The opinion
FILED
Jun 18, 2026
10:21 AM(ET)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
AT CHATTANOOGA
SARAH BIVENS, Docket No. 2025-10-2951
Employee,
v.
ACADIA HEALTHCARE State File No. 26887-2025
MANAGEMENT, INC.,
Employer,
And Judge Audrey Headrick
SAFETY NATIONAL CASUALTY
CORP.,
Carrier.
EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER
Ms. Bivens requested benefits for injuries from a fall at work. Acadia denied
the claim, asserting her injury was idiopathic. For the reasons below, the Court holds
Ms. Bivens is not entitled to the requested benefits.
Claim History
Ms. Bivens, a receptionist, testified that on April 22, 2025, she “tripped” while
walking down a hallway and carrying a water bottle because the “floor is
tremendously uneven.” To put the fall into context, Ms. Bivens explained that the
day was very stressful because it was the first day that Acadia, a Methadone clinic,
implemented a new drug screen. She felt stressed because of uncertainty about how
to relay the new information to the patients, and she was on her feet “a lot” that day.
Ms. Bivens recalled falling. She said her knee/foot did not give out, and she
did not have any medical condition that caused the fall. Despite heavy rain that day,
Ms. Bivens did not remember whether the floor was wet.
After the fall, Ms. Bivens received emergency treatment for a head injury from
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striking it on the floor and a knee fracture that required surgery with hardware
implantation. She was hospitalized for two and a half weeks.
Acadia denied Ms. Bivens’s claim a week after her fall, stating it was
idiopathic. Ms. Bivens’s personal health insurance paid 80% of her treatment,
leaving her with co-pays exceeding $10,000.00. During her recovery, she received
payments from personal leave time and short-term disability benefits.
Shannon Doggette, Acadia’s Director of Workers’ Compensation Claims,
submitted a video of Ms. Bivens’s fall. The video shows Ms. Bivens walking to the
restroom at the end of a hallway. She exited the restroom and started walking
towards her desk. Before reaching the end of the hallway, Ms. Bivens appears to
trip. Her body lunged forward, causing her to land awkwardly on her knee and strike
the back of her head on the floor.
Ms. Bivens testified that, after later returning to work using a walker and then
a cane, she noticed the unevenness of the hallway floor.
Ms. Doggette testified that she never received any complaints about the
flooring.
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Ms. Bivens must prove she is likely to prevail at a hearing on the merits
regarding her 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 threshold issue is whether Ms. Bivens suffered an idiopathic injury or a
work injury. An idiopathic injury has an “unexplained origin or cause and generally
does not arise out of the employment unless ‘some condition of the employment
presents a peculiar or additional hazard.’” Frye v. Vincent Printing Co., 2016 TN
Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 34, at *11 (Aug. 2, 2016) (internal citation omitted).
“Cause” in this context “means that the accident originated in the hazards to which
the employee was exposed as a result of performing his or her job duties.” Id. at
*12.
Acadia asserted that it properly denied Ms. Bivens’s claim based on the video,
which appears to show a fall occurring on level flooring with no contributing hazard.
Relying on Wilhelm v. Krogers, 235 S.W.3d 122, 128-29 (Tenn. 2007), Acadia
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argued that “Tennessee courts have consistently held that an employee may not
recover for an injury occurring while walking unless there is an employment hazard,
such as a puddle of water or a step, in addition to the injured employee’s
ambulation.” The Court clarified that “some hazard, such as the presence of a liquid,
hole, obstacle, or a vehicle, must exist.” Id. at 129.
Ms. Bivens argued about the traumatic nature of the fall, the stressful day, and
the unevenness of the floor. She pointed out that no one rebutted her testimony that
the floor was uneven. While true, the Court viewed the video of Ms. Bivens’s fall.
The floor appears level with no hazard present. Other than asserting the floor was
uneven, Ms. Bivens offered no detailed description of exactly how the floor was
“uneven” or why it appeared smooth and level in the video.
The Court finds that Ms. Bivens identified a specific hazard of her
employment that caused her injuries – an uneven floor. However, she offered no
evidence of the floor’s unevenness. Instead, the video footage suggested Ms. Bivens
tripped and fell on a level surface with no visible hazard. Without further evidence,
she is unlikely to prevail at a hearing on the merits in proving her entitlement to the
requested benefits at this time.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:
1. The Court denies Ms. Bivens’s request for benefits at this time.
2. The parties shall appear for a Status Hearing on Monday, August 24, 2026, at
10:30 a.m. Eastern Time/9:30 a.m. Central Time. The parties must call 423-
634-0164 or 855-383-0001 to participate. Failure to call might result in a
determination of the issues without the party’s participation.
ENTERED June 18, 2026.
JUDGE AUDREY HEADRICK
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
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APPENDIX
Exhibits:
1. Rule 72 Declaration of Ms. Doggette
2. Video taken on April 22, 2025, USB drive filed under seal
3. Notice of Denial
4. Wage Statement
5. Stipulations
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this order was sent as shown on June 18, 2026.
Name Email Service sent to:
Adam Brock-Dagnan, X Adam.brockdagnan@forthepeople.com
Employee’s Attorney Kelly.slagle@forthepeople.com
Christopher.howell@forthepeople.com
Kitty Boyte, X Kitty.boyte@petersonwhite.com
Employer’s Attorney
____________________________________
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.
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.
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 (check one or more applicable boxes and include the date file-
stamped on the first page of the order(s) being appealed):
□ Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ □ Motion Order filed on ___________________
□ Compensation Order filed on__________________ □ 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 *
LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082
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]
LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082