Court Opinion

ID: 9324588
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-12-12 18:56:58.620103+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:14:55.794476
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                                   Dec 08, 2022
                                                                                   01:56 PM(CT)
                                                                                TENNESSEE COURT OF
                                                                               WORKERS' COMPENSATION
                                                                                      CLAIMS

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

 MARCOS SOSA MARTINEZ,             ) Docket No. 2021-06-0071
            Employee,              )
 v.                                ) State File No. 80044-2021
 HALLORAN INVESTMENT               )
 PROPERTIES, LLC,                  ) Judge Joshua Davis Baker
            Employer.              )
 ___________________________________________________________________

                    EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER
 ____________________________________________________________________

        During a November 15, 2022 expedited hearing, Mr. Sosa Martinez requested
medical treatment, reimbursement of past medical expenses, and temporary disability
benefits for a severe spine infection and a right-wrist fracture that he alleged occurred from
lifting heavy rocks. Halloran argued that it is not Mr. Sosa Martinez’s employer, and even
if it were, his injury is not work-related. For the reasons below, the Court holds Mr. Sosa
Martinez is unlikely to prevail at a final hearing in proving Halloran was his employer or
that he suffered a work injury.

                                       Claim History

        Mr. Sosa Martinez, a mason, visited an emergency room shortly before
Thanksgiving 2020 with a spine so grievously infected that he had sepsis, paralysis, and
required emergency surgery. He was “admitted with cervical epidural abscess, lumbar
epidural abscess, vertebral osteomyelitis [at] multiple levels[,] including lower thoracic,
cervical[,] and lumbar spine, [and] prevertebral phlegmon/abscess leading to
quadriplegia.” Spoken plainly, his entire spine was severely infected, he could not walk,
and his arms were becoming paralyzed, too. An emergency-room neurosurgeon triply
emphasized the grave condition of his spine at the time of his admission by writing, “This
is a very complex and complicated case!!!”

       Mr. Sosa- Martinez’s testimony and medical records depicted a harrowing, months-
long hospitalization: alone without family, unable to walk, and unable to talk to medical
staff without an interpreter. A nurse wrote, “Pt is not aware of extent of his disease, and

                                              1
was just asking when will he be able to walk again so that he can go back to his life[.]”
Mr. Sosa Martinez recalled being told that he would never walk again and said he still
cannot stand for more than two hours.

       An affidavit from Florida physician Dr. Heather Cappello provided some context
for Mr. Sosa Martinez’s emergency-room condition. She wrote that his medical records
show “bacteremia as a result of a hematogenous infection[.]” Apparently, “[b]loodborne
organisms that pass through the vertebral spine can cause a spontaneous infection, due to
the adult spine[’]s high volume blood flow.” Essentially, “[his condition] did not originate
from heavy lifting[.]”

       When his paralysis worsened while in the emergency room to include his arms, the
medical records show a neurosurgeon “performed posterior cervical decompression and
fusion as well as lumbar decompression and fusion.”

      Mr. Sosa Martinez believed he injured himself on August 26, 2020, while lifting
heavy rocks at a Halloran jobsite. He testified he moved large rocks that day, which had
previously been moved by heavy machinery. Halfway through the job, he claimed
something happened in his body, causing intense pain in his back.

       Hospital staff recorded those concerns but also recorded his report of a lung
infection or pneumonia; one record read that the lung infection occurred “three weeks”
before, while another posited, “three months ago.” A culture taken from his spine showed
evidence of “staphylococcus aureus MSSA,” a type of bacteria.

        The respiratory illness Mr. Sosa Martinez reported to staff occurred nearly three
months before his emergency hospitalization. Mr. Halloran, who owns Halloran
Investment Properties, testified that he saw Mr. Sosa Martinez suffering with a respiratory
illness the week of September 3, 2020. He said Mr. Sosa Martinez was laying brick or
stone for a mailbox and “looked very bad” from suspected Covid-19, so Mr. Halloran asked
him to leave the jobsite. He noticed no signs of musculoskeletal injuries that day, nor did
Mr. Sosa Martinez complain of any.

       Roughly a week later, Mr. Sosa Martinez visited a clinic and underwent chest x-
rays because of his shortness of breath, fatigue, chills, and cough with evidence of viral
pneumonia in his lungs. He did not have Covid. A week after that, an x-ray of his right
wrist showed a “[c]hronic scaphoid fracture with nonunion.”

       Mr. Sosa Martinez returned to a Halloran jobsite shortly after he tested negative for
Covid. At the site, he complained to “Juan,” whom he identified as a foreman, about
injuries to his right wrist and back from lifting heavy rocks.

