Opinion

Hardin, Gregory v. W.A. Kendall & Co., Inc.

  • 2019 TN WC 25
Court
Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
Filed
Feb 13, 2019
Status
Published
On the bench
Brian K. Addington
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 12.5%

The opinion

FILED

Feb 13, 2019

01:08 PM(CT)

TENNESSEE COURT OF

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT GRAY

GREGORY HARDIN, ) Docket Number: 2017-02-0333

Employee, )

v. )

W.A. KENDALL & CO., INC., ) State File Number: 4528-2017

Employer, )

and )

XL INSURANCE AMERICA, ) Judge Brian K. Addington

Carrier. )

COMPENSATION HEARING ORDER

This case came before the Court January 24-28, 2019, for a compensation hearing.

The legal issues are whether Mr. Hardin's claim is barred by willful misconduct, and if

not, the amount of benefits due. The Court holds that Mr. Hardin suffered a compensable

injury that was not barred by willful misconduct. As explained below, it awards him past

and future lifetime medical benefits, temporary total and permanent partial disability

benefits, and reasonable attorney's fees.

History of Claim

W.A. Kendall hired Mr. Hardin in January 2016 to work as a groundsman on its

wood clearing crew. 1 It provided him with a handbook and laborer training manual, and

he passed a test associated with the training manual. Later, he received on-the-job

training to operate a wood chipper from his foreman, Dusty Shaffer, who instructed him

to approach a chipper from the rear in an arc, use both hands to throw the material into

the chipper, and continue in the arc while moving away to pick up another pile. These

instructions mirrored the instructions in W .A. Kendall's handbook. 2

A couple of months later, Mr. Hardin and other employees received a written

record of instruction on March 16, 2016, for feeding the chipper from behind instead of

1

Mr. Hardin's average weekly wage was $434.89, which provides a $289.93 compensation rate.

2

The materials reflect that W.A. Kendall's policies were more guidelines than inflexible rules.

1

from the side. The chipper also had stickers that warned operators to follow instructions

in the operator's manual, always or constantly to remain in position to operate the control

bar to stop the machine if necessary, and to never push items too far into the chipper.

On the day of the accident, January 18, 2017, Mr. Hardin and groundsman

Brandon Moore were the only employees at the Wiseman worksite. Mr. Moore operated

a leaf blower, while Mr. Hardin chipped brush. Mr. Hardin testified at trial that he picked

up a bundle of brush, walked toward the chipper in an arc pattern, and fed it into the

chipper. At that time, a vine entangled his right arm. He grabbed his right arm with his

left in an attempt to draw back his right arm. The power of the machine caused him to

lose his footing and fall face first onto the feed table. As the chipper started to pull his

right hand into the rollers, he turned to his back and struck the control bar with his legs,

stopping the chipper. He extracted himself from the machine, but the chipper severed his

right hand, and he suffered partial amputation of his ear and significant facial lacerations.

Even though he did not witness the accident, Mr. Moore called 911. EMS

responder Robert Wells conducted a scene survey while others attended Mr. Hardin.

While assessing the scene, he backed away from Mr. Hardin and the chipper. In doing

so, he tripped over a brush pile, which was located to the rear of the chipper and near the

end of the gravel road leading to the upper reaches of the property. He testified he

remembered the brush pile because tripping over it embarrassed him.

EMS transported Mr. Hardin to the hospital where he was hospitalized for five

days. W. A. Kendall representatives visited him, but he was anesthetized and unable to

provide any statement.

Dr. Benjamin Knox operated on Mr. Hardin and concluded his hand could not be

saved. He referred Mr. Hardin to a prosthetist. Dr. Jim Brantner operated on his facial

and ear lacerations. Upon release, the hospitalist, Dr. Melissa Powell, restricted Mr.

Hardin's use of his right arm until an orthopedist cleared him. The hospital bills totaled

$72,482.

After the hospital released him, Mr. Hardin continued to treat with Dr. Brantner,

who never placed Mr. Hardin at maximum medical improvement (MMI) but did assign

ten percent whole-body impairment for his facial injuries. Mr. Hardin received treatment

for his hand injury from Dr. Kent Lord, who placed him at MMI on October 10, 2018,

and assigned sixty percent whole-body impairment for injuries to his right arm. Dr. Lord

noted Mr. Hardin was a good candidate for prosthesis and felt his permanent restrictions

depended on the prosthesis he received.

Mr. Hardin went to Bristol Orthotics and Prosthetics for a prosthesis evaluation.

There, Prosthetist and Orthotist Will Graybeal determined Mr. Hardin was a good

prosthesis candidate and recommended three different orthotic hands, a body powered

2

arm, a body powered recreational arm, and a myo-electric !-limb arm. Together, they

would enable him to do more complex activities, including up to ninety-five percent of

the activities he previously performed. Neither Dr. Knox nor Dr. Lord reviewed Mr.

Graybeal's recommendations.

W. A. Kendall did not speak with Mr. Hardin before it decided to deny his claim

on January 27, and it refused to pay his medical bills or pay temporary disability benefits.

On January 31, Mr. Hardin's attorney notified W.A. Kendall of his representation and

requested a Panel of Physicians. W.A. Kendall formally filed a Notice of Denial on

February 28 alleging Mr. Hardin was guilty of misconduct and had failed to follow a

safety rule. It never provided a panel of physicians.

Mr. Hardin hired Charles Coones, a Certified Safety Professional, as an expert to

recreate the chipping accident. Based on Mr. Hardin's account, Mr. Coones recreated the

event using a similar machine and a fireman dummy. Mr. Coones concluded it was

highly probable the chipper pulled him in as Mr. Hardin testified at trial.

W. A. Kendall hired Dr. Richard Ziernicki as its expert. 3 He relied on Mr.

Hardin's deposition testimony as to where he was standing when the incident occurred,

Mr. Moore's placement of the chipper, and circumstantial evidence from the scene. He

concluded Mr. Hardin was not standing where he indicated but was to the rear of the

chipper. He determined if Mr. Hardin was standing as he testified in his deposition, his

body would have hit the control bar, and if he was not there, he violated W. A. Kendall's

safety rules. He assumed that Mr. Hardin tried to flick materials that were in the hopper

in violation of the rules. 4

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Mr. Hardin must prove all elements of his case by a preponderance of the

evidence. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(6) (2018).

As the threshold issue, Mr. Hardin must prove the compensability of his claim.

Specifically, he must show he suffered "an injury by accident ... arising primarily out of

and in the course and scope of employment." Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-102(14). If he

establishes an injury, then Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(a)(l)(A) requires

"[t]he employer or the employer's agent [to] furnish, free of charge to the employee, such

medical ... treatment ... made reasonably necessary by accident[.]"

3

Both experts were well qualified to testify on the matter.

4

He came to this conclusion based on statements from employees that all the brush had already been cut,

and that Mr. Hardin was just throwing rakings into the chipper.

3

Mr. Hardin suffered open and obvious injuries to his right hand, face and ear when

the wood chipper pulled him in while working for W. A. Kendall. The Court holds by a

preponderance of the evidence that he suffered an injury arising primarily out of and in

the course and scope of his employment.

The Court must consider, however, whether Mr. Hardin's compensable injury was

barred by willful misconduct. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-llO(a)(l). W.A. Kendall has the

burden to prove such defense. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-110(b). It must prove Mr.

Hardin violated a work rule; he had actual, as opposed to constructive notice of the rule;

he understood the danger involved in violating the rule; the bona fide enforcement of the

rule by W. A. Kendall; and, the lack of a valid excuse for violating the rule. Mitchell v.

Fayetteville Pub, Utils., 368 S.W.3d 442, 453 (Tenn. 2012).

W. A. Kendall asserted that Mr. Hardin violated three rules: 1) he did not feed the

wood chipper from the ditch side; 2) he reached his hand into the hopper; and 3) he was

not in a position to control the safety bar as he operated the chipper. The Court will

analyze each alleged rule violation using the elements set out in Mitchell.

Concerning the first rule, W.A. Kendall proved by a preponderance of the

evidence that Mr. Hardin had notice. Its handbook and the operation manual stated the

correct way to feed a chipper is by approaching it from the rear on the ditch side. Mr.

Hardin testified he was aware of the danger in violating the rule and had been written up

for violating it once, although he denied actually violating it. But he also testified that at

the time of the accident, he was feeding the machine from the rear ditch side.

W.A. Kendall's expert concluded that if Mr. Hardin had been standing center mass

on the ditch side of the feed table, his body would have engaged the safety bar as the

chipper pulled him into the machine. He compared this to a fish on a taut line. However,

the Court finds Mr. Hardin to be credible when he testified that he fought to free himself

by grabbing his right arm with his left dominant arm. This would have changed his

position and would not have prevented him from moving side to side or up and down as

the machine pulled him in. Dr. Ziemicki's reenactment does not allow for such a

scenario, only exhibiting a static dummy being pulled into the machine.

Dr. Ziernicki relied on Mr. Hardin's deposition testimony wherein he made an ink

slash on a diagram that purportedly showed him "standing" in the middle of the feed

table on the chipper's ditch side when he threw brush into it. In Dr. Ziemicki's

reenactment, he positioned a man standing in the center of the ditch side of the feed table.

However, the evidence does not support such positioning. Mr. Hardin testified and

demonstrated that he was not "standing" anywhere but was walking as he fed the

machine. Also, the mark on the chipper diagram is not proportional to the size of a

human body when standing next to the machine. If it were, Mr. Hardin would be

represented by a thin ink slash. Mr. Hardin did not intend to make a mark to indicate his

body covered the width ofthe ditch side of the feed table.

