WPC 1# U: % 0  w@ 4J^mu 0Ju 0T 0^ 0hq 0r 0|K 0 0M 1u 0dR AQ  0 0@ 0D$U *h D/ B B D3B).DCW AMv~BvHP LaserJet 4 PlusHPPCL5MS,,,,,,0nLH,cAZ"Arial RegularX($  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTXXXX7.XXdXXd7H DӀUPe"XX3|x2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X!"#$&C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5(3$ !  HTR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TX*XXX7*XXdd7  ("$    ($$   1  <  9p`(Arial((' dxd dP Pd'''''dxd% Line 7 d****7Border 1dd!#+C << G  !  #d#%    H \RA'\#d#  ""  %   YYY FILED%XMay16,1997CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk    !#d#%    H \RA'\#d#  ""  %   YYY FILED%XMay16,1997CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'hStyl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   h HD: Geneva  h HD: Geneva ! . %    H \RA'\#Xd##Xd#  ݛ @ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE̜!R,-+A1-j|2` . `@Rߛ@ SPECIALWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANEL@ ATNASHVILLE EARLEVANSBARRETT,  )      ) WILSONCHANCERY Plaintiff/Appellee   )      ) NO.01S019608CH00158 v.      )      ) HON.CHARLESK.SMITH,CITYOFLEBANONandTMLRISK ) CHANCELLORMANAGEMENTPOOL,INC.,  )      ) Defendants/Appellants  )     FortheAppellants:    FortheAppellee: J.RussellFarrar     HughGreenChristinaDouglas     100PublicSq.Farrar&Bates     Lebanon,TN37087211SeventhSt.N.,Ste.320Nashville,TN37219   MEMORANDUMOPINION MembersofPanel: FrankF.Drowota,III,JusticeWilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeWilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge  MODIFIED      INMAN,SeniorJudge    Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. Theplaintiffisa40yearoldmanwhoseworkexperiencehasessentiallybeenlimitedtomanuallabor.OnAugust2,1994,duringthecourseandscopeofhisemploymentbytheCityofLebanonandwhileusingajackhammer,hesprainedaneckmusclewhileattemptingtodislodgetheimplement. HereturnedtolightdutyonFebruary6,1995andfulldutyonMarch2,1995.Theissueiswhethertheevidencepreponderatesagainstthejudgmentofthetrialcourtthattheplaintiffretaineda12.5%permanentpartialdisabilitytohisbodyasawholeasaresultofthecervicalstrain.Ourreviewisdenovoontherecordwiththepresumptionofthecorrectnessofthejudgmentunlesstheevidenceotherwisepreponderates.T.C.A.506225(e)(2)andTenn.R.Civ.P.13(d). ThetreatingphysicianwasDr.W.GarrisonStrickland,boardcertifiedinpsychiatryandneurology.Hisexaminationandtestingrevealedmilddegenerativechangesinthecervicalspine.Hetestifiedthattheresultsofafunctionalcapacityevaluationwereinconsistent,meaningthattheplaintiffseffortswerenotalwayssincere.Dr.Stricklanddeclinedtostateanopinionastowhethertheplaintiffhadanyimpairmentbecausetherewerenoobjectivefindingsandthefunctionalcapacityevaluationwasinconsistent. TheplaintiffwasreferredtoDr.JackFishbein,anorthopedicsurgeon,byhisattorney.Hesawtheplaintiffonlyononeoccasionandtestifiedthathefoundmuscletightnessandlimitedrangeofmotionwithpainradiatingfromtherightshoulder.Heassessed5%impairmenttothebodyasawhole. ThetrialjudgefoundthetestimonyofDr.FishbeintobemorecrediblethanthetestimonyofDr.Strickland,who,asstated,declinedtostateanopinionbecausehefoundnoobjectivesymptomsanddoesnotgiveimpairmentratingsifthefunctionalcapacityevaluationisinconsistent. Itiswellsettledthatanappellatecourtisaswellsituatedtogaugetheweightandworthofexpertdepositiontestimonyasthetrialjudge.Landersv.Fireman'sFundIns.Co.,775S.W.2d355(Tenn.1989).ThetestimonyofDr.Stricklandissomewhatunusualbuttheimportofitbespeaksacautious,carefulapproachcommendablycalculatedtoavoidanysemblanceofadvocacy,ontheonehand,oranoverlydisapprobativeviewofsymptommagnificationontheother.Hewasthetreatingphysicianandthusprofessionallyandpersonallyisacquaintedwiththeplaintiff. Wefindtheevidencepreponderatesinfavorofafindingoffive(5%)percentpermanentpartialdisabilitytothewholebody,andthejudgmentisaccordinglymodified.Costsareassessedevenly.      򀀀      WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:򀀀FrankF.Drowota,III,Justice%  򀀀WilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge    %J,.;+'b|` . `@J%X@ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ ATNASHVILLEEARLEVANSBARRETT,   } WILSONCHANCERY      } No.9802Below Plaintiff/Appellee   }      } Hon.CharlesSmith,vs.      } Chancellor      }CITYOFLEBANONandTMLRISK }MANAGEMENTPOOL,INC.,  } No.01S019608CH00158      } Defendants/Appellants  } MODIFIED.@ JUDGMENTORDER  ThiscaseisbeforetheCourtupontheentirerecord,includingtheorderofreferraltotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPanel,andthePanel'sMemorandumOpinionsettingforthitsfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw,whichareincorporatedhereinbyreference.  Whereupon,itappearstotheCourtthattheMemorandumOpinionofthePanelshouldbeacceptedandapproved;and  Itis,therefore,orderedthatthePanel'sfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflawareadoptedandaffirmed,andthedecisionofthePanelismadethejudgmentoftheCourt. ` ` X  Costswillbepaidevenly;onehalfbyPlaintiff/AppelleeandonehalfbyDefendant/AppellantandSurety,forwhichexecutionmayissueifnecessary.  ITISSOORDEREDonMay16,1997.       PERCURIAM%%Xԛ