WPC 4rznU:7 %q 0w4/w@C  0J 0T 0^' 0h 0r 0|_ 0 0a 1u 0df AQ  0 0@ 0D D/9 Bh B D3U*B)DC( AMkfMU6=v~sv'  $ "Steve Miller 0 .   3|x~*\  `(Times NewRomanTTd\  PCP,  AZ"Arial RegularX(/@$` TR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TѢVK! lemgndopqDrӀ|}U~Hr2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X!"#$&C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5(3Q$ /@!` TR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'T  ("$    ($$   1  ((' dxd dP Pd'''''dxd<  9p`(Arial% Line 7 d++++7Border 1dd!#,C << G  !  #d#*    ` \RA'\  ""  *   YYY FILED*XOctober17,1996CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk   \\RA'\  !#d#*    ` \RA'\  ""  *   YYY FILED*XOctober17,1996CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  <  9p`(Courier NewPtPtHP(HPP  'Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   BA Op Geneva  BA Op Geneva ! . *    ` \RA'\            ` X\RA'\ 7XXdd7  !L-.,;+'h|` . `LINTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEEWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANELATNASHVILLE    ` ` XRALPHD.WEST,    )       ) SMITHCHANCERY Plaintiff/Appellee   )       ) NO.01S019603CH00054v.      )      ) Hon.C.K.Smith,SONICDRIVEINandANCO  ) ChancellorINTERSTATEINSURANCECOMPANY,)      ) Defendants/Appellants  ) FortheAppellants:     FortheAppellee:     W.StuartScott      JackyO.BellarSunTrustCenter,14thFloor   212MainSt.424ChurchSt.     P.O.Box332Nashville,TN37219    Carthage,TN37030        ̀           MEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel: AdolphoA.Birch,ChiefJustice@ @ WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeWilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge%    AFFIRMEDASMODIFIED     INMAN,SeniorJudgeANDREMANDED  Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. TheplaintiffallegedthatheinjuredhisbackonNovember27,1991whileemployedasacook.HesoughtmedicaltreatmentaboutonemonthlaterandincoursewasreferredtoDr.FondaBondurant,anorthopedicsurgeoninLebanon,Tennessee,whoperformedahemilaminectomyanddiscectomyonJanuary27,1992.Thesurgerywassuccessful,andtheplaintiffwasreleasedtoreturntoworkonMarch31,1992.UtilizingtheAMAGuidelines,Dr.Bondurantgavetheplaintiffanimpairmentratingofeightpercent strictlybecausehehadsurgicalinterventionperformed. Thiscasehasbeentwicetried.ThefirsttrialwasheldonApril19,1993andendedwithanonsuitaftertheplaintiffandhiswifetestified.ThesecondtrialwasheldonOctober4,1994resultinginafindingthattheplaintiffhada32percentvocationalimpairment.Thedefendantappealsandpresentsforreviewtheissuesofnotice,occurrence,injuryanddisability.AnissueinvolvingtheadmissionofcertainSocialSecurityrecordsisalsopresented. Ourreviewisdenovoontherecord,accompaniedwiththepresumptionthatthefindingsoffactofthetrialcourtarecorrectunlesstheevidenceotherwisepreponderates.T.C.A.506225(e)(2). Attheoutset,weareconstrainedtoobservethatthis38yearoldmanhastestifiedthreetimes;onceupondiscoveryandtwiceinopencourt.Histestimonyisinconsistentandobviouslyunderwentconsiderablefinetuningduringtheinterimbetweentrials.TheChancellorexpressedhisdissatisfactionwithcertainaspectsofthecase,butintheendresolvedtheissuesofnoticeandinjuryfavorablytotheplaintiff,chieflybecauseareputableorthopedicsurgeontookahistoryfromtheplaintifftwomonthsaftertheinjuryandperformedmajorcorrectivesurgeryonhim.InanyeventtheChancelloristhebestjudgeofthecredibilityoftheplaintiffandwedefertohisevaluationofthatvirtue.Wallsv.MagnoliaTruckLines,Inc.622S.W.2d526,528(Tenn.1981). Theplaintifftestifiedthatheslippedandfellinthekitchenofthedriveinrestaurant,hurtinghisback.Hecontinuedworkingforamonthbeforeseekingmedicaltreatmentaswehaveheretoforeshown.Aboutthreeyearsearlier,hehadasimilarinjuryatTacoBellandclaimedworkerscompensationbenefits;theemployerissomewhatindignantthattheplaintiffapparentlyconcealedthisactivity,butitisofnomomenttothiscaseexceptforthecredibilityfeaturetowhichwehavealluded. Theplaintiffhasaremarkableworkhistory.Hehasheldalegionofjobs,quittingforavarietyofreasonsorfornoreasonatall.ItisapparentlyjustifiedtoconcludethathisworkhistoryendedwhenhemadeapplicationonSeptember9,1993totheSocialSecurityAdministrationfordisabilitybenefitsclaimingthathewaspermanentlyandtotallydisabledandallegingtheonsetofsuchdisabilitytobeApril18,1993.Theapplicationwasapproved,andhewasawardedbenefitsfortotalandpermanentdisability.Thefindingsanddecisionoftheadministrativelawjudgebecamefinal,andtheplaintiffisreceivingbenefitsfromtheSocialsecurityAdministration.Theserecordswereobjectedtobythedefendantashearsay,sincenoneofthemisproperlycertifiedorauthenticated,andtheproprietyoftheirconsiderationispresentedforreview. Theissueofnoticeisacloseone.Theplaintiffsaysthathegavenoformalreportofhisaccidentbutthatthemanagerofthedriveinandotheremployeeswereawareoftheoccurrence.Themanager,SamODell,didnottestify.TheChancellorfoundthatthe plaintiffgaveoralnoticewhichwasuncontradicted,andwecannotfindthattheevidencepreponderatesagainstthisfindingsincetheelementofcredibilityispervasive. Dr.Bondurantperformedahemilaminectomyandopinedthattheplaintiffretainedaneightpercentimpairmentasaresult.Hertestimonyisnotassailedinanymanner,includingherconclusionthattheplaintiffhadfullyrecoveredandwasabletowork.Whenthecaseisviewedinitsentiretyitisapparentthat,assumingwithoutdecidingthattheplaintiffhasasubstantialdisability,suchdisabilitydidnotresultfromtheonthejobaccidentonNovember27,1991;theplaintiffrepresentedtotheSocialSecurityAdministrationthathisdisabilitydatedfromApril18,1993.Wefindtheevidencepreponderatesagainstafindingof32percentimpairmentattributabletotheonthejobaccidentandpreponderatesinfavorofafindingof15percentimpairment.Inviewofourdispositionofthiscase,wepretermitadiscussionoftheissueofwhethertherecordoftheSocialSecurityprocedureswasproperlyadmitted.Thejudgmentismodifiedaccordingly.Costsareassessedevenly,andthecaseisremandedforallpurposes.      __________________________________      WilliamH.Inman,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:_____________________________AdolphoA.Birch,ChiefJustice_____________________________WilliamS.Russell,SpecialJudge/    *J-0;+'b|` . `@J@ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ ATNASHVILLERALPHD.WEST,    } SMITHCHANCERY      } No.5463Below Plaintiff/Appellee   }      } Hon.C.K.Smith,vs.      } Chancellor      }SONICDRIVEINandANCO  } No.01S019603CH00054INTERSTATEINSURANCECO., }      } AFFIRMEDASMODIFIED Defendants/Appellants  } ANDREMANDED.@ JUDGMENTORDER  ThiscaseisbeforetheCourtupontheentirerecord,includingtheorderofreferraltotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPanel,andthePanel'sMemorandumOpinionsettingforthitsfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw,whichareincorporatedhereinbyreference.  Whereupon,itappearstotheCourtthattheMemorandumOpinionofthePanelshouldbeacceptedandapproved;and  Itis,therefore,orderedthatthePanel'sfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflawareadoptedandaffirmed,andthedecisionofthePanelismadethejudgmentoftheCourt. ` ` X  Costswillbepaidonehalfbyappellantsandtheirsurety;andonehalfbyappelleeforwhichexecutionmayissueifnecessary.  ITISSOORDEREDonOctober17,1996       PERCURIAM11Ԝ