Opinion

Krupla, Douglas v. Eagle Transport Corp.

  • 2018 TN WC 142
Court
Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
Filed
Sep 7, 2018
Status
Published
On the bench
Dale Tipps
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 12.5%

The opinion

FILED

Sep 07, 2018

10:58 AM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT MURFREESBORO

DOUGLAS KRUPLA, ) Docket No. 2018-05-0267

EMPLOYEE, )

v. )

)

EAGLE TRANSPORT CORP. ) State File No. 62286-2017

EMPLOYER, )

and )

)

GREAT WEST CAS. CO., ) Judge Dale Tipps

EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER GRANTING BENEFITS

This matter came before the Court on August 29, 2018, for an Expedited Hearing.

The present focus of this case is whether Mr. Krupla is entitled to the total knee

replacement surgery ordered by Dr. Michael Jordan, his authorized treating physician

(ATP). The central legal issue is whether he is likely to establish at a hearing on the

merits that his need for total knee replacement resulted from a compensable aggravation

of a preexisting condition. For the reasons below, the Court finds that Mr. Krupla would

likely meet this burden and orders Eagle Transportation to provide the recommended

surgery.

History of Claim

Mr. Krupla worked for Eagle Transportation as a truck driver. He testified that his

job required significant physical capabilities, including climbing and heavy lifting, which

he performed with no problems before his work accident. Although he had some prior

issues and treatment involving his left knee, those had resolved, and he was having no

pain or difficulty with his knee until August 15, 2017.

On that date, Mr. Krupla attempted to step up into his truck when the step gave

way, catching his boot and causing his left knee to bend and pop. He fell to the ground,

suffering multiple injuries. Eagle accepted the claim and provided medical and

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temporary disability benefits.

Medical Treatment

Mr. Krupla’s medical treatment began at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital on the

day of the accident. Emergency room records show that he reported pain in his thoracic

spine, left knee, and right groin.

After his discharge from the ER, Eagle provided a panel of physicians, and Mr.

Krupla selected Concentra. His treatment there included several visits for pain in his

back, groin, and left knee. He testified that, even though Concentra’s records did not

always reflect it, he experienced increasing pain in his left knee throughout the course of

his treatment. Mr. Krupla felt that the Concentra doctors were more concerned about his

back until he insisted they address his knee problem.

Concentra’s records show Mr. Krupla’s first visit was August 17, when he saw Dr.

William Dutton. Dr. Dutton noted complaints of pain in the right shoulder, back, left

knee, and groin. He also noted, “States left knee and right hip feel ok now.” Along with

other injuries, Dr. Dutton assessed “contusion of left knee, initial encounter.”

Mr. Krupla returned to Concentra and saw Dr. Frank Thomas on August 25.

Regarding the left knee, Dr. Thomas noted, “The symptoms are improving.”

Two subsequent visits to Concentra on September 5 and September 7 focused

primarily on Mr. Krupla’s back pain. The records from those visits make no specific

mention of ongoing knee pain but do refer to unspecified “joint pain.” These

examinations led to an orthopedic specialist referral for thoracic spine pain.

Mr. Krupla returned to Concentra on October 31 for a recheck of his knee injury.

In the History of Present Illness section, Dr. Thomas noted in part:

The symptoms are unchanged. Symptoms are located in the left knee and

left medial knee. The symptoms occur frequently. The patient describes

the pain as sharp and burning. The severity of the pain is moderate. . . .

He continues to limp and have pain medial knee and swells at intervals. It

has not improved since the original injury.

Dr. Thomas also found tenderness over the medial joint line and a positive medial

McMurray test. He noted “roughly 25% of anticipated healing has taken place” and

referred Mr. Krupla for an MRI and orthopedic specialist.

Dr. Jordan, an orthopedic surgeon, saw Mr. Krupla a few days later. An MRI

showed a medial meniscus tear and degenerative joint disease. After treating Mr. Krupla

2

for several weeks, Dr. Jordan recommended an arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy

stating, “I do think the work injury that he sustained that he has described to me is

responsible for the surgery that is being proposed.”

