Wilhelm v. Krogers, 235 S.W.3d 122 Wilhelm v. Krogers, 235 S.W.3d 122, 124 (Tenn. 2007)
May 02, 2007OUTCOME: Successful dismissal for my client.
The employee had filed a workers' compensation claim alleging an injury to his back and left hip. The employer denied the claim, asserting that the injuries did not arise out of his employment. At the ... conclusion of the trial, the trial court awarded the employee a 35 percent permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. The Panel affirmed the judgment. Because, however, the injuries did not qualify as work-related and an earlier workers' compensation settlement barred recovery, the supreme court reversed the judgment and dismissed the case. The hip and back injuries were not compensable because they did not arise out of the employee's employment. An injury that occurred as the employee walked on a level, obstacle-free, concrete surface was not compensable unless a hazard contributed to the injury. Moreover, the lump-sum settlement for the 1999 work-related injury barred recovery for the claim pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-231. The complications were the "natural and probable result" of the initial impairment.
