WPCL 7# UN %k 0qU:l4  0Dw@ 0?[ 0D  0J 0T( 0^| 0h 0rB 0| 00 0 1uF 0d AQp 06 0@M B D/ B D3U>)U *gU*B)DC AM't=v~vyHP LaserJet 4 PlusHPPCL5MS,,,,,,0nLH(hH  Z 6Times New Roman RegularX(H=$  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTX_XXX7XXdXXd7,  AZ"Arial Regulare" 3|xH($$   1   DӀUӀ((3$ H=!  HTR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TXXXX7wXXdd7   `   0  (#$  0  2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X!"# &C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5(3 $ H=!  HTR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TXXXX7wXXdd7  ("$     d((' dxdP Pd$$$$'dxd<  9p`(&Times New Roman<  9p`(Arial<  9p`(Times% Line 7 d00007Border 1dd!#1C << G  !  #d#-    H \RA'\.#d#  ""  .   YYY FILED.XJune24,1997CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk    !#d#-    H \RA'\.#d#  ""  .   YYY FILED.XJune24,1997CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'hStyl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   h HD: Geneva  h HD: Geneva ! . -    H \RA'\.#//Xd##//Xd#  ݛ   X @ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE̜!R231A1-j|` 81 `@Rߛ@ SPECIALWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANEL@ ATNASHVILLEAPRIL1997SESSION EMPIREBEROL,U.S.A.,  ) BEDFORDCHANCERY      )  Plaintiff/Appellant   ) NO.01S019610CH00205      ) v.      ) HON.TYRUSH.COBB      ) CHANCELLORNANCYLEEESTES,   )      ) Defendant/Appellee  ) FortheAppellant:    FortheAppellee: FredB.Hunt,Jr.    JerryW.Carnes202FirstNationalBankBuilding  JenniferA.LawrenceP.O.Box169    424ChurchStreetShelbyville,TN371600169  SunTrustCenter,14thFloor      Nashville,TN372192392   MEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel: JusticeLyleReidSeniorJudgeWilliamH.InmanSpecialJudgeWilliamS.Russell  ̛̜ AFFIRMED       INMAN,SeniorJudge  Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. Thepostureofthiscaseissomewhatunusual.TheplaintiffisEmpireBerolU.S.A.,theemployerofthedefendantNancyLeeEstes.ItsoughtadeclaratoryjudgmentonMarch11,1993oftherespectiverightsofthepartiesundertheworkerscompensationlaw,allegingthatEsteswasassertingajobrelatedaccidentresultinginphysicalinjury.Estesfiledheranswer,admittingthatshewasinjured,butthatherconditionwasonethatprogressivelyoccurredandwasnotdiagnosedascarpaltunnelsyndromeuntilDecember28,1992.Aboutfourmonthslater,Estesfiledanotheranswer,coupledwithacounterclaim,throughdifferentcounsel,inwhichsheallegedthatshesustainedaninjurybyaccidentonoraboutNovember17,1992duringthecourseofheremploymentbytheplaintiff. Allthiswasfollowedbythefilingofanothercomplaint,bytheplaintiff,onMay20,1994,againstEstesandGoldenCorral,allegingasaresultofdiscovery,thattheinjurytoEstesaroseoutofheremploymentattheGoldenCorral,whichwasdesignatedasathirdpartydefendant. GoldenCorralfiledamotiontodismiss,alleging,ineffect,proceduralerrors.Theplaintiffthereuponamendeditscomplaint,allegingthatGoldenCorralwasanecessarypartyunderRule19,buttheproceduralproblemwasunaddressed.Beforethemotiontodismisswasheard,thepartiesagreedthatitwaswelltaken,andEstesaverredherintentiontofileacomplaintagainstGoldenCorral,whichsoonfollowed,inwhichsheallegedthata gradualinjurydidoccurandthat[she]wasemployedbyGoldenCorralduringatimeframeinwhichtheinjurymayhavebegunandthatshe sustainedaninjurybyaccidentarisingoutofandinthecourseofheremploymentwhileperformingworkattheplaceofbusinessofGoldenCorralinShelbyville,Tennessee. GoldenCorraldeniedthatEsteswasinjuredasalleged,butifso,hersuitwastimebarredunderTenn.CodeAnn.506201. Uponthetrialofthecase,thecentralissuewascausation,sinceMs.Estescarpaltunnelsyndromewasevidentandnotdisputed.ShetestifiedthatshebeganworkatGoldenCorralasa