Utilization Review denied the recommended arthroscopic procedure. Upon

appeal, the Bureau’s Assistant Medical Director upheld the denial and stated, “The

demographics and the degree of arthritis on MRI would be consistent with ODG criteria

for arthroplasty, but is not congruent with indications for meniscectomy or

microfracture.” After receiving that Bureau decision, Dr. Jordan recommended

arthroplasty (total knee replacement).

Causation Questionnaires

While treating Mr. Krupla, Dr. Jordan responded to several written questionnaires

regarding causation. The first questionnaire, sent by the carrier, asked the doctor to

address causation based on the following facts: 1) that Mr. Krupla said in a recorded

statement three days after his accident that his knee was sore, but he didn’t think it was

injured; and 2) his next complaints of knee pain were two months later. Dr. Jordan

prefaced his responses by stating, “This sequence of events would not support current

treatment.” The first question asked which percent of the current complaints and need for

treatment were related to “a prior meniscus injury that the claimant reports happened

roughly 2 years ago.” Dr. Jordan responded that he was “unable to tell – in our computer

seems like it was the right knee.” He went on to say that he was unable to tell which

percent of the current complaints and need for treatment were related to the August 15

work accident or to degeneration, although he stated, “WC is not responsible for the DJD

– just the contusion.”

The carrier’s second questionnaire asked Dr. Jordan to assign causation

percentages to his meniscectomy recommendation. He stated that the partial medial

meniscectomy was 100% related to the contusion from the work accident.

After Dr. Jordan changed his recommendation to total knee replacement, Mr.

Krupla’s attorney sent him another questionnaire. The questions and Dr. Jordan’s

responses are as follows:

1) Is it your opinion . . . that Mr. Krupla’s work-related knee injury

resulted in an aggravation of any pre-existing or degenerative knee

condition necessitating the need for medical treatment? YES

2) If yes, did this aggravation arise primarily out of the August 15, 2017

work injury? YES

3) Have Mr. Krupla’s symptoms returned to their pre-injury baseline

level? NO

4) What further medical treatment do you believe to be reasonable and

3

medically necessary in order to treat this injury or aggravation? A/A

KNEE OR TKR

A fourth causation questionnaire came from Mr. Krupla’s independent medical

evaluation (IME) with Dr. David West, performed at Eagle’s request. Dr. West

confirmed that Mr. Krupla had a knee contusion, but he felt there was no objective

aggravation to the preexisting arthritis. He agreed that a knee replacement was an option,

but he did not feel Mr. Krupla’s fall caused the need for the procedure. He concluded,

“[I]t is my opinion that the patient’s need for treatment is due to his underlying ordinary

progression of life and osteoarthritis and not directly related, certainly less than 51%

related, to the injury of fall to the left knee.”

Dr. West’s Deposition

Dr. West testified that there was no way to determine how long Mr. Krupla’s

meniscus had been torn, but “it’s easy to say that he had very bad arthritis in three

compartments of his knee” before the workplace accident. He observed that the early

Concentra notes reflected improvement in the knee, and the September visit notes made

no mention of knee pain. From this, he concluded that Mr. Krupla had returned to his

pre-fall baseline. Dr. West stated, “[T]he advanced osteoarthritis is the primary cause in

the need for knee replacement. And of course pain is a very big deciding factor for knee

replacements, but if you base a percentage again as related to this accident, I’d say it’s

very small.” He felt the fall caused no structural change to the knee and characterized

Mr. Krupla’s condition as “a temporary exacerbation of an underlying condition.”

On cross-examination, Dr. West testified that he never discussed Mr. Krupla’s

medical records with him or asked him whether his symptoms ever resolved. Shown the

October 31 Concentra note, he admitted that if correct, the note would mean that Mr.

Krupla’s knee had not returned to baseline. He also admitted that, if Mr. Krupla had

continuing pain between the injury and the time Concentra ordered the MRI, he would

characterize the exacerbation as chronic.

