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Clifton v. Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp.2/23/2001
In this workers' compensation case, the trial court awarded Mr. Clifton a 20% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole resulting from a second injury to the same spinal disc. The award was based in part upon the trial court's finding of a 10% medical impairment rating from the second injury. The Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel held that the record did not support a 10% medical impairment for the second injury. It further held that the compensation awarded by the trial court was inconsistent with our decision in Parks v. Tenn. Mun. League Risk Mgmt. Pool, 974 S.W.2d 677 (Tenn. 1998), in that it improperly "exceeds the `degree of permanent disability that result from the subsequent injury.'" We disagree with the Panel's recommendation and affirm the trial court's judgment in all respects.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e); Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law by the Special Workers' Compensation Panel Rejected; Judgment of the Trial Court Affirmed.
Janice M. Holder, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. Riley Anderson, C.J., Frank F. Drowota and Adolpho A. Birch, JJ, and John K. Byers, Sp.J., joined. William M. Barker, J., not participating.
OPINION
BACKGROUND
In August 1995, Glen Clifton suffered a back injury in the course of his employment with Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp. ("Komatsu"). The injury required surgery, and part of Mr. Clifton's L5-S1 disc was surgically removed the following month. Mr. Clifton filed a workers' compensation claim. In January, 1996, the trial court approved an award of 10% disability to the body as a whole as a result of this first injury.
In July 1997, Mr. Clifton's back was injured a second time while working for Komatsu. This second injury required another surgery, performed by Dr. Scott Hodges, to remove more of Mr. Clifton's L5-S1 disc. Dr. Hodges initially reported in Mr. Clifton's medical records that Mr. Clifton had suffered a "10% Impairment Rating to the body as a whole." Later, however, Dr. Hodges amended this finding to opine that under American Medical Association ("AMA") guidelines no additional impairment rating should be given for Mr. Clifton's second injury. Dr. Sai H. Oh, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, treated Mr. Clifton following the second injury. Dr. Oh testified that Mr. Clifton had a 10% permanent partial impairment to the body as a whole exclusive of the initial injury.
The trial court found that Mr. Clifton suffered a 10% medical impairment to the body as a whole as a result of the second injury. The court awarded Mr. Clifton a 20% permanent partial disability as a result of the second injury. In so holding, the trial court relied upon Dr. Hodges' initial impairment rating and expressly did not rely on Dr. Oh's testimony. Komatsu appealed to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel ("Panel"), alleging that no medical proof established any increase in Mr. Clifton's medical impairment.
On appeal, the Panel found that the trial court erred in awarding a 20% permanent partial disability resulting from Mr. Clifton's second injury. The Panel found that the record did not support a medical impairment rating of 10% for that injury. Instead, the Panel concluded that "a preponderance of the evidence suggests that the plaintiff did incur an additional 5% impairment to the body as a whole solely resulting from that injury." Based on this rating and the statutory multiplier found at Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-241(a)(1), the Panel awarded a 12.5% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole resulting from the second injury. One member of the Panel dissented. Mr. Clifton petitioned for full Cour
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