The opinion
FILED
Jul 30, 2025
01:19 PM(CT)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
AT KNOXVILLE
DAMIEN YEOMAN, ) Docket No. 2024-30-2931
Employee, )
v. )
TRANSWOOD LOGISTICS, INC., )
Employer, ) State File No. 81990-2023
)
and )
ARCH INSURANCE COMPANY, )
Carrier. ) Judge Brian K. Addington
COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Transwood filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, and Mr. Yeoman responded.
The issue is whether there is a genuine issue of material fact that he did not have a
reasonable excuse for giving late notice of his work injury. For the reasons below, the Court
holds there is no issue of material fact and Transwood is entitled to summary judgment.
Claim History
On September 26, 2023, Mr. Yeoman slipped on a wet step while exiting
Transwood’s truck and felt a pull in his right shoulder. He sought medical treatment with
his own doctor on October 10 and notified Transwood of his injury on October 20.
Transwood initially accepted his claim but later denied it due to late notice.
In December 2024, this Court entered an Expedited Hearing Order finding that Mr.
Yeoman offered a reasonable excuse for giving late notice of his injury. Transwood
appealed, and the Appeals Board reversed. It held that Mr. Yeoman did not present
evidence of a reasonable excuse for providing late notice and remanded the case.
Afterward, Transwood filed this motion with a statement of undisputed material
facts with citations to the record in compliance with Rule 56.03 of the Tennessee Rules of
Civil Procedure.
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The statement of undisputed material facts included the following:
1. Mr. Yeoman worked as a driver for Transwood.
2. On September 26, 2023, he was dispatched to a customer’s location in
Hendersonville, North Carolina.
3. While climbing out of his truck, his foot slipped off the step resulting in
immediate pain to his right shoulder.
4. After the incident, he finished his shift, returned the truck to Transwood, and
went home.
5. That same day he reported to his mother that because of a work-related
incident he had a pulled muscle in his right shoulder.
6. Despite acknowledging that he was aware that he suffered a work-related
incident, he wanted to be cautious and make sure this was a work injury
before involving Transwood.
7. He treated on his own on October 10, 2023, with reports of right-shoulder
pain due to a work injury.
8. On October 20, 2023, he informed his supervisor, Jerry Smith, of his
September 26, 2023 work injury.
9. His date of injury was only assigned because he could not generally
remember which date or at what time the accident occurred—only the
customer’s location.
10. Mr. Smith confirmed the last time that Mr. Yeoman made a delivery to this
customer and assumed that was the date of the incident.
11. Transwood has no additional documentation noting a work-related incident
before the report on October 20, 2023, or within 15 days of his injury.
Mr. Yeoman filed a response to these undisputed material facts and admitted all of
them except for numbers nine and 11. He could neither confirm nor deny any uncertainty
about the date in number nine. He was unable to admit or deny number 11 but did not
demonstrate that the fact was disputed as required under Rule 56.03.
He also filed his own set of undisputed material facts, including:
1. Mr. Yeoman delayed reporting his injury to Transwood because he had just
started the job and “did not want to get caught up in a bunch of stuff with
worker’s compensation over something that would just go away on its own.”
2. He reported the injury to Transwood when he realized the injury was not going
away on its own.
Transwood argued that it is entitled to summary judgment because: Mr. Yeoman
did not give timely notice of his injury; it did not have actual notice of the injury; it was
prejudiced by his late notice; and Mr. Yeoman did not offer a reasonable excuse for
providing late notice. It asserted that for acute injuries an employee’s understanding, or
lack thereof, of the seriousness of the injury does not excuse the 15-day notice requirement.
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It also argued that the facts have not and cannot change, so that the only option for the
Court is to grant summary judgment.
Mr. Yeoman argued that he explained his late notice, which this Court found
persuasive. He contended the Appeals Board reviewed this case under the wrong standard
and that Transwood waived his late notice because it accepted the claim for approximately
95 days.
Law and Analysis
Summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no
genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as
a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04 (2024).
Transwood must do one of two things to prevail on its motion: (1) submit
affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of the other’s claim, or (2)
demonstrate that the evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of the claim.
§ 20-16-101; see also Rye v. Women's Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235,
264 (Tenn. 2015).
If Transwood does either or both, Mr. Yeoman must respond by producing specific
facts showing a genuine issue for trial. Id.; Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.06. If Mr. Yeoman does
not, then “summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered.” Id.
Here, Transwood submitted undisputed proof that Mr. Yeoman did not give timely
written notice of his acute injury. Transwood further established that it did not have actual
knowledge of the incident. The remaining question is whether he had a reasonable excuse
for his failure to give timely notice.
The Appeals Board held that courts must consider whether the employer had actual
knowledge of the accident, whether the employee was unable to provide timely notice, and
whether the employer suffered prejudice caused by the untimely notice. Ernstes v.
Printpack Inc., 2023 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 25, at *34 (June 6, 2023).
The Appeals Board determined that based on the facts, which are the same here,
the employer had no actual knowledge of the accident before October 20, the employee did
not give timely notice of the accident, the employer was prejudiced, and the employee
offered no evidence of an inability to inform the employer of the accident. Also, it found
when considering late notice for acute injuries, the fact that an employee did not understand
the extent of his injury does not excuse his late notice. In other words, the statute does not
provide a discovery rule for acute injuries. Yeoman v. Transwood Logistics, Inc., 2025 TN
Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 11, at *11-12 (Mar. 19, 2025). Thus, Transwood both then
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and now has demonstrated that Mr. Yeoman offered insufficient evidence to prove he had
a reasonable excuse for providing late notice of his injury.
