPS
                                          Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

                             CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

       I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on November 1, 2021.

              Name                        Email        Service sent to:
  Spencer R. Barnes,                       X           spence@morrisonandbarnes.com
  Employee’s Attorney                                  kaylie@morrisonandbarnes.com
  B. Duane Willis,                          X          dwillis@morganakins.com
  Employer’s Attorney

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

                                             3
                         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 fullycompleted
      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 filestamped 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