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Lang v. Nissan North America8/16/2005
s for recovering benefits would run counter to the exclusive-remedy principle which reinforces the policy balance of workers' compensation law. One of the fundamental purposes of workers' compensation law is to compensate employees for work-related injuries irrespective of fault. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-103(a) (1999). However, in exchange for no-fault recovery, employees have limited recovery and relinquish certain common-law rights of action against their employers which they might otherwise have had. A delicate compromise between the interests of employers and employees thus lies at the heart of workers' compensation law. See Clanton v. Cain-Sloan Co., 677 S.W.2d 441, 443 (Tenn. 1984). In order to preserve this balance, workers' compensation law "constitutes a complete substitute for previous remedies in tort on the part of an employee." Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Stevenson, 368 S.W.2d 760, 762 (Tenn. 1963). Consequently, with few exceptions workers' compensation law is the exclusive remedy for the work-related injuries which fall under its scope. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-108(a) (1999); Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 368 S.W.2d at 762. "The delicately balanced quid pro quo imposing no-fault liability in exchange for immunity from tort claims and limits on the amount of workers' compensation liability becomes illusory without a viable exclusive remedy rule." Joseph H. King, Jr., The Exclusiveness of an Employee's Workers' Compensation Remedy Against His Employer, 55 Tenn. L. Rev. 405, 411-12 (1988).
III. Conclusion
In this scheduled-member compensation case, Mr. Lang has suffered permanent work-related binaural hearing loss which has also resulted in some degree of vocational disability. Based on our independent review of where the preponderance of the evidence lies, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(2), we conclude that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's award of 9% disability benefits for loss of hearing as a scheduled member and in favor of the Panel's 45% award. Therefore, we adopt the Panel's disability award to Mr. Lang of 45% of 150 weeks for loss of hearing, or 67.5 weeks of benefits at his compensation rate, and affirm the trial court's award of benefits to Mr. Lang as so modified.
However, we vacate the Panel's decision insofar as the Panel may have recognized hedonic damages as a basis for the recovery of workers' compensation benefits. For the purpose of establishing anatomical or vocational disability in workers' compensation cases, it is appropriate to consider how a work-related injury affects an employee's capacity to engage in normal, everyday activities; however, we hold that Tennessee workers' compensation law does not recognize hedonic damages-damages for the loss of enjoyment of life-as a basis for the recovery of benefits.
Costs of this appeal are taxed to the defendant, Nissan, for which execution may issue if necessary.
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