Hershel Willard Hill v. Wilson Sporting Goods Co., et al.

Summary

The Tennessee Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel considered whether an employee could seek reconsideration of a permanent partial disability award under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-241(a)(2) when the original award was below the statutory multiplier cap and the employee had retired rather than been terminated. The panel held that reconsideration was available if the application was timely and based on an unsuccessful return to work caused by the employee's injuries, and that retirement did not categorically preclude reconsideration. The trial court's dismissal was vacated and the case remanded.

Holdings

1. Reconsideration is available even when the initial permanent partial disability award did not exceed the two-and-one-half-times medical-impairment cap, provided the application is timely and is grounded on an unsuccessful return to work caused by the employee's injuries.
2. Retirement does not absolutely preclude reconsideration, but an employee may not obtain an increased award merely by retiring; eligibility must be evaluated under the facts and circumstances and the applicable reasonableness standards.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(a)(2) permits reconsideration and enlargement of a prior permanent partial disability award when the original award was less than the statutory two-and-one-half-times medical-impairment cap.
2. Whether an employee's retirement, rather than termination by the employer, categorically bars reconsideration under section 50-6-241(a)(2).

Disposition

vacated