LATOYA PARIS v. MCKEE FOODS CORPORATION - Articles

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LATOYA PARIS v. MCKEE FOODS CORPORATION

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Feb 17, 2021

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals

Attorneys 1: Carmen Y. Ware, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Latoya Renee Paris.

Attorneys 2: Charles W. Gilbreath II and Justin L. Furrow, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, McKee Foods Corporation.

Judge(s): KIRBY

The employee in this workers’ compensation case appeals the trial court’s ruling that the independent intervening cause principle applies to relieve her former employer of liability for continued benefits under the parties’ settlement of the employee’s prior claim. After the employee’s original compensable injury while working for the defendant employer, the parties settled the claim. The employee was placed on lifting restrictions. The trial court held the employee negligently exceeded those lifting restrictions and this conduct constituted an independent intervening cause that relieved the original employer from liability for continued workers’ compensation benefits. The trial court also held, however, that the employee’s negligent conduct did not result in a new injury. On appeal, we hold that, if the employee’s activity results in only an increase in pain but there is no new injury or aggravation of the original injury, the independent intervening cause principle is not applicable to relieve the original employer of liability. We reverse the trial court’s holding that the independent intervening cause principle relieves the defendant employer of liability for workers’ compensation benefits. We affirm the trial court’s holding that there was not a new injury or an aggravation of the employee’s condition and hold that the employee is entitled to statutory medical benefits, attorney fees, and costs.

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