Summary
This expedited hearing order from the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims addresses an employee's petition for additional medical benefits regarding alleged neck and shoulder injuries. The court denied the request, concluding that the employee failed to meet his burden of proving these conditions arose primarily out of his accepted work-related lumbar and thoracic spine injury. The order cancels a scheduled status hearing and sets a new scheduling hearing for May 5.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the employee is likely to prove that his neck and shoulder injuries arose primarily out of employment and thus is entitled to additional medical benefits.
- Whether the employee is entitled to a focused examination of his upper back and shoulders.
Holdings
- The Court held that the employee is not likely to prove causation of his neck and shoulder injuries and therefore is not entitled to additional medical benefits for those injuries.
- The Court denied the request for a focused examination of the upper back and shoulders because the medical proof did not support the need for such examination.
Key quotations
“The Court holds Mr. Stevens is not because the medical proof does not support his requests.” (at *7-8)
“To be entitled to medical benefits, section 50-6-102(12) requires an employee to prove “disablement or a need for medical treatment.”” (at *14)
Factual background
John Stevens was injured on August 5, 2024 while driving a forklift that ran over metal bolts, causing immediate back pain and later neck and shoulder complaints. Multiple medical providers diagnosed lumbar and thoracic strains and evaluated the neck and shoulders, concluding no causal link to the work incident.
Procedural history
Employee filed a workers' compensation claim for back injuries; employer furnished treatment for lumbar and thoracic spine. Employee later sought evaluation and treatment of neck and shoulders. The court held the employee had not shown likelihood of proving causation and denied the requests.