Dr. Jordan’s Deposition

Eagle’s counsel asked Dr. Jordan to review Mr. Krupla’s Concentra records from

August 17 through September 7 and then asked, “[A]ssuming he had a resolution of pain

from August 25th through the date you saw him on November 8th, 2017, is it your opinion

that he returned to baseline condition?” Dr. Jordan responded, “If his baseline condition

was no pain and he was having no pain as of two days post-injury, through the several

visits that we looked at, I would say the answer to that is yes.” He went on to testify that,

based on these assumptions, his opinion may have changed to, “in fact everything going

on in his knee may be related more to DJD than to the injury.” Further, based on the

August and September Concentra visits, he felt that the aggravation of Mr. Krupla’s

4

preexisting arthritis was temporary.

On cross-examination, Dr. Jordan acknowledged it was difficult to tell from the

August Concentra records whether Mr. Krupla actually complained of knee pain. Upon

being shown the October 31 record, he agreed it indicated Mr. Krupla was having knee

pain throughout the course of his treatment at Concentra. Assuming Mr. Krupla had no

symptoms or knee pain before the work accident and had consistent pain afterwards, Dr.

Jordan felt that his recommended treatment was necessary due to an aggravation of a

preexisting condition. Again, asked to assume that Mr. Krupla’s symptoms did not

resolve after the accident, Dr. Jordan reaffirmed the opinions in his response to the

questionnaire from Mr. Krupla’s attorney.

Mr. Krupla requested that the Court order Eagle to provide additional medical

treatment, specifically the total knee replacement recommended by Dr. Jordan.

Eagle countered that the Court should deny the surgical procedure because Mr.

Kupla failed to establish he would likely prevail at a hearing on the merits in proving his

work injury primarily caused his current need for treatment. Specifically, it argued that

Mr, Krupla suffered a temporary, non-compensable aggravation of his preexisting joint

disease.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Mr. Krupla need not prove every element of his claim by a preponderance of the

evidence in order to obtain relief at an expedited hearing. Instead, he must come forward

with sufficient evidence from which this Court might determine he is likely to prevail at a

hearing on the merits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1); McCord v. Advantage Human

Resourcing, 2015 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 6, at *7-8, 9 (Mar. 27, 2015). To

qualify for medical benefits at an interlocutory hearing, an injured worker who alleges an

aggravation of a pre-existing condition must offer evidence that the aggravation arose

primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment. That is, Mr. Krupla must

come forward with sufficient evidence from which the Court can determine that he would

likely establish, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the work accident

contributed more than fifty percent in causing the aggravation, considering all causes.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14); Miller v. Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc., 2015 TN Wrk.

Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 40, at *18 (Oct. 21, 2015).

In order to establish causation, Mr. Krupla relies on the ATP, Dr. Jordan, whose

opinion is presumed correct. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14)(E). One of the

difficulties faced by the Court is that Dr. Jordan gave apparently conflicting causation

opinions.1 This conflict is resolvable, however. At its essence, Dr. Jordan’s opinion

1

The Court finds it unnecessary to address the first two questionnaires completed by Dr. Jordan, as they

5

depends on one factual issue: Did Mr. Krupla have continuing pain from the date of his

accident until Concentra ordered an MRI and made an orthopedic referral on October 31?

If so, Dr. Jordan would say the work injury made the surgery necessary because it

aggravated a preexisting condition. If not, he would view the aggravation as temporary

and, therefore, not the cause of his current need for surgery.

Mr. Krupla testified about this issue. Specifically, he said that he had no pain in

his left knee or any limitations at work or other activities before his work injury. After

the accident, he experienced increasing pain in his left knee throughout the course of his

treatment at Concentra but had difficulty getting the doctors to address his knee injury.

The Court notes that Mr. Krupla appeared steady, forthcoming, reasonable, and honest,

which characteristics, according to the Tennessee Supreme Court, are indicia of

reliability. See Kelly v. Kelly, 445 S.W.3d 685, 694-695 (Tenn. 2014). His testimony is

also supported by the October 31 Concentra record, which states, “He continues to limp

and have pain medial knee and swells at intervals. It has not improved since the original

injury.” Further, Eagle provided no testimony from the nurse case manager or any

Concentra personnel to rebut Mr. Krupla’s characterization of his knee problems. The

Court therefore finds Mr. Krupla to be credible and accepts his description of progressive

knee pain through the period of his Concentra treatment.