meatcutter,saladbaronOctober17,1992[havingworkedthereearlierfromSeptember1989toMay1990],butthatthepainandnumbnessinherhandswhichhadbeenintermittentovertheyearsbecamesevereandcontinuousinJune1992whileshewasemployedbyEmpireBerolU.S.A.ShewasemployedtherefromJuly1990untilJanuary1993.Asthedatesreflect,herjobattheGoldenCorralwasparttimeandoverlappingwithheremploymentatEmpireBerolU.S.A. TheChancellorfoundthatMs.EsteshadabandonedhersuitagainstGoldenCorral,andthathercarpaltunnelsyndromewascausedbyheremploymentatEmpireBerolU.S.A.HeawardedtemporarytotalbenefitsfromJanuary3,1993toJune29,1993,andbenefitsfor35percentpermanentpartialdisabilitytobotharms.ThesoleissueiswhetherthefindingthatMs.EstescarpaltunnelsurgeryaroseoutofheremploymentbyEmpireBerolissupportedbyapreponderanceoftheevidence. Ourreviewofthefindingsoffactmadebythetrialcourtisdenovoupontherecordofthetrialcourt,accompaniedbyapresumptionofthecorrectnessofthefinding,unlessthepreponderanceoftheevidenceisotherwise.Tenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(2).Stonev.CityofMcMinnville,896S.W.2d584(Tenn.1991). TheappellantarguesthattheissueofcausationwasbasedsolelyonthereportofDr.JamesLanterwhostated ifthemajorityofherworkwasperformedatEmpireduringthepastseveralyearspriortotheonsetofsymptoms,thenIwouldhavetoassumethiswouldbeamajorcontributingfactortoherproblems,whichiscriticizedasaconclusionbaseduponanerroneousassumptionandthusisinsufficientforthepurpose. Dr.GeorgeLien,aneurosurgeon,testifiedthathesawMs.EstesonreferralinDecember1992.Hediagnosedhercomplaintofbilateralhandnumbnessandweaknessascarpaltunnelsyndrome,whichis acumulativeresultsoitcouldhavebeenongoingforseveralmonths.Hewasequivocalinattributingherconditiontoeitheremployer%  . Dr.Lantersreport,whichcontainsthequotepreviouslyreferenced,alsostatesthat ...thisisprobablyrelatedtoherwork,bothatEmpireandatotherlocations. Ms.Estestestifiedthatsheworkeda12hourshiftatEmpireBerol,lifting170,000pencilsperday,andthatshebegandevelopingnumbnessinherhandsinJune1992,whichshethereafterreportedtohersupervisor.HerworkattheGoldenCorralbeganinOctober1992,parttime,andfourweekslatersheconsultedherfamilyphysicianaboutthepaininherhands.GiventhesecircumstancesitisquiteunlikelythatheremploymentattheGoldenCorralhadlittleeffectonthecausativefactors,but,evenso,theopinionofDr.LanteriswarrantableevidenceofcausationwhileemployedatEmpireBerolU.S.A.Ifthemedicalproofisequivocal,supportivelaytestimonywillsupportafindingofcausation.Smithv.EmpirePencilCo.,781S.W.2d833(Tenn.1989),andthereissufficientlaytestimony,logicalineffect,thatMs.EstesconditiondevelopedduringthecourseofheremploymentbyEmpireBerol.Wecannotfindthatthisevidencepreponderatesagainstthejudgmentanditisaffirmedatthecostsoftheappellant.      ___________________________________      WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:_________________________________LyleReid,Justice_________________________________WilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge    .J24;+'b|e` 81 `@J@ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ ATNASHVILLEEMPIREBEROL,U.S.A.,  } BEDFORDCHANCERY        } No.18,449Below Plaintiff/Appellant   }      } Hon.TyrusH.Cobb,vs.      } Chancellor      }NANCYLEEESTES,   } No.01S019610CH00205      } Defendant/Appellee  } AFFIRMED.@ JUDGMENTORDER  ThiscaseisbeforetheCourtupontheentirerecord,includingtheorderofreferraltotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPanel,andthePanel'sMemorandumOpinionsettingforthitsfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw,whichareincorporatedhereinbyreference.  Whereupon,itappearstotheCourtthattheMemorandumOpinionofthePanelshouldbeacceptedandapproved;and  Itis,therefore,orderedthatthePanel'sfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflawareadoptedandaffirmed,andthedecisionofthePanelismadethejudgmentoftheCourt. ` ` X  CostswillbepaidbyPlaintiff/AppellantandSurety,forwhichexecutionmayissueifnecessary.  ITISSOORDEREDonJune24,1997.       PERCURIAM̛.X