WPC! # VU:a % 0w@ 4    0J W 0T_ 0^    c 0h) 0r 0| 0 0 1uU,  0d6U, AM B0U *B)DCA D3 AM 0X\v~v AOk 0D D/ B HP LaserJet 4Si/4SiMX PS 600dpiPSCRIPT0 ,  AZ"Arial RegularX(,$  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTXXXX7>XXdXXd7 UUEPdӀӀU!x\3|xHRv#2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  ԁLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 526 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)<  9p`(ModernP 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<  9p`(Monaco-)C << G d  !  #d#'    H \RA'\#d#  '   YYY FILED'X September11,1996CecilCrowson,Jr.'AppellateCourtClerk <  9p`(Arial% Line 7 d((((7Border 1dd%%%%'dxd-)C << G(0"$         !  #d#'    H \RA'\#d#  '   YYY FILED'X September11,1996CecilCrowson,Jr.'AppellateCourtClerk PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Monaco   BA Op Monaco  BA Op Monaco -C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ' dxdP Pd ! . &##Xd&###Xd#'    H \RA'\#Xd##Xd#  ݛ   INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEESPECIALWORKERSCOMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANELATKNOXVILLEMAY1996SESSION  ̜L$&);+'h|` . `Lߛ RAYMONDPHILLIPS,   )      ) CAMPBELLCHANCERY Plaintiff/Appellee,   )      )v.      ) NO.03S019511CH00122      )LINCOLNBRASSWORKS,INC., )       ) Defendant/Appellant  ) HON.BILLYJOEWHITE%  ԛ FortheAppellant:    FortheAppellee: JanetL.Hogan    JohnT.March603MainAvenue,5thFloor  P.O.Box231Knoxville,TN37902   LaFollette,TN37766   MEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel: E.RileyAnderson,ChiefJustice  @ JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudge@ WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudge        REVERSED      INMAN,SeniorJudge  Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. Thisappealinvolvestwocomplaintsforworkerscompensationbenefitswhichwereconsolidatedfortrial.ThefirstactionwasfiledonMarch10,1989forlowbackinjurieswhichallegedlyweresustainedonFebruary17,1989andMarch8,1989.OnMarch25,1991theplaintifffiledanothercomplaintallegingalowbackinjuryonFebruary27,1991. Whilenotallegedineithercomplaint,theplaintifftestifiedthatonMarch8,1989,hesustainedaherniainadditiontothelowbackinjury,proofconcerningwhichwasofferedwithoutobjection.TheCourt,ineffect,wasconcernedwithfourallegedlydiscreteinjuries.TheChancellorfoundtheclaimstobecompensableandawarded20percentpermanentimpairment.Twoissuesarepresentedforreview:Whethertherewasproofthatthedescribedincidentsresultedinanatomicalchangesandarethuscompensable,ascontrastedtoincreasedpainonlywithnoanatomicalchanges,andwhethertheherniaiscompensable. Theplaintifftestifiedthathe felloutinthefloorandkindlysplitmylegsonFebruary17,1989whenhestumbledoverabox. OnMarch8,1989,heandanotheremployeewerepullingaheavypieceofequipmentwhenhefelta popinhisbackwhich rundowninmylegsandallthewayuptothebackofmyneckandburning. OnFebruary27,1991,hewaspickinguppartsfromatubwhenhis backpopped. Hesufferednolosttimefromworkforanyoftheseincidents. Beforetheseassertedepisodiceventsoccurredtheplaintiffhadexperiencedalitanyofbackailments,commencingin1978whenhesawDr.LindonOwens,achiropractor.  Dr.OwenstestifiedthathefirstsawtheplaintiffonJanuary31,1978andthereafter241timesthroughAugust,1991andtreatedhimfor nopredominantproblems,thattheplaintiffhadnoimpairmentandnotimeofffromworkattributabletodisability. Dr.AlanWeems,aneurosurgeon,testifiedthathefirstsawtheplaintiffinNovember,1989withahistoryofchronicbackpain.Whenaskediftheplaintiffevertoldhimthathehadnolegorgroinpainuntiltheindustrialaccidents,herepliedthathehadnot;hefurthertestifiedthatbasedonareasonabledegreeofmedicalcertainty,theplaintiffhasadegenerateddiscatL34,withlowbackpain.Heratedtheplaintifftohaveasevenpercentimpairment.Significantly,hetestifiedthatitwashighlylikelythediscwasdegeneratedbefore theaccident,andthathecouldnotsay itwascausedbytheaccident.Dr.DavidStanley,ageneralsurgeon,initiallysawtheplaintiffonDecember18,1989onareferralbyDr.Weems.HefoundabilateralinguinalherniawhichwassurgicallyrepairedonJanuary17,1990.Hetestified,inresponsetoahypotheticalquestion,thatinhisopiniontheherniaproblemwasrelatedtohiswork. Dr.SamuelMarcy,orthopedicsurgeon,testifiedthatheinitiallysawtheplaintiffinMarch,1989withcomplaintsofbackpain.Hesaidthatxraysrevealednoabnormality,andthathehadasofttissueinjury.Hesawtheplaintiffonsevenoccasions,thelasttimeonSeptember29,1992whenhecomplainedoflowbackpain.Dr.Marchopinedthattheplaintiffhadafivepercentimpairment