Eagle contends that the Concentra records show that Mr. Krupla’s knee pain

subsided within a couple of weeks after the accident. The Court recognizes that the

medical records contain a number of somewhat inconsistent or incomplete descriptions of

Mr. Krupla’s symptoms. However, medical records are rarely infallible. Further, the

records do not show that Mr. Krupla repeatedly changed his description of the accident or

the cause of his knee pain. Instead, his primary complaints simply varied from visit to

visit with no explanation or emphasis. Mr. Krupla attributed this to the medical providers

continued focus on injuries to body parts other than his knee. Other causes for these

variations may be attributable to Concentra’s record-keeping or the fact that more than

one doctor saw Mr. Krupla during his treatment there. There is no indication that these

explanations are less likely than an actual lack of knee symptoms experienced by Mr.

Krupla, especially in view of the final Concentra record that stated that his knee condition

“is unchanged.” Without testimony from the Concentra doctors or some other evidence,

the Court is unwilling to assume that Mr. Krupla had no knee symptoms, based solely on

the relative lack of recorded knee symptoms in a few of the medical records. Further, to

the extent that Eagle suggested that Mr. Krupla must have suffered some sort of

intervening injury before October 31, it presented no proof supporting this contention.

Having found that Mr. Krupla suffered relatively constant knee pain through

October 31, the Court accepts Dr. Jordan’s opinion that Mr. Krupla’s work injury was the

both failed to ask his opinion regarding total knee replacement or whether it was made necessary by an

aggravation of Mr. Krupla’s preexisting condition.

6

primary cause of the aggravation of his degenerative knee condition. As noted above,

this opinion is entitled to a presumption of correctness.

Eagle contends that Dr. West’s testimony is sufficient to overcome the

presumption. To make this determination, the Court must compare the opinions of Dr.

West and Dr. Jordan.

When the medical testimony differs, the trial judge must obviously choose

which view to believe. In doing so, he is allowed, among other things, to

consider the qualifications of the experts, the circumstances of their

examination, the information available to them, and the evaluation of the

importance of that information by other experts.

Orman v. Williams Sonoma, Inc., 803 S.W.2d 672, 676 (Tenn. 1991).

Applying the first of these factors, the Court notes that both physicians are

orthopedic surgeons. Although both of their deposition transcripts indicate that their

curriculum vitae were exhibits to their testimony, neither of the transcripts filed with the

court included those exhibits. In the absence of any information concerning their

respective qualifications, the Court cannot find any determinative differences between the

doctors.

As to the other factors, the circumstances of the respective examinations are

different, in that Mr. Krupla was an established patient with Dr. Jordan, while he only

saw Dr. West once. However, it appears that the information available to the doctors was

comparable. Overall, the Court finds little difference between the doctors, other than

their actual conclusions. Thus, Dr. West’s testimony must be sufficient on its own to

overcome the presumption in favor of Dr. Jordan.

The primary problem with Dr. West’s opinion is that he predicated it on the

assumption that Mr. Krupla’s knee condition resolved within a couple of weeks and

“returned to baseline.” However, he based that assumption solely on his review of the

first few Concentra notes. Dr. West admitted he did not discuss Mr. Krupla’s medical

records with him or ask him whether his symptoms ever resolved. Further, he conceded

that if the October 31 note were correct, that would mean Mr. Krupla’s knee did not

return to its baseline symptoms and that the exacerbation of his osteoarthritis was

chronic. As the Court has already determined that Mr. Krupla’s knee pain never fully

subsided, this testimony not only fails to overcome the presumption of correctness, but it

actually supports Dr. Jordan’s opinion.

After careful consideration, the Court finds that Dr. West’s analysis and

conclusions are insufficient to overcome the presumption of correctness of Dr. Jordan’s

causation opinion. Mr. Krupla therefore appears likely to prevail at a hearing on the

7

merits in proving that he suffered an aggravation, arising primarily out of and in the

course and scope of employment, of his preexisting degenerative joint disease.

