The opinion
FILED
May 05, 2026
01:50 PM(CT)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
AT NASHVILLE
Jeffrey Varble, Docket No. 2025-60-3349
Employee,
v.
AZCO, Inc., State File No. 88820-2023
Employer,
and
Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., Judge Kenneth M. Switzer
Carrier.
COMPENSATION ORDER
The Court held a compensation hearing on April 29, 2026, in this accepted
claim. The sole dispute was the amount of temporary disability benefits to which
Jeffrey Varble is entitled. For the reasons below, the Court awards $3,982.48 in
these benefits, along with permanent partial disability and open future medicals.
Claim History
Mr. Varble, an electrician, injured his left arm and elbow at work for AZCO
on October 16, 2023. He reported the claim the same day and initially treated via
telemedicine and with providers at an onsite clinic. Mr. Varble said he continued
working under the instruction, “If it hurts, don’t do it at work.” Then in mid-
November, the general foreman told Mr. Varble that he was no longer needed as a
foreman—a “demotion.” Mr. Varble’s employment with AZCO ended in January
2025.
Ultimately Mr. Varble treated with orthopedist Dr. James Rubright, who
placed work restrictions in February 2024 and performed surgery in July. Dr.
Rubright removed the restrictions on January 9, 2025, and assigned maximum
medical improvement on February 13. He placed a 3% impairment rating with no
permanent work restrictions. AZCO agreed to Mr. Varble’s entitlement to
1
permanent partial disability benefits using a compensation rate of $1,224.93. Mr.
Varble waived any claim for increased benefits.
At trial, the Court compared the parties’ calculations and pointed out
occasional transcription/math errors, to which they generally agreed. But the parties
contested three periods involving Mr. Varble’s temporary total and partial disability.
First, from November 20 through December 10, 2023, Mr. Varble worked
fewer hours. He testified that per his best recollection, thunderstorms occurred
during this time, and AZCO sent its employees home early.
Second, on July 9, 2024, Dr. Rubright performed surgery and took Mr. Varble
completely off work on that date until July 17, when he re-imposed the restrictions.
AZCO had paid temporary disability for several months by then, but it did not pay
Mr. Varble from July 9-15, or seven days. Then, for the next two days, it paid
temporary total disability before resuming temporary partial disability.
Third, for the week beginning January 7, 2025, AZCO paid Mr. Varble
temporary partial disability benefits on January 7, 8, and 9. Payments then stopped
because Dr. Rubright released him to work without restrictions on January 9.
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Mr. Varble must prove entitlement to past temporary disability benefits by a
preponderance of the evidence. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(6) (2025).
The workers’ compensation statutes provide two types of temporary disability
benefits: temporary total and temporary partial disability benefits. Id. § 50-6-207.
Temporary total disability benefits are paid when an employee is completely
taken off work due to a work injury. See Jones v. Crencor Leasing and Sales, 2015
TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 48, at *7 (Dec. 11, 2015).
Temporary partial disability benefits are paid when an employee is not totally
disabled from work but restricted due to a work injury. Id. When the treating
physician has released the employee to return to work with restrictions before the
employee reaches maximum recovery, and the employer cannot provide restricted
work for a sufficient number of hours and/or at a rate of pay equal to or greater than
the employee’s average weekly wage on the date of injury, the injured worker may
be eligible for temporary partial disability. Id. at *8.
2
Looking at the first contested period, from November 20 through December
10, 2023, Mr. Varble worked fewer hours because thunderstorms occurred during
this time and AZCO sent its employees home early.
Courts deciding whether an employee is entitled to temporary partial
disability use a similar analytical framework as when deciding whether an employee
makes a meaningful return to work and seeks increased benefits. Hackney v.
Integrity Staffing Solutions, 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 29, at *12 (July
2, 2016).
In Marshall v. Mueller Co., the Appeals Board held that in defining “wages,”
the General Assembly did not intend that an employee receiving a “summer hours’
bonus” or a “shift differential” at the time the employee suffers a work injury be
entitled to increased benefits. 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 74, at *23
(July 11, 2016). They reasoned in part that the employee’s reduction in wages was
the result of a summer hours’ bonus and “applie[d] to all employees working in
certain departments[.]” Id. at *25 (Emphasis added).
Considering this authority, the Court finds that Mr. Varble and other similarly-
situated employees were sent home due to thunderstorms. This was unrelated to his
work injury. Therefore, he has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that
he is entitled to benefits for this time.
