 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
West v. Maytag Inc.3/18/1999
MODIFIED
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and Conclusions of law.
The plaintiff sustained an injury at work in 1988 when a barrel fell off a truck and he tried to stop it with his foot, causing him to be "thrown down on concrete." He originally reported left hip and thigh pain to his doctor, but in 1993 he began complaining mostly of knee pain and of his knee "giving way and locking up." When his orthopedic specialist ordered an arthroscopic procedure for his knee, the employer refused coverage, contending the knee problem was not caused by his work accident. The trial court found the knee condition to be work-related and awarded benefits, which the employer appeals.
We affirm the decision of the trial court.
The plaintiff, now 70 years of age, began working for Maytag, Inc. in 1959 and retired in 1991. In 1988 he sustained an on-the-job injury when he stopped a container of acid, which was rolling down a ramp, with his hip and leg. Maytag paid his accident-related medical bills until February of 1995, when this dispute arose as to medical treatment for his left knee.
Plaintiff testified that he had problems with his knee "giving way" soon after the accident, and that he reported these problems to his employer but made no complaint to his treating doctor, who treated him with steroids and other medication for his hip injury.
Dr. Daniel Johnson, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, who has treated plaintiff from the time of his injury up to the time of trial, testified by deposition that in 1993 the plaintiff first began complaining about knee pain and his knee giving way and locking up.
In March 1994, Dr. Johnson admitted the plaintiff to Bradley County Memorial Hospital and performed a left knee arthroscopy. During the exploratory procedure, a displaced bucket handle tear of the left medial meniscus was found and a partial medial meniscectomy was performed.
When asked for his a medical opinion about whether or not the knee condition was related to the injury which plaintiff sustained at work, he testified:
"I think it's a reasonable assumption. I can't say anything for sure. But a mechanism, when he tried to stop a barrel with his leg, can cause a cartilage tear. He put up with the symptoms for several years until it actually locked up on him. And that's very typical of a torn cartilage."
On cross-examination, Dr. Johnson admitted that he initially thought plaintiff's knee pain was probably not work-related. However, the plaintiff told him that his knee had never bothered him before the injury, and Dr. Johnson then discussed the matter with Maytag, advising them that
". . . I thought that there was a possibility that yes he could have an injury related to work but I couldn't tell you for sure. And yes, I agree, he had had some knee symptoms before, the initial complaints were not specifically to the knee. But a torn cartilage can sneak up on you. Be torn for some years and only later tear significant enough to then warrant surgery. . . I don't have a reasonable certainty. I think there is a reasonable connection, but not certainty."
Our review of the findings of fact made by the trial court is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of the correctness of the finding, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(2); Stone v. City of McMinnville, 896 S.W.2d 548, 55
Page 1 2 Tennessee Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|