Therefore, the Court concludes Eagle must provide the knee replacement surgery

recommended by Dr. Jordan.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Eagle Transport Corporation shall provide Mr. Krupla with medical treatment

made reasonably necessary by the August 15, 2017 injury in accordance with

Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204, including the knee replacement

surgery recommended by Dr. Jordan.

2. This matter is set for a Scheduling Hearing on October 31, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. The

parties must call 615-741-2112 or toll-free at 855-874-0473 to participate. Failure

to call in may result in a determination of the issues without the parties’

participation. All conferences are set using Central Time.

3. Unless interlocutory appeal of the Expedited Hearing Order is filed, compliance

with this Order must occur no later than seven business days from the date of entry

of this Order as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(d)(3).

The Insurer or Self-Insured Employer must submit confirmation of compliance

with this Order to the Bureau by email to WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov no

later than the seventh business day after entry of this Order. Failure to submit the

necessary confirmation within the period of compliance may result in a penalty

assessment for non-compliance.

4. For questions regarding compliance, please contact the Workers’ Compensation

Compliance Unit via email at WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov.

ENTERED this the 7th day of September, 2018.

_____________________________________

Judge Dale Tipps

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

8

APPENDIX

Exhibits:

1. Affidavit of Douglas Krupla

2. Indexed medical records

3. Dr. West’s IME report

4. Deposition transcript of Dr. David West

5. Deposition Transcript of Dr. Michael Jordan

6. Transcript of Douglas Krupla’s recorded statement (Identification Only)

Technical record:

1. Petition for Benefit Determination

2. Request for Expedited Hearing

3. Dispute Certification Notice

4. Employer’s Pre-Hearing Brief

5. Employee’s Brief in Support of Request for Expedited Hearing

6. Employee’s Supplemental Brief in Support of Request for Expedited Hearing

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Expedited Hearing Order was

sent to the following recipients by the following methods of service on this the 7th day of

September, 2018.

Name Certified Fax Email Service sent to:

Mail

Michael Fisher, X mfisher@ddzlaw.com

Employee’s Attorney

Marianna Joblonski, X mjablonski@wimberlylawson.com

Employer’s Attorney

_____________________________________

Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court

Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

9

Expedited Hearing Order Right to Appeal:

If you disagree with this Expedited Hearing Order, you may appeal to the Workers’

Compensation Appeals Board. To appeal an expedited hearing order, you must:

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled: “Expedited Hearing Notice of Appeal,” and file the

form with the Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims within seven

business days of the date the expedited hearing order was filed. When filing the Notice

of Appeal, you must serve a copy upon all parties.

2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten

calendar days after filing of 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 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 the appeal.

3. You bear the responsibility of ensuring a complete record on appeal. You may request

from the court clerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. If a transcript of

the proceedings is to be filed, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript and file

it with the court clerk within ten business days of the filing the Notice of

Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the evidence prepared jointly by both

parties within ten business days of the filing of the Notice of Appeal. The statement of

the evidence must convey a complete and accurate account of the hearing. The Workers’

Compensation Judge must approve the statement before the record is submitted to the

Appeals Board. If the Appeals Board is called upon to review testimony or other proof

concerning factual matters, the absence of a transcript or statement of the evidence can be

a significant obstacle to meaningful appellate review.

4. If you wish to file a position statement, you must file it with the court clerk within ten

business days after the deadline to file a transcript or statement of the evidence. The

party opposing the appeal may file a response with the court clerk within ten business

days after you file your position statement. All position statements should include: (1) a

statement summarizing the facts of the case from the evidence admitted during the

expedited hearing; (2) a statement summarizing the disposition of the case as a result of

the expedited hearing; (3) a statement of the issue(s) presented for review; and (4) an

argument, citing appropriate statutes, case law, or other authority.

For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.

