WPC 1# UN % 0U:4Rf u{ 0Jw@ 0T  0^a 0h 0r' 0| 0 0 1u+ 0d U> AQB  0DY 0@ 0D U*! D/K Bz B D3 U* B)DC: AM}v~vHP LaserJet 4 Plus/4M PlusHPPCL5E,,,,0 (hH  Z 6Times New Roman RegularX(H=$  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTX_XXX7XXdXXd7,  AZ"Arial RegularQ+!3|xHR2 0Indent123  DDUӀ2" 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<  9p`(&Times New Roman!"#$&C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5(3$ !  ("$    ($$   1  <  9p`(Arial((' dxd dP Pd'''''dxd<  9p`(Times% Line 7 d++++7Border 1dd!#,C << G  !  #d#    H \RA'\%#d#  ""  %   YYY FILED%XSeptember13,1996CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   BA Op Geneva  BA Op Geneva ! .     H \RA'\%#**Xd##**Xd#    X ћ@ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ SPECIALWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANEL!ٜL-.,;+'h|<8` 81 `Lߛ@ ATNASHVILLE MAY1996SESSION VICKYLADD,    ) MONTGOMERYCHANCERY      )  Plaintiff/Appellee   ) NO.01S019509CH00158      ) v.      ) HON.ALEXW.DARNELL      ) CHANCELLOR ̜PERMAVIEWPROCESSEDGLASS, )       ) Defendant/Appellant  ) FortheAppellant:    FortheAppellee: StephenK.Heard    CleoG.HoganThirdNationalFinancialCtr.  107NorthThirdSt.̜14thFlr.,424ChurchSt.   Clarksville,TN37040Nashville,TN37219   MEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel: JusticeAdolphoA.Birch,Jr.SeniorJudgeJohnK.ByersSpecialJudgeWilliamS.Russell  AFFIRMEDinpart,      BYERS,SeniorJudgeREVERSEDinpart,andREMANDED.  Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. PlaintiffinjuredherbackonDecember8,1989whileworkingfordefendant. Thetrialjudgesettheweeklybenefitrateat$144.67,ordereddefendanttopaycertaindiscretionarycostsandawardedplaintiff35percentpermanentvocationaldisability. Weaffirmthetrialjudgesawardof35percentpermanentvocationaldisabilityandremandforfurtherhearingonplaintiffsweeklybenefitrateanddiscretionarycosts. PlaintiffwasinjuredatworkonDecember8,1989whenacratehitherintheback,resultinginacontusionofherleftshoulderandsubsequentsymptomaticthoracicoutletsyndromeandreflexsympatheticdystrophy.Shewasevaluatedandtreatedbyanumberofdoctorsbuthascontinuedtohaveseverepainandothersymptoms. Dr.W.D.Hudsonsawplaintiffonthedateoftheaccidentanddiagnosedbrachialplexuscontusion.Whenplaintiffcontinuedtohaveseverepain,Dr.Hudsondeterminedshehadreflexsympatheticdystrophyfromtraumatotheleftbrachialplexusnervefiberandreferredherforneurosurgicalevaluationandfortreatmentofchronicpain.Hethoughtherpermanentpartialimpairmentwasprobablybetweentwentyandthirtypercent. Dr.AndrewMiller,orthopedicsurgeon,treatedplaintiffattheemployersrequest.Heprescribedphysiotherapy,heat,tractionandanexerciseprogram,withnoimprovementinplaintiffssymptoms.Dr.MillerdiagnosedcervicaldegenerativearthritisatC4throughC6andmildbulgingdiscatC4/5,whichhedidnotthinkϜwererelatedtoherwork. Dr.JohnW.Klemin,chiropractor,diagnosedchroniccervicothoracicstrainorspraincomplicatedbyrotaryscoliosisandvertebralsubluxationsresultinginthoracicoutletsyndromeandthoughttheprognosisforrecoverywasguarded.  