The opinion
FILED
Mar 30, 2026
12:30 PM(CT)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
AT MEMPHIS
BOI ESTON JONES, Docket No. 2023-80-3379
Employee,
v.
AMAZON FULFILLMENT State File No. 53533-2024
CENTER MEM4,
Employer,
and Judge Shaterra R. Marion
AMERICAN ZURICH INS. CO.,
Carrier.
EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER
The Court held an expedited hearing on March 18, 2026. Mr. Jones sought
medical and temporary disability benefits for his work injury. Amazon contended
Mr. Jones is presumed to be at maximum medical improvement and not owed
additional temporary disability benefits. It also stated his medical benefits have not
been denied. For the reasons below the Court holds that Mr. Jones is entitled to
ongoing temporary disability benefits and medical treatment.
Claim History
On June 18, 2024, a pile of boxes slammed into Mr. Jones as he attempted to
clear a jam in a box slide at work. He began to feel pain but finished his shift and
returned to work the next day. Mr. Jones usually worked as a picker, which does not
require heavy lifting. The next time his manager required him to do heavier work,
including moving packages, he informed his manager that he could not do so because
of injuries to his back and neck.
Mr. Jones testified that after he reported his injury, Amazon directed him to
see his own doctor for a physician’s report. He saw Dr. Glenn Crosby, who
performed neck surgery on him 20 years ago.
1
When Mr. Jones gave Dr. Crosby’s note to Amazon, it provided a panel. He
selected a hospital, which then referred him back to Dr. Crosby for further
evaluation.
Dr. Crosby ordered a cervical MRI, which showed multilevel degenerative
disc disease and foraminal narrowing. Mr. Jones testified that Dr. Crosby ordered a
discectomy surgery, which Amazon denied. Amazon argued it has not denied any
medical treatment, and neither party provided Dr. Crosby’s records regarding a
surgical recommendation or status of treatment. Dr. Crosby noted that Mr. Jones had
an allergy to androgenic anabolic steroids.
Amazon offered another panel for Mr. Jones’s back injury, and Mr. Jones
selected Dr. Winfred Abrams. Dr. Abrams ordered a lumbar x-ray, which showed
age-related spondylosis and mild degenerative disc disease. He also ordered an MRI,
which showed a large disc bulge.
Dr. Abrams noted that Mr. Jones “reports today that he was told that he had a
steroid allergy and his documentation is specifically androgenic steroid allergy but
there is not any confirmed testing of this.” He recommended Mr. Jones see an
allergist to confirm the diagnosis.
At Mr. Jones’s final visit, Dr. Abrams noted he and Mr. Jones decided not to
do an injection, “which was not necessarily needed.” Dr. Abrams recommended
chronic pain management.
Mr. Jones then selected Dr. Moacir Schnapp from a pain management panel.
At the first visit, Dr. Schnapp observed that Mr. Jones had degenerative disc and
joint disease in his lumbar spine. He added that Mr. Jones “has avoided treating it
because cervical steroid injection in the past caused him to pass out when he got
home after the injection and he needed to be ‘revived.’” Dr. Schnapp then questioned
whether Mr. Jones had a “hypotensive episode or if this was truly an allergy to the
medications.” He documented “no known drug allergies” in his record.
Dr. Schnapp offered an alternative to steroids: a diagnostic medial branch
block followed by radiofrequency ablation, but he noted that Mr. Jones had concerns
about this treatment as well. Ultimately, Dr. Schnapp did not provide any treatment.
He concluded that a chiropractic referral would be a good option, but he had nothing
more to offer Mr. Jones at that time.
2
Lisa Mayfield, the adjuster, testified by affidavit that temporary disability
benefits ended on September 23, 2025.
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Mr. Jones must prove he is likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits on his
request for benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(6) (2025); McCord v.
Advantage Human Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *7-8, 9
(Mar. 27, 2015).
The parties agreed that Drs. Abrams and Schnapp are panel-selected
authorized treating physicians. The parties also agreed that Dr. Crosby is an
authorized treating physician because the hospital, the original authorized provider,
referred Mr. Jones to him. Mr. Jones sought to return to Dr. Crosby.
The Appeals Board explained: “Unless a court terminates an employee’s
entitlement to medical benefits or approves a settlement in which the parties reach a
compromise on the issue of future medical benefits, an injured worker remains
entitled to reasonable and necessary medical treatment causally-related to the work
injury.” Limberakis v. Pro-Tech Sec., Inc., 2017 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS
53, at *7 (Sept. 12, 2017).
Mr. Jones may therefore return to his authorized treating physicians, including
Dr. Crosby, for his cervical injury.
As to temporary total disability benefits, entitlement to them ends whenever
an employee reaches maximum medical improvement or returns to work. Cleek v.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 19 S.W.3d 770, 776 (Tenn. 2000).
Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-207(1)(E) states that an employee
“shall be conclusively presumed to be at maximum medical improvement when the
treating physician ends all active medical treatment and the only care provided is for
the treatment of pain[.]”
Here, Dr. Abrams referred Mr. Jones to pain management for his back injury.
However, the parties did not present all of Dr. Crosby’s medical records on his neck
injury. The only evidence in the record is Mr. Jones testifying that Dr. Crosby
recommended surgery. Therefore, no evidence suggested that Dr. Crosby has ended
all active treatment or placed Mr. Jones at maximum medical improvement for his
neck injury.
3
In the alternative, Dr. Schnapp recommended a medial branch block followed
by radiofrequency ablation. No evidence shows that this is not active treatment and
only for the treatment of pain. Further, Dr. Schnapp recommended a chiropractor
referral, which suggested all active treatment options have not been exhausted.
The Court finds insufficient evidence to show that Mr. Jones has ended all
active treatment. Therefore, he is likely to show at a hearing on the merits that he is
entitled to continued medical treatment and ongoing temporary disability benefits
from September 24, 2025.
IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. Mr. Jones’s request to return to Dr. Crosby is granted.
2. Mr. Jones’s request for temporary total disability benefits is granted. He shall
be paid temporary disability benefits from September 24, 2025, forward at his
compensation rate. His attorney is entitled to 20% of this award as fees.
3. The Court sets a status conference for May 11, 2026, at 1:15 p.m. Central
Time. The parties must call (866) 943-0014 to participate. Failure to call
might result in a determination of the issues without the party’s participation.
4. Unless interlocutory appeal of this Expedited Hearing Order is filed,
compliance with this Order must occur by seven business days of entry of this
Order as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(d)(3).
ENTERED March 30, 2026.
____________________________________
JUDGE SHATERRA R. MARION
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
4
APPENDIX
The technical record consists of all documents filed on the TNComp
electronic filing system, which the Court considered in reaching its decision.
Exhibits:
1. Medical Records Filed by Employee on March 18, 2026
2. Medical Records Filed by Employer
3. Affidavit of Lisa Mayfield, with Attached Exhibit
4. C-32 Panels selected by Mr. Jones
5. Letter and UPS Label for a Temporary Total Disability Check
6. Wage Statement
5
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this order was sent as shown on March 30, 2026.
Name Mail Email Service sent to:
Linda Garner, X lgarner4@comcast.net
Employee’s Attorney
Stephen Morton, X stephen.morton@mgclaw.com
Trent Norris, trent.norris@mgclaw.com
Employer’s Attorneys amber.dennis@mgclaw.com
____________________________________
PENNY SHRUM, COURT CLERK
wc.courtclerk@tn.gov
6
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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