Filed Date Stamp Here EXPEDITED HEARING NOTICE OF APPEAL

Tennessee Division of Workers' Compensation

Docket#: - - - -- -- - --

www.tn.go v/labor-wfd/wcomp.shtm l

State File #/YR: - - -- - - --

wc.courtclerk@tn.gov

1-800-332-2667 RFA#: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____ _

Date of Injury: - - - -- - - - -

SSN: _______ _ ______ __

Employee

Employer and Carrier

Notice

Noticeisg~enthat _ _ _ _ _ _ _~~--~~~~---~~~--------~

[List name(s) of all appealing party(ies) on separate sheet if necessary]

appeals the order(s) of the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims at _ __

-~~~-----~~~~~~~~-to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board .

[List the date(s) the order(s) was filed in the court clerk's office]

Judge___________________________________________

Statement of the Issues

Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal:

Additional Information

Type of Case [Check the most appropriate item]

D Temporary disability benefits

D Medical benefits for current injury

D Medical benefits under prior order issued by the Court

List of Parties

Appellant (Requesting Party): _____________ .A t Hearing: DEmployer DEmployee

Address:. _______________________ ______________ ___________

Party's Phone:.____________________________ Email: _________________________

Attorney's Name:________________________________ ___ BPR#: - - - - - - - - - - - -

Attorney's Address:. _ _ _ _ _~~-~~~~----~~---- Phone:

Attorney's City, State & Zip code: _____________________ ___________ _ _ _ __ _

Attorney's Email :_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

*Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant*

LB-1099 rev.4/15 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082

Employee Name: - - - -- - - -- - - - SF#: _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ DO l: _ __ _ __

Aopellee(s)

Appellee (Opposing Party): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.At Hearing: OEmployer DEmployee

Appellee's Address: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Appellee's Phone:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.Email:_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __

Attorney's Name:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ BPR#: - - - - - - - -

Attorney's Address:._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone:

Attorney's City, State & Zip code: - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Attorney's Email:._ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

* Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, certify that I have forwarded a true and exact copy of this

Expedited Hearing Notice of Appeal by First Class, United States Mail, postage prepaid, to all parties

and/or their attorneys in this case in accordance with Rule 0800-02-22.01(2) of the Tennessee Rules of

Board of Workers' Compensation Appeals on this the day of__, 20_ .

[Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]

LB-1099 rev.4/1S Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082

.

ll .I

Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation

220 French Landing Drive, 1-B

Nashville, TN 37243-1002

800-332-2667

AFFIDAVIT OF INDIGENCY

I, , having been duly sworn according to law, make oath that

because of my poverty, I am unable to bear the costs of this appeal and request that the filing fee to appeal be

waived. The following facts support my poverty.

1. Full Name:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ 2. Address: - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. Telephone Number: - - - - - - - - - 4. Date of Birth: - - - - - - - - - - -

5. Names and Ages of All Dependents:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Relationship: - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Relationship: - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - Relationship: - - - - - - - - - - - --

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Relationship: - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. I am employed by: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , -

My employer's address is: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

My employer's phone number is: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

7. My present monthly household income, after federal income and social security taxes are deducted, is:

$ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___

8. I receive or expect to receive money from the following sources:

AFDC $ per month beginning

SSI $ per month beginning

Retirement $ per month beginning

Disability $ per month beginning

Unemployment $ per month beginning

Worker's Camp.$ per month beginning

Other $ per month beginning

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082

9. My expenses are: ' ; !•

'

Rent/House Payment $ per month Medical/Dental $ per month

Groceries $ per month Telephone $ per month

Electricity $ per month School Supplies $ per month

Water $ per month Clothing $ per month

Gas $ per month Child Care $ per month

Transportation $ per month Child Support $ per month

Car $ per month

Other $ per month (describe:

10. Assets:

Automobile $ _ _ __ _

(FMV) - - - - - -- - - -

Checking/Savings Acct. $ _ _ _ __

House $ _ _ _ __

(FMV) - - -- - - -- - -

)

Other $ _ _ _ __ Describe:_ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __

11. My debts are:

Amount Owed To Whom

I hereby declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing answers are true, correct, and complete

and that I am financially unable to pay the costs of this appeal.

APPELLANT

Sworn and subscribed before me, a notary public, this

_ _ _ dayof _____________ ,20____

NOTARY PUBLIC

My Commission Expires:_ _ _ _ _ __ _

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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