Next, on July 9, 2024, Dr. Rubright performed surgery and took Mr. Varble
completely off work until July 17, when he re-imposed temporary restrictions.
AZCO did not pay Mr. Varble for the first seven days, from July 9-15. For the next
two days, it paid temporary total disability.
AZCO argued that under section 50-6-205(a), no payment was due for the
first seven days of his post-surgery temporary total disability. That statute says:
No compensation shall be allowed for the first seven (7) days of
disability resulting from the injury, excluding the day of injury, . . . but
if disability extends beyond that period, compensation shall commence
with the eighth day after the injury. In the event, however, that the
disability from the injury exists for a period as long as fourteen (14)
days, then compensation shall be allowed beginning with the first day
after the injury.
(Emphasis added).
3
Here, AZCO had already initiated benefits shortly after Mr. Varble’s work
injury occurred—temporary partial covering the week of January 8 to January 14,
2024—and continued to pay them as required until the date of surgery. By the
Court’s plain reading of the statute, “the first seven (7) days of disability resulting
from the injury, excluding the day of injury,” had already occurred several months
before the surgery took place. This entitled Mr. Varble to temporary total disability
benefits in the amount of $1,224.93 for those seven days, when he was completely
off work. He has shown entitlement to these benefits for this period by a
preponderance of the evidence.
Finally, AZCO argued Mr. Varble was due temporary partial disability
benefits on January 7, 8, and 9 but that payments should be stopped when Dr.
Rubright removed all restrictions on January 9. Temporary disability benefits are
terminated by the ability to return to work. Jones, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd.
LEXIS 48 at *7. Therefore, AZCO is correct. Mr. Varble has not shown entitlement
to additional benefits beyond January 7, 8, and 9 for this week by a preponderance
of the evidence.
To recap, the chart below shows the temporary disability benefits owed, based
on the parties’ partial agreement and the above rulings.
Average Temporary
Actual
Dates Weekly Difference Partial
Wages
Wages Disability
1/8/24-1/14/24 1837.30 1231.04 606.26 404.37
1/15/24-1/21/24 1837.30 1172.74 664.56 443.26
1/28/24-2/4/24 1837.30 1213.26 624.04 416.23
6/10/24-6/16/24 1837.30 1825.34 11.96 7.97
7/1/24-7/7/24 1837.30 1469.61 367.69 245.25
7/15/24-7/21/24 1837.30 982.92 856.38 571.20
7/28/24-8/4/24 1837.30 1692.67 144.63 96.47
11/4/24-11/10/24 1837.30 1685.87 151.43 101.00
11/25/24-12/1/24 1837.30 1469.81 367.49 245.11
1/6/25-1/12/25 226.69
Total $2,757.55
As to Mr. Varble’s allegations about the handling of his claim, AZCO agreed
that it did not notify the carrier within the timeframe allowed in Bureau rules. It
4
further acknowledged that it did not timely offer a physician panel or timely make a
written settlement offer. The Court refers AZCO to the Compliance Program for the
imposition of penalties for these rule violations.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:
1. Mr. Varble is entitled to $2,757.55 in past temporary partial disability
benefits, and $1,224.93 in past temporary total disability benefits, for a total
of $3,982.48, immediately payable in a lump-sum.
2. Mr. Varble’s permanent partial disability benefits is $16,536.56 (3% x 450
weeks x $1,224.93), immediately payable in a lump-sum.
3. Mr. Varble is entitled to future open medical benefits with Dr. Rubright for
reasonable, necessary and work-related treatment.
4. This case is referred to the Compliance Program for the imposition of civil
penalties as outlined above.
5. AZCO shall pay the $150.00 filing fee within five business days of entry of
this order, for which execution may issue if necessary.
6. AZCO shall file a Statistical Data Form (SD-2) within ten business days of
this order becoming final.
7. Unless appealed, this order shall become final 30 days after entry.
ENTERED May 5, 2026.
____________________________________
JUDGE KENNETH M. SWITZER
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
APPENDIX
Exhibits:
1. Deposition of Dr. Rubright
2. The parties’ calculations of temporary partial disability benefits with
handwritten notes made by the Court before the trial; numbers adjusted in the
final order.
5
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this Order was sent as indicated on May 5, 2026.
Name Email Sent to
Jeffrey Varble,
X
employee
Emily Pfeiffer, Emily.pfeiffer@libertymutual.com
employer’s X
attorney
Compliance WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov
X
Program
_______________________________________
Penny Shrum
Clerk, Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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.