justonrangeofmotion. Dr.DennisJones,achiropractor,testifiedthatheinitiallysawtheplaintiffinJuly,1992whocomplainedofchroniclowbackpain.Hesaid,inresponsetoahypotheticalquestion,thattheplaintiffhadaneighteenpercentpermanentimpairment.HetestifiedthattheplaintiffdidnotrevealanybackproblemspriortoFebruary17,1989,andthatiftheplaintiffhadbeensufferingfromlowbackproblemsfortenyearsbeforeFebruary17,1989,the incidentshecomplainedofmaybe justanotherinaseriesofincidentsthatoccurredtotheplaintiffovertheyears. ThedepositionofDr.FredKillefer,aboardcertifiedneurosurgeon,wastakenonDecember2,1993.HetestifiedthatheexaminedtheplaintiffonApril10,1992whorevealedonlythathehadsustainedaworkrelatedinjuryinFebruary1989andagaininMarch1989.Hedidnotmentionhistenyearhistoryofbackailments,which,asitdevelopedfromastudyofthechiropracticrecordsofDr.Owens,involvedinjuriesfromlawnmowingandanumberofhuntingaccidentsdatingbackto1975. Heopinedthattheincidentsatworkdefinitelydidnotanatomicallyaffecttheplaintiffscondition;thattheyonlycausedatransientflareupofpainmuchlikeanyotheractivity. Thethrustoftheprolixmedicaltestimonywasessentiallythattherewerenoanatomicalchangesorimpairmentattributabletotheworkincidents. Theherniarepairresultedinnophysicalimpairment,andtherewassubstantialproofofferedthattheplaintiffhadnovocationalimpairment.AstheChancellorobserved,theplaintiffhadatenyearhistoryofbackproblems. Ourreviewisdenovoontherecordaccompaniedbythepresumptionthatthefindingsoffactofthetrialjudgearecorrectunlessthepreponderanceoftheevidenceisotherwise.Tenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(2). WethinktheevidencepreponderatesagainstthefindingofdisabilityattributabletotheepisodesofFebruaryandMarch1989andFebruary1991.Noneoftheexpertsopinedthatthesethreeincidentsresultedinadditionalimpairmentoranatomicalchanges.Takenasawhole,theexpertproofestablishedonlyarecurrenceofpainsimilartothatexperiencedmanytimesinoffjobactivities,andliabilitycannotbethusfastened.Bolingv.RaytheonCo.,448S.W.2d405(Tenn.1969);Loyv.NorthBrothersCo.,787S.W.2d916(Tenn.1990);Cunninghamv.Goodyear,811S.W.2d888(Tenn.1991);Smithv.SmithsTransferCorp.,735S.W.2d221(Tenn.1987). ̛̜ Withrespecttothehernia,whichwasnottreateduntilninemonthsaftertheMarch1989incident,weagreewiththeappellantthatitdoesnotcomportwiththestatutoryrequirementsforcompensability. Tenn.CodeAnn.506212requiresproofthattheherniaappearedsuddenly.Neithercomplaintallegestheoccurrenceofahernia,andtheplaintiffmadenocomplaintofgroinpainformorethantwomonthsaftertheherniawasallegedlysustained.Inanyevent,Dr.Stanleytestifiedthatnoimpairmentresulted. Thejudgmentisreversedandthecaseisdismissedatthecostsoftheappellee.      __________________________________      WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:_____________________________E.RileyAnderson,ChiefJustice_____________________________JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudge  @ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE  J$.;+'b|` . `@JATKNOXVILLE  RAYMONDPHILLIPS,   ) CAMPBELLCHANCERY      ) No.12,295 Plaintiff/Appellee   )      ) Hon.BillyJoeWhite,vs.      ) Chancellor      )LINCOLNBRASSWORKS,INC., ) S.Ct.No.03S019511CH00122      ) Defendant/Appellant  )Reversed@ JUDGMENTORDER  ThiscaseisbeforetheCourtuponmotionforreviewpursuanttoTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(5)(B),theentirerecord,includingtheorderofreferraltotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPanel,andthePanel'sMemorandumOpinionsettingforthitsfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw,whichareincorporatedhereinbyreference;  Whereupon,itappearstotheCourtthatthemotionforreviewisnotwelltakenandshouldbedenied;and  Itis,therefore,orderedthatthePanel'sfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflawareadoptedandaffirmed,andthedecisionofthePanelismadethejudgmentoftheCourt.  Costwillbepaidbyappellee,forwhichexecutionmayissueifnecessary.  Itissoorderedthis_____dayof_____________,1996.       PERCURIAMAnderson,J.,notparticipating%  Ԛ