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Daughters of Charity v. Boyd5/2/2000
JUDGMENT
This case is before the Court upon the entire record, including the order of referral to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel, and the Panel's Memorandum Opinion setting forth its findings of fact and conclusions of law, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Whereupon, it appears to the Court that the Memorandum Opinion of the Panel should be accepted and approved; and
It is, therefore, ordered that the Panel's findings of fact and conclusions of law are adopted and affirmed, and the decision of the Panel is made the judgment of the Court.
Costs will be paid by appellant, Saint Thomas Hospital, for which execution may issue if necessary.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
HONORABLE CAROL SOLOMAN
JUDGE BRENDA BOYD
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Mailed March 22, 2000
AFFIRMED WEATHERFORD, SENIOR JUDGE
This worker 's compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Worker 's Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated ยง50-6-225(e) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employer, Saint Thomas Hospital, insists (1) that trial judge erred in failing to dismiss the employee's mental injury claim, (2) the trial judge erred by awarding permanent partial disability benefits to employee based on a 55% vocational disability to the body as a whole, (3) the trial judge erred in awarding discretionary costs to the employee and failing to award discretionary costs to the employer, and (4) the trial court erred in awarding employee medical expenses related to her treatment by medical providers not authorized by the employer.
Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of correctness, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise.
The employee, Brenda Boyd, was forty-five (45) years old at the time of trial. After high school, Ms. Boyd worked cleaning houses and at fast food restaurants. In 1979, she graduated from Trevecca Nazarene College with a nurse technician certificate. She worked for a nursing service and a home health agency as a certified nurse technician and after attending Tennessee State University School of Nursing, graduated in 1989 with an Associate Degree in nursing.
Ms. Boyd was employed by Saint Thomas Hospital in 1989 and worked as a nurse technician. After approximately one year, she was promoted to registered nurse after passing her registered nurse examination.
On October 15, 1995, Ms. Boyd slipped and fell while working at Saint Thomas Hospital. She sought treatment from Dr. Raja in the Saint Thomas Hospital emergency room. Shortly after her fall, Ms. Boyd sought additional treatment from panel physician, Dr. Gary Nace. Dr. Nace referred her to Dr. Robert K. Johnston, an orthopedic surgeon, for follow-up treatment.
Dr. Johnston's initial impression was that Ms. Boyd had a severe bruise or a hairline fracture of her hip. Dr. Johnston released her to return to work without restrictions, other than some rest intervals on January 8, 1996. Although Ms. Boyd was to return to Dr. Johnston for a final evaluation on February 13, 1996, Ms. Boyd missed this appointment. She did return to Dr. Johnston on February 27, 1996, and was released from his care.
Over the course of the following year, Ms. Boyd visited Dr. Johnston on several occasions with "flare-ups" of her hip problem. Dr. Johnston took Ms. Boyd off of work in December, 1996, and prescribed an exercise program. Dr. Johnston referred Ms. Boyd to Dr. Phillip A.G. Karp
Page 1 2 3 4 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
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