                                             2
       Mr. Halloran characterized Juan’s role differently, saying Juan is a carpentry
contractor whom he relied on heavily for Spanish interpretation. Mr. Sosa Martinez
acknowledged he never told Mr. Halloran directly about his injuries because Mr. Halloran
does not speak Spanish, so communication always went through Juan.

       Mr. Halloran testified that his company is a property investment business with no
employees and that Mr. Sosa Martinez worked as his masonry contractor, paid hourly for
his work, who was free to take on other jobs but needed to timely complete his work for
Halloran. As support for that assertion, he submitted Mr. Sosa Martinez’s 1099 forms from
2017 through 2020. The reports showed his income varied substantially from year to year.
Mr. Halloran also said he provided no tools for Mr. Sosa Martinez except for large ones,
such as a cement or mortar mixer, when needed for the job. Further, Mr. Sosa Martinez
could hire his own helpers and did. To prove this, Mr. Halloran provided a check stub
made out to Mr. Sosa Martinez to pay for a helper Mr. Sosa Martinez hired for a job.
Finally, Mr. Halloran said he could not have told Mr. Sosa Martinez how to do the masonry
work because he did not know how to do it himself.

       Conversely, Mr. Sosa Martinez maintained that he was an employee of Halloran,
worked there for many years, and that Mr. Halloran supplied his co-workers and his tools,
and also told him when, where, and for whom to work.

                       Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

                                   Halloran’s Motions

       At trial, Halloran requested dismissal under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure
37.04(3) because Mr. Sosa Martinez had failed to timely respond to its request for
production of documents served on September 27, 2022. The Court declined to dismiss
the claim, but as sanction, limited any proof from Mr. Sosa Martinez that was responsive
to Halloran’s production request, except for proof that Halloran already possessed or that
Mr. Sosa Martinez had already provided with his hearing request. Tenn. R. Civ. P.
37.02(B).

       Halloran also moved for involuntary dismissal at the close of Mr. Sosa Martinez’s
proof under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.02(2). However, the Court denied that
motion because dismissal on those grounds operates as an ultimate adjudication on the
merits, which is not allowed at an expedited hearing. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 41.02(3).

                             The Employment Relationship

       Here, Mr. Sosa Martinez must present sufficient evidence that he would likely
prevail at a final hearing. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1) (2022); McCord v.
Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *9 (Mar. 27,

                                            3
2015). He failed to do so for two reasons. First, Mr. Sosa Martinez failed to show he was
a Halloran employee. Second, even if he were, he failed to show he suffered a work-related
injury.

      Concerning whether Mr. Sosa Martinez worked for Mr. Halloran, the Workers’
Compensation Law defines “employee” to include “every person . . . in the service of an
employer . . . under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, written or implied[.]” Tenn.
Code Ann. § 50-6-102(12)(A) (2020). An employee does not, however, include a
“independent” or “subcontractor.” Id. at 50-6-102(12)(D)(i).

        Whether the worker is an employee or subcontractor depends on the nature of the
business, the way it is conducted, and the worker’s relationship to that business. See Seals
v. Zollo, 327 S.W.2d 41 (Tenn. 1959). When in question, the worker claiming an
employment relationship exists bears the burden of proof, to be determined by considering
the following factors:

       (a) The right to control the conduct of the work;
       (b) The right of termination;
       (c) The method of payment;
       (d) The freedom to select and hire helpers;
       (e) The furnishing of tools and equipment;
       (f) Self-scheduling of working hours; and
       (g) The freedom to offer services to other entities[.]

Id. at § 50-6-102(12)(D)(i). The Court finds factors a, c, d, e, and g show that Mr. Sosa
Martinez was a subcontractor, while only factor f suggested employment by Halloran.

        The proof showed Mr. Sosa Martinez had control over the conduct of the work, as
he was an expert in masonry and not supervised or instructed by anyone on how to do it.
Next, while Mr. Sosa Martinez was paid by the hour and worked many hours for Halloran,
the 1099 forms from 2017 to 2020 showed wide swings in the amount he was paid each
year, which suggested non-regular employment. The proof showed Mr. Sosa Martinez was
free to, and did, hire helpers to assist him and paid them personally. Mr. Sosa Martinez
also provided his own tools with exception of large ones, which does not seem unusual for
the construction business. Lastly, Mr. Halloran said Mr. Sosa Martinez could take on other
jobs if he wished, and the Court finds this testimony credible in light of the variance in
income amounts Halloran paid to Mr. Sosa Martinez over the years.

       The only factor in Mr. Sosa Martinez’s favor, the scheduling of work hours, showed
that he was expected at the jobsite at a certain time on the days he worked on a Halloran
project.

                                             4
       When considering all the factors, the Court holds Mr. Sosa Martinez is unlikely to
prove he was a Halloran employee at a final hearing.

