WPC # VUNa % 0U: 4     w@# 0?c 0D 0J 0T0 0^ 0h 0rJ 0| 08 0 1uN 0d B'U>DU*U*B)DC D3B AMu 0@U6v~vs AOF 0D[ D/ BHP LaserJet 4 PlusHPPCL5MS,,,,,,0nLh(hH  Z 6Times New Roman RegularX(H=$  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTX_XXX7XXdXXd7,  AZ"Arial Regularڃ"3|xH DDD[[DӀ((3^$ H=!  HTR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TXXXXX7=XXdd7   `   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 d<  9p`(&Times New Roman<  9p`(Arial<  9p`(Times% Line 7 d((((7Border 1dd$$$$'dxd-)C << G  !  #d#%    H \RA'\&#d#  &   YYY FILED&X December15,1997CecilCrowson,Jr.&AppellateCourtClerk ("$    <  9p`(Courier NewPtPtHH(FG(HH(d'`Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   ion-F Geneva  ion-F Geneva -C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ' dxdP Pd ! . %    H \RA'\&#''Xd##''Xd#        X @ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ SPECIALWORKERS'COMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANELٜR+,)A1-j|` 81 `@Rߛ@ ATKNOXVILLE   LOUISRAYSMITH,   ) HAWKINSCIRCUIT      )  Plaintiff/Appellant   ) NO.03S019701CV00004      ) v.      ) HON.BENK.WEXLER,      ) JUDGEZURICHINSURANCECOMPANYand )LEARSEATINGCORPORATION, )      ) Defendants/Appellees  )  FortheAppellant:    FortheAppellee: MarkA.Skelton    JeffreyC.Taylor121SouthDepotSt.   Wimberly,Lawson&Seale,PLLCRogersville,TN37857   LibertyCenter      929WestFirstNorthSt.      P.O.Box1066      Morristown,TN37816   MEMORANDUMOPINIONMembersofPanel: JusticeAdolphoA.Birch,Jr.SeniorJudgeJohnK.ByersSpecialJudgeIrvinH.Kilcrease,Jr.  AFFIRMED       BYERS,SeniorJudge Thisworkers'compensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw. TheplaintiffallegedhehadsustainedpermanentimpairmentasaresultofanaccidentonNovember8,1994,whileemployedbythedefendant. Thetrialjudgedismissedthepetition. Weaffirmthejudgment. Thereisnodisputeconcerningtheoccurrenceofanonthejobaccidentwhichwasafallbytheplaintiff. TheonlymedicalevidenceinthecasewasthedepositionofDr.JohnH.Bell,anorthopedicsurgeon.Dr.Bellfoundtheplaintiffhadsufferedcontusionsandasprainofhislowerspineasaresultofthefall.Thiswassuperimposeduponapreexistinglumbosacraldiscdisease. Dr.Belltestifiedtherewasnoanatomicevidencethediscdiseasewasaggravatedbytheinjury,andthatthefallcausedthepreexistingconditiontobecomepainful.Further,theplaintiffhadtoldDr.Bellhehadapreviousbackpainepisode,aswellasintermittentbackpainpriortothefall.Dr.Belltestifiedtheplaintiffcomplainedofpainbuttherewasnoanatomicalchangeassociatedwiththepain. Dr.Bellwasoftheopinionthebackstrainhadhealed.Hefurthertestifieditisnotuncommonforapersonwithanarthriticoradegenerativeconditiontobefreeofsymptomsbutthattheseconditionsmaybecomesymptomaticasaresultofaninjury. Dr.Bellfoundtheplaintiffhada5percentpermanentmedicalimpairmentbecauseoftheconditionofhisback.Dr.Bellfixedrestrictionsupontheplaintiff.Dr.Belltestified,however,thatheplacedtheserestrictionsupontheplaintiffbecauseoftheplaintiffscomplaintofpain,whichDr.Bellassociatedwiththepreexistingconditionratherthanthefall. Theplaintiffpresentedlaytestimonytosupporthiscontentionthathewasdisabled.However,inallbutthemostobviouscases,theremustbemedicalevidencetoshowanimpairmentexists,anditsconnectiontotheworkinjury.Johnsonv.Midwesco,Inc.,801S.W.2d804(Tenn.1990);Tindallv.WaringParkAssn,725S.W.2d935(Tenn.1987). Theevidenceinthecaseshowstheonlyconsequenceofthefallwasanincreaseofpainassociatedwiththepreexistingcondition,withoutanyanatomicalchangeorimpairment. Theaggravationofapreexistingconditionwhichcausesonlyanincreaseinpainwithnoadditionalanatomicalimpairmentorincreaseintheseverityoftheunderlyingconditionisnotcompensable.%  Cunninghamv.GoodyearTire&RubberCo.,811S.W.2d888(Tenn.1991).      _________________________________      JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudgeCONCUR:________________________________AdolphoA.Birch,Jr.,Justice  ________________________________IrvinH.Kilcrease,Jr.,SpecialJudge̜       ..&ԛ@ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ ATKNOXVILLELOUISRAYSMITH,   (      (̀PlaintiffAppellant,  (HawkinsCircuit      (No.7301      (      (Hon.BenK.Wexler,   h v.      (Judge      (      (S.Ct.No.03S019701CV00004      (    ZURICHINSURANCECOMPANYAND (LEARSEATINGCORPORATION,  (   X       (   8 ҀDefendantsAppellees.  (AFFIRMED.̀ 8 H.H.H' JUDGMENTORDER   ThiscaseisbeforetheCourtuponmotionforreviewpursuanttoTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(5)(B),theentirerecord,includingtheorderofreferraltotheSpecialWorkers'CompensationAppealsPanel,andthePanel'sMemorandumOpinionsettingforthitsfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw,whichareincorporatedhereinbyreference; Whereupon,itappearstotheCourtthatthemotionforreviewisnotwelltakenandshouldbedenied;and Itis,therefore,orderedthatthePanel'sfindingsoffactandconclusionsoflawareadoptedandaffirmed,andthedecisionofthePanelismadethejudgmentoftheCourt. Costswillbepaidbytheappellant,forwhichexecutionmayissueifnecessary. ITISSOORDEREDthis____dayofDecember,1997.       PERCURIAMBirch,J.Notparticipating.&&X