WPC& UB %& U., rZ 0 Yni 0rmk1 0Jw@4G 0T[ 0^ 0h  0ru 0| 0c 0 1uy 0dR BBv~_v D3# 0@# 0K#$ D+n$ AO$ 0D$ D/,% B[% AYx% 0F% A&\  `*Times New RomanTT"AArialTT'    0 .   (e2p$  !X/XX/XXX/   3|x\  `*Times New RomanTTC\  P6QP"AArialTTomanTTXXaptQXp\  `*Times New RomanTT^\  P6QP\  `*Times New RomanTT,,)\  P6Q,P\  `*Times New RomanTT6\  P6QP\  `*Times New RomanTTXXP\  P6QXP(J$X/XX/XXX/  ӁLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 52 0Indent123       M$(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  !X     8    ` ` X       ` X dPtPtHH(FG(HH(d'hStyl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   h HD: Geneva  h HD: Geneva %%%%'dxd("$    ( $ Figure  1  'dxd-C<< C($$   1  ' dxdP Pd-:M << deUU(n$ (  1  )  -.:&OLE 2.0 Box <=8C HKKKK  ! . X     8 $         ` ` X\RA'\&   INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEESPECIALWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANELATKNOXVILLE(May6,1998Session)   ` XJAMESG.COOPER,)JEFFERSONCIRCUIT̀,ԀԀ)̀PlaintiffAppellee,ԀԀ)Hon.RexHenryOgle,̀,ԀԀ)Judge.v.ԀԀ)̀,ԀԀ)No.03S019709CV00114ASARCOINCORPORATED,ԀԀ)̀ԀԀXԀ,ԀԀ)̀DefendantAppellant.,ԀԀ)ForAppellant:ForAppellee:ArthurG.Seymour,ԀԀLynnBergwerkRobertL.KahnMemphis,TennesseeKnoxville,Tennessee   ` ` XMEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel:CharlesD.Susano,Jr.,SpecialJustice,SupremeCourtJohnK.Byers,SeniorJudge'  JoeC.Loser,Jr.,SpecialJudge   ` X   ` ` X   ` XAFFIRMEDLoser,Judge   ` ` XMEMORANDUMOPINION    ` X  Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.section506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw.Theemployercontendstheawardofpermanentpartialdisabilitybenefitsbasedonseventyfivepercenttothelegisexcessive.Asdiscussedbelow,thepanelhasconcludedtheawardshouldbeaffirmed.  Theemployeeorclaimant,Cooper,issixtyoneyearsoldandhasafourthgradeeducation,butcannotread.Hehasworkedasgarbagecollector,laborerandwelder.HesufferedacompensablekneeinjuryonJanuary19,1995,butcontinuedtoworkwithpainandswellinguntilAprilofthesameyearwhenheconsultedanorthopedicsurgeon.  Whenthepainandswellingpersisted,thesurgeonperformedarthroscopicsurgeryanddiagnosedmildspurringandjointeffusionsuperimposedondegenerativearthritis.Theclaimantwasreturnedtoworkwithpermanentrestrictions.Theemployerhasmadeaccommodationsandtheclaimanthasreturnedtoworkwithrestrictionsandlimitations.  Thetrialjudgefoundtheclaimantentitledtopermanentpartialdisabilitybenefitsbasedonseventyfivepercenttotheinjuredleg.Appellatereviewisdenovoupontherecordofthetrialcourt,accompaniedbyapresumptionofcorrectness,unlessthepreponderanceoftheevidenceisotherwise.Tenn.CodeAnn.section506225(e)(2).Conclusionsoflawaresubjecttodenovoreviewonappealwithoutanypresumptionofcorrectness.Presleyv.Bennett,860S.W.2d857(Tenn.1993).Wherethetrialjudgehasseenandheardthewitnesses,especiallyifissuesofcredibilityandweighttobegivenoraltestimonyareinvolved,considerabledeferencemustbeaccordedthosecircumstancesonreview.Kellermanv.FoodLion,Inc.,929S.W.2d333(Tenn.1996).Theappellatetribunal,however,isaswellsituatedtogaugetheweight,worthandsignificanceofdepositiontestimonyasthetrialjudge.Ormanv.WilliamsSonoma,Inc.,803S.W.2d672(Tenn.1991).  Oncethecausationandpermanencyofaninjuryhavebeenestablishedbyexperttestimony,thetrialjudgemayconsidermanypertinentfactors,includingage,jobskills,education,training,durationofdisability,andjobopportunitiesforthedisabled,inadditiontoanatomicalimpairment,forthepurposeofevaluatingtheextentofaclaimant'spermanentdisability.McCalebv.SaturnCorp.,910S.W.2d412(Tenn.1995).Theopinionofaqualifiedexpertwithrespecttoaclaimant'sclinicalorphysicalimpairmentisafactorwhichthecourtwillconsideralongwithallotherrelevantfactsandcircumstances,butitisforthecourtstodeterminethepercentageoftheclaimant'sindustrialdisability.Hinsonv.WalMartStores,Inc.,654S.W.2d675(Tenn.1983).Whileexperttestimonymaybeusedtoestablishvocationaldisability,itisnotrequired.Perkinsv.EnterpriseTruckLines,Inc.,896S.W.2d123(Tenn.1995).  Causationisnotanissueinthecase.However,theproofclearlyshowsthattheclaimantwasabletoworkwithoutrestrictionsbeforehisaccident,butnotaftertheaccident.Permanencywasestablishedbythedepositiontestimonyofthetreatingphysician.Asalreadynoted,Mr.Cooperissixtyone,virtuallyuneducatedandisseverelylimitedintermsofjobskills.Histreatingphysicianestimatedhispermanentclinicalimpairmentattwelvepercenttotherightleg. >`  Alloftheotherproofbeforethetrialjudgewasbyoraltestimonyandthetrialjudgehadtheopportunitytoobservetheclaimantandhislaywitnesses.Hefoundthemtobecredible.Underallthecircumstances,thistribunalisthusunabletosaythattheevidencepreponderatesagainstthefindingsofthetrialcourt.  Thejudgmentofthetrialcourtisaccordinglyaffirmed.CostsonappealaretaxedtotheappellantandthecauseisremandedtotheCircuitCourtofJeffersonCountyforanawardofinterestonaccruedbutunpaidbenefitsandallotherpurposes.   ` ` X_______________________________   ӀJoeC.Loser,Jr.,SpecialJudge   ` XCONCUR:_________________________________CharlesD.Susano,Jr.,SpecialJustice_________________________________JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudge` X̀