                                 The Alleged Work Injury

       Even if he were an employee, Mr. Sosa Martinez must still prove medical causation
to prevail at a final hearing, which requires an expert’s testimony to a “reasonable degree
of medical certainty” that the employment “contributed more than fifty percent (50%) in
causing the . . . need for medical treatment, considering all causes.” Tenn. Code Ann. §
50-6-102(12)(C) (2022).

         Based on medical records and Dr. Cappello’s affidavit, the Court finds that Mr. Sosa
Martinez survived an infection. While Mr. Sosa Martinez believes his infection logically
resulted from his accident, he offered no medical proof of this fact. A judge cannot
determine the cause without expert medical opinion explaining how the infection was
primarily work-related. Therefore, he is unlikely to prevail in proving a work-related injury
at trial.

IT IS ORDERED as follows:

   1. The Court denies Mr. Sosa Martinez’s requested relief at this time.

   2. The Court sets this claim for a scheduling hearing on February 6, 2023, at 9:30
      a.m. Central Time. The parties must call (615) 741-2113 or toll-free at (855)
      874-0474 to participate. Failure to call might result in a determination of the
      issues without the party’s participation.

ENTERED December 8, 2022.

                                   ___________________________________
                                   Joshua Davis Baker, Judge
                                   Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

                                             5
                                         APPENDIX

Exhibits

   1.  Medical records filed with Mr. Sosa Martinez’s hearing request
   2.  Affidavit of Mr. Sosa Martinez
   3.  Uninsured Employers Fund Report dated May 5, 2021
   4.  Paycheck stubs of Mr. Sosa Martinez
   5.  Photograph of Mr. Sosa Martinez at the hospital
   6.  Letter from Workers’ Dignity dated December 29, 2020
   7.  Mr. Sosa Martinez’s Petition for Benefit Determination
   8.  Mr. Sosa Martinez’s 1099 Forms for 2017-2020
   9.  Paystubs of Mr. Sosa Martinez dated June 25, 2020; July 16, 2020; July 30, 2020;
       August 27, 2020; and September 3, 2020
   10. Rule 72 Declaration of Benjamin Edwards
   11. Medical records filed by Employer
   12. Affidavit of Dr. Heather Cappello

Technical Record

   1. Petition for Benefit Determination
   2. Dispute Certification Notice
   3. Order to Show Cause
   4. Request for Scheduling Hearing
   5. Request for Expedited Hearing
   6. Order Setting Status Conference entered October 20, 2021
   7. Motion to Withdraw
   8. Order Granting Withdrawal January 10, 2022
   9. Order Setting Status Conference entered January 11, 2022
   10. Order Setting Status Conference entered March 14, 2022
   11. Order Setting Status Conference entered April 19, 2022
   12. Order Setting Status Conference entered June 22, 2022
   13. Order Setting Status Conference entered July 6, 2022
   14. Motion for Summary Judgment filed September 9, 2022
   15. Order Setting Status Conference entered September 15, 2022
   16. Agreed Order of Substitution of Counsel
   17. Order Setting Expedited Hearing entered September 20, 2022
   18. Employer’s Pretrial Brief
   19. Employer’s Motion for Dismissal filed November 1, 2022

                                           6
                             CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

    I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on December 8, 2022.

Name                      Certified   Via     Via Service sent to:
                           Mail       Fax    Email
Marcos Sosa Martinez,                         X    Mmartinez5708894@gmail.com
Employee
John Lewis,                                   X      john@johnlewisattorney.com
Employer’s Attorney

                               ____________________________________________
                               Penny Shrum, Court Clerk
                               Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
                               Wc.courtclerk@tn.gov

                                         7
                           Expedited Hearing Order Right to Appeal:

     If you disagree with this Expedited Hearing Order, you may appeal to the Workers’
Compensation Appeals Board. To appeal an expedited hearing order, 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 seven business days of the
      date the expedited hearing order was filed. When filing the Notice of Appeal, you must
      serve a copy upon all parties.

   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 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 the 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. If a transcript of
      the proceedings is to be filed, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript and file
      it with the court clerk within ten business days of the filing the Notice of
      Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the evidence prepared jointly by both
      parties within ten business 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 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. If you wish to file a position statement, you must file it with the court clerk within ten
      business days after the deadline to file a transcript or statement of the evidence. The
      party opposing the appeal may file a response with the court clerk within ten business
      days after you file your position statement. All position statements should include: (1) a
      statement summarizing the facts of the case from the evidence admitted during the
      expedited hearing; (2) a statement summarizing the disposition of the case as a result of
      the expedited hearing; (3) a statement of the issue(s) presented for review; and (4) an
      argument, citing appropriate statutes, case law, or other authority.

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