STEELE, JEFFREY v. DREAMLINER LUXURY COACHES, LLC

FILED

May 06, 2026

02:42 PM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT NASHVILLE

JEFFREY STEELE, Docket No. 2025-60-5712

Employee,

v.

DREAMLINER LUXURY State File No. 50166-2025

COACHES, LLC,

Employer,

and

ACCIDENT FUND INS. CO. OF Judge Allen Phillips

AMERICA,

Carrier.

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER

At an expedited hearing on April 30, 2026, Mr. Steele requested medical and

temporary disability benefits for a back injury. Dreamliner agreed to pay the medical

bills if they determined them related after review, and it agreed to pay some of the

temporary benefits. Mr. Steele sought additional temporary benefits, but for the

reasons below the Court declines to award those at this time.

History of Claim

Mr. Steele was a tour bus driver. In June 2025, he inspected a bus, pre-tour,

and noted an extremely worn and faulty driver’s seat. He reported that to Dreamliner,

but the seat was not replaced before the tour began. Over the next two weeks, he

drove several thousand miles, and by July 17, his back and left-leg pain was so severe

that he visited a local chiropractor at a stop in Indiana. Spinal manipulation gave no

relief, so he went to a hospital.

There, both a CT scan and an MRI showed a herniated L5/S1 disc on the left,

and the providers told Mr. Steele to follow up with his personal physician when he

returned home. Mr. Steele reported to both the chiropractor and the hospital that the

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seat caused his problems.

Mr. Steele was unable to continue the tour, so he returned home to Wisconsin

where he sought treatment on his own. Dreamliner denied Mr. Steele’s claim on

grounds that his injury did not primarily arise out of his employment.

Mr. Steele continued care. The limited records in evidence include a letter

from Dr. Kimberley Sabey, a primary-care physician. In a “to whom it may concern”

letter, she wrote: “In my opinion Mr. Steele’s acute back injury was likely a result

of or at least exacerbated by the broken bus driver’s seat.”

On September 4, Mr. Steele saw orthopedic surgeon Dr. Miranda Bice, who

said she was seeing him on Dr. Sabey’s referral. Dr. Bice found mild gait instability

and said it, and Mr. Steele’s back and leg pain, were consistent with the herniated

disc. Mr. Steele’s symptoms had “greatly improved” over the last month, and she

hoped that physical therapy would make him symptom-free. She said Mr. Steele

should remain off work and she would see him again in one month.

Despite its earlier denial, Dreamliner gave Mr. Steele a panel of physicians

that included Dr. Bice. Mr. Steele chose her for ongoing authorized treatment of his

spinal pain.

The only other record from Dr. Bice is a report dated February 16, 2026, in

which she wrote that Mr. Steele had no functional deficits and his pain had resolved.

She said Mr. Steele wanted to return to work full duty and that his “end of healing”

occurred on February 12. She told him to return as needed.

Dr. Bice wrote that Mr. Steele had “been very transparent since [their] first

meeting in that he is not wanting any kind of long-term restrictions[.]” Instead, he

just wanted to “get back to his usual routine” and is “only hoping to obtain coverage

for costs of medical care” and “missed wages.” Dr. Bice also included this statement:

“Primary causation relates his lumbar disc herniation and resulting symptoms” to

the faulty seat.

Mr. Steele testified that he has not worked since July 17 and he wants

temporary disability benefits from that date through February 12. He also offered

some medical bills and said he kept a spreadsheet showing that he paid $7,614.04 in

out-of-pocket medical expenses.

During cross-examination, Dreamliner’s counsel agreed to review the bills

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and pay any that were related to treatment of the back injury. Dreamliner also agreed

to pay temporary disability from September 4, when Dr. Bice first saw Mr. Steele,

through February 12, when she released him. A wage statement will be prepared to

calculate the weekly rate.

However, Dreamliner maintained it owed no benefits from July 17 through

September 4 because no physician restricted Mr. Steele from work during that time.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

At this expedited hearing, Mr. Steele must prove that he is likely to prevail at

trial on his request for additional temporary disability benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. §

50-6-239(d)(1) (2025).

To recover those benefits, Mr. Steele must prove that he became disabled from

working due to a compensable injury, prove a causal connection between the injury

and his inability to work, and prove the duration of the period of disability. Lee v.

Allied Universal, 2026 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 23, at *12 (Apr. 16,

2026).If any of those elements are absent, then Mr. Steele cannot recover benefits.

Id. at *13.

The Court finds Mr. Steele very credible. He was steady, self-assured and

reasonable, just as Dr. Bice described him. See Kelly v. Kelly, 445 S.W.3d 685, 694-

695 (Tenn. 2014) (discussing indicia of witness credibility). The Court believes him

when he says he was unable to work from July 17 through September 4. However,

an employee’s opinion about the medical cause of his condition, without supporting

expert medical proof, is insufficient to support an award of benefits. Anderson v.

City of Knoxville Dept. of Rec., 2026 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 1, at *10

(Jan. 5, 2026). No medical records contain a restriction from work until Dr. Bice’s

September 4 record.

Thus, the Court holds Mr. Steele is not entitled to temporary disability benefits

from July 17 through September 4, 2026, at this time.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Dreamliner shall review Mr. Steele’s medical bills and either pay or

reimburse him for those related to treatment of his July 17, 2025 injury.

2. Dreamliner shall pay Mr. Steele temporary disability benefits from

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September 4, 2025, through February 12, 2026, at a weekly rate to be

determined by a wage statement. Mr. Steele’s request for temporary

disability benefits for the period of July 17, 2025, through September 4,

2025, is denied at this time.

3. Dreamliner shall continue to furnish Mr. Steele with reasonable and

necessary medical treatment causally related to his back injury under

Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(a)(1)(a) (2025). Dr. Bice

remains the authorized physician.

4. The parties shall advise the Court within 30 days of any dispute regarding

the medical or temporary disability for prompt adjudication. If none arises,

a Status Hearing is set for Monday, August 31, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.

Central Time. The parties must call 855-543-5038 to participate.

5. Unless appealed, compliance must occur within seven business days of

entry of this order as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-

239(d)(3).

ENTERED May 6, 2026.

__________________________________

JUDGE ALLEN PHILLIPS

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

APPENDIX

Exhibits:

1. Medical record of Dr. Ian Boone, DC

2. Medical records of Indiana University Hospital-Fishers

3. Medical records of Dr. Miranda Bice

4. Letter from Dr. Amanda Sabey

5. Medical bills and insurance payment records

6. Wage Statement (late filed)

7. Screenshot of Mr. Steele’s report to Dreamliner regarding seat

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of this order was sent as shown on May 6, 2026.

Name Mail Email Service sent to:

Jeffrey Steele, X X

Employee

Gordon Aulgar, X gordon.aulgur@afgroup.com

Employer’s Attorney christine.spear@afgroup.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.