CHERYL LUSK v. PORTOPICCOLO GROUP, LLC D/B/A THE PORTOPICCOLO GROUP, ET AL. - Articles

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CHERYL LUSK v. PORTOPICCOLO GROUP, LLC D/B/A THE PORTOPICCOLO GROUP, ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 20, 2026

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: Gordon C. Aulgur, Lansing, Michigan, for the employer-appellant, Portopiccolo Group, LLC d/b/a Willow Branch Health and Rehabilitation.

Attorneys 2: Peter P. Frech, Nashville, Tennessee, for the employee-appellee, Cheryl Lusk.

Judge(s): GODKIN

In this interlocutory appeal, the employer questions the trial court’s order requiring it to provide certain medical treatment recommended by an authorized physician. The employee reported injuries after she was attacked by a resident while working at the employer’s facility. After accepting the compensability of the incident and authorizing certain medical treatment, the employer declined to authorize a recommended surgical procedure. It supported its decision with a utilization review report recommending non- certification of the procedure. The authorized physician appealed the utilization review to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Medical Director, who agreed with the employer’s denial. The parties then deposed the authorized physician, who testified that the work incident was more than fifty percent the cause of the employee’s need for surgery. The physician also described how the non-operative treatment he previously prescribed had failed before he recommended surgery. In a decision on the record, the trial court ordered the employer to provide the surgical treatment ordered by the authorized treating physician. In its order, the court emphasized that treatment recommended by an authorized treating physician is presumed medically necessary and that an employer has the burden to rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence. The trial court concluded that the employer failed to do so, and the employer has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s decision and remand the case.

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