Anthony W. Welcher vs. Central Mutual Ins. Co., W/C Carrier for Tennessee Valley Ready Mix, Inc.

Outcome: Trial judgment favorable to the Defendant.

Description: A work-related accident of October 4, 2005 was alleged, whereby the Plaintiff fell several feet down from the ledge of a cement dump truck. The Claimant reported the incident shortly thereafter. It is disputed as to whether he ever asked for medical attention. Later, he went to see a doctor on his own accord roughly two monthly later. During December, 2005, the Claimant quit showing for work. During his deposition, the Claimant stated that he assumed he had been fired, as he had received notification that the insurer was denying the compensability of the claim. The Claimant later came under the care of Dr. Lanford, who performed a neck surgery on him. In the course of litigation, the Claimant retained Dr. Richard A. Fishbein to conduct an IME. Dr. Fishbein opined that the Claimant's neck injury was causally related to the fall of October, 2005, which had occurred on the job, and resulted in a residual permanent medical impairment of 20% to the body as a wholke. The Defendant retained Dr. McKinley Lundy, who stated that he was unable to give an opinion in favor of causation to the Claimant, and assigned an eleven percent to the body as a whole. The last demand made prior to Trial by the Plaintiff was for 70% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole, or 280 weeks of compensation benefits. The case was tried before the Chancery Court of Franklin County in Winchester, TN. After Trial, the Court ruled that the Plaintiff's claimed injury was compensable. Further, the Court found that Dr. Lundy's lower impairment rating of 11% should control. Lastly, the Court held that the lower cap of one and one-half (1.5) should apply, as the Plaintiff had testified that he quit working, because he assumed he had been fired, and did not make a reasonable effort to return to work. As a result thereof, the Plaintiff was awarded 16.5% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole, or 66 weeks of compensation benefits. It had been shown that the Plaintiff had no high school diploma or GED, and had a limited vocational history involving mostly labor intensive trucking jobs.