LAUREN TAYLOR v. JOHN & STEPHANIE INGRAM, LLC, ET AL. - Articles

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Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 9, 2024

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: Lauren Taylor, Foristell, Missouri, employee-appellant, pro se.

Attorneys 2: John Barringer, Nashville, Tennessee, for the employer-appellee, John and Stephanie Ingram, LLC.

Judge(s): WEAVER

This is the second appeal in this case involving severe injuries. The employee worked at a horse farm located in Franklin, Tennessee. The position required the employee to travel to horse shows in other states, and, while in South Carolina for such a show, a horse kicked the employee in the head. The employee received immediate emergency medical treatment as well as extensive rehabilitation for her traumatic brain injury at facilities located in Georgia and Nebraska. During the course of the employee’s treatment and recovery, disputes arose over the employee’s competency and who should represent her interests. A Georgia probate court ultimately appointed a conservator and a guardian ad litem for the employee. The conservator hired a lawyer in Tennessee to represent the employee in her workers’ compensation claim, and the conservator, the employee’s attorney, and the employer’s attorney reached an agreement to settle the employee’s workers’ compensation claim under Tennessee law. Following a hearing at which the employee was not present, the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims approved the settlement. Thereafter, upon receipt of the settlement documents, the employee, acting in a self-represented capacity, filed a motion to set aside the settlement. The trial court denied the motion, determining the employee did not have standing to make the motion as she was still a ward in an active conservatorship in Georgia and was represented by counsel in Tennessee. The employee appealed, and we remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether Tennessee could exercise subject matter jurisdiction over the workers’ compensation case. After a hearing, the trial court determined it did have subject matter jurisdiction. We then dismissed the appeal, agreeing with the trial court that the employee did not have standing under the facts of the case. Two years later, the employee again filed a motion to set aside the settlement, averring that the conservatorship had been terminated and the guardianship extinguished by a Missouri court and presenting the trial court with court orders to that effect. The trial court determined that although the employee was no longer in an active conservatorship and was no longer incapacitated, the employee had not filed her motion to set aside the settlement within a reasonable time and thus denied the motion. The employee has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record, we affirm the trial court’s order and certify it as final.

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