Dr.ArthurBond,neurosurgeon,evaluatedplaintiffonAugust8,1991andopinedthatplaintiffshistorywascompatiblewiththoracicoutletsyndromeaggravatedbytrauma.Hethoughtsheshouldseeavascularsurgeonforevaluationofthethoracicoutletsyndrome. Dr.E.DeweyThomas,orthopedicsurgeon,evaluatedplaintiffonMay19,1993andconcurredwithDr.BondthatplaintiffhasathoracicoutletsyndromebutϜ inadditionmaywellhavesomecervicalradicularpain,whichismostdifficulttoseparatefromthoracicoutletsyndrome.𛀀HeassessedfivetosevenpercentpermanentpartialimpairmenttothecervicalspineandbodyasawholeandfurtherstatedthatplaintiffwouldhaveadditionalimpairmentrelatedtothethoracicoutletproblembuthedidnotgiveaspecificadditionalratingbecauseitisnotcoveredintheAMAGuidelines. Dr.HowardKirshner,ProfessorofNeurologyatVanderbiltUniversityMedicalCenterevaluatedplaintiffonMarch29,1994.Hethoughtplaintiffhadahistoryofacuteinjurywithbruisingoftheanteriorchestandpossiblybrachialplexusarea,alongwithreflexsympatheticdystrophy.Heopinedshewouldhavenoneurologicalpermanentimpairmentbecausehefoundnofixedneurologicaldeficit.Hethoughtplaintiffshouldgotoacomprehensivepainclinicandhaveasympatheticblocktotheleftarm. Fromallofthismedicalevidenceandthetestimonyoftheplaintiffandhersupervisor,thetrialjudgeawardedplaintiff35percentpermanentvocationaldisabilitytothebodyasawhole. Ourreviewisdenovoontherecordaccompaniedbyapresumptionthatthefindingsoffactofthetrialjudgearecorrectunlessthepreponderanceoftheevidenceisotherwise.Tenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(2). Thetrialjudgemay,whenthereisadifferenceinopinionbetweenmedicalexperts,accepttheopinionofoneormoreovertheopinionofanotherorothers.Johnsonv.Midwesco,Inc.,801S.W.2d804(Tenn.1990).WhenthemedicaltestimonyispresentedbydepositionthisCourtisabletomakeitsownindependentassessmentofthemedicalprooftodeterminewherethepreponderanceoftheevidencelies.Landersv.FiremansFundIns.Co.,775S.W.2d355,356(Tenn.1989).Wehavereviewedthetestimony,depositionsandmedicalrecordsinevidenceandfindthatthepreponderanceoftheevidencesupportsthetrialjudgesawardof35percentpermanentvocationaldisability,andweaffirmthejudgmentinthatrespect. Appellantcontendsthatthereisnoproofintherecordtosupportthetrialjudgesdeterminationoftheappropriatecompensationrate( averageweeklyϜwage)ortheawardofdiscretionarycosts.Appelleeexplainsthat AppelleesProposedOrderwasprovidedtoAppellantwithoutresponse,thensubmittedtotheCourtwhereitlanguishedawaitingAppellantsAlternativeOrder.WhennoalternateOrderwasfiled,theChancellorsignedAppelleesOrder.WhiletheMotionforDiscretionaryCostswasinpreparation,thenoticeoftheinstantappealwasserved. Ourreviewoftherecordinthiscaserevealsthat,indeed,thereisinsufficientundisputedevidenceintherecordtosettheappropriatecompensationrate,andweϜfindnoevidenceintherecorduponwhichthetrialcourtcouldhavereliedinawardingtherequesteddiscretionarycosts.Wethereforeremandthiscaseforhearingondiscretionarycostsandcompensationrate.Afterthefixingofthese,ifneitherpartyappeals,thiscaseiscompleted,butifthereisobjection,therightofappealremainswiththeobjectingparty. Costsofthisappealareassessedtotheappellantandthecaseisremanded.      򀀀      JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:򀀀AdolphoA.Birch,Jr.,Justicè̜WilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge̛%