Because Transwood demonstrated that Mr. Yeoman’s evidence is insufficient to
establish the essential element of notice, the burden shifts to Mr. Yeoman to produce
specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial. He did not do so.
Mr. Yeoman responded by providing additional facts, which consisted of two
statements rephrasing the existing undisputed facts. Those statements restated his concerns
about reporting a claim as a new employee and his decision to discover the extent of his
injury first. However, the Appeals Board concluded that “an employee’s understanding, or
lack thereof, of the seriousness of his injury does not excuse the notice requirement in
circumstances where Employee was involved in a sudden, traumatic accident at work.” Id.
at *11.
Further, the Appeals Board determined that if an employee does not have a valid
excuse for giving late notice, then the claim should be denied and dismissed. Id. at *9.
Thus, based on the rule of the case, and because Mr. Yeoman did not present
additional facts showing a genuine issue of material fact for trial, the Court holds summary
judgment is appropriate.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:
1. Transwood’s motion for summary judgment is granted, and Mr. Yeoman’s claim is
dismissed with prejudice.
2. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Transwood under Tennessee Compilation
Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-06 (2023) payable to the Clerk within five
business days.
3. Unless appealed, this Order shall become final 30 days after entry.
4. Transwood shall prepare and submit the SD-2 with the Clerk within ten days of the
date this order become final.
ENTERED July 30, 2025.
Brian K. Addington
______________________________________
JUDGE BRIAN K. ADDINGTON
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this Order was sent on July 30, 2025.
Name Certified Fax Email Service sent to:
Andrew Roberto, X aroberto@brownandroberto.com
Employee’s Attorney cwilliams@brownandroberto.com
Allison King, X apking@mijs.com
Employer’s Attorney slmcculley@mijs.com
______________________________________
PENNY SHRUM, COURT CLERK
wc.courtclerk@tn.gov
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Right to Appeal:
If you disagree with the Court’s Order, you may appeal to the Workers’ Compensation
Appeals Board. To do so, you must:
1. Complete the enclosed form entitled “Notice of Appeal” and file it with the Clerk of the
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims before the expiration of the deadline.
¾ If the order being appealed is “expedited” (also called “interlocutory”), or if the
order does not dispose of the case in its entirety, the notice of appeal must be filed
within seven (7) business days of the date the order was filed.
¾ If the order being appealed is a “Compensation Order,” or if it resolves all issues
in the case, the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days of
the date the Compensation Order was filed.
When filing the Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy on the opposing party (or attorney,
if represented).
2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten calendar
days after filing the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at any Bureau office
or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the alternative, you may file an
Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s website or any Bureau office)
seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully-completed Affidavit of Indigency
within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing
fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will result in dismissal of your appeal.
3. You are responsible for ensuring a complete record is presented on appeal. If no court
reporter was present at the hearing, you may request from the Court Clerk the audio
recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. If you choose to submit a transcript as part of your
appeal, which the Appeals Board has emphasized is important for a meaningful review of
the case, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript, and you must file it with the
Court Clerk. The Court Clerk will prepare the record for submission to the Appeals Board,
and you will receive notice once it has been submitted. For deadlines related to the filing of
transcripts, statements of the evidence, and briefs on appeal, see the applicable rules on the
Bureau’s website at https://www.tn.gov/wcappealsboard. (Click the “Read Rules” button.)
4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the Court Clerk transmits
it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties.
If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the Court Order
becomes enforceable. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(3) (expedited/interlocutory
orders) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7) (compensation orders).
For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.
NOTICE OF APPEAL
Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries-at-work/
wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1-800-332-2667
Docket No.: ________________________
State File No.: ______________________
Date of Injury: _____________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Employee
v.
___________________________________________________________________________
Employer
Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________
[List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.]
appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the
Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board;ĐŚĞĐŬŽŶĞŽƌŵŽƌĞĂƉƉůŝĐĂďůĞďŽdžĞƐĂŶĚŝŶĐůƵĚĞƚŚĞĚĂƚĞĨŝůĞͲ
ƐƚĂŵƉĞĚŽŶƚŚĞĨŝƌƐƚƉĂŐĞŽĨƚŚĞŽƌĚĞƌ;ƐͿďĞŝŶŐĂƉƉĞĂůĞĚͿ͗
ප Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ ප Motion Order filed on ___________________
ප Compensation Order filed on__________________ ප Other Order filed on_____________________
issued by Judge _________________________________________________________________________.
Statement of the Issues on Appeal
Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Parties
Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ܆Employer ܆Employee
Address: ________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________
Email: __________________________________________________________
Attorney’s Name: ______________________________________________ BPR#: _______________________
Attorney’s Email: ______________________________________________ Phone: _______________________
Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________
* Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant *
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Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: _____________________ Date of Inj.: _______________
Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ܆Employer ܆Employee
Appellee’s Address: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________
Email: _________________________________________________________
Attorney’s Name: _____________________________________________ BPR#: ________________________
Attorney’s Email: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________
Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________
* Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a
true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described
in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800-02-21, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this
case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____.
______________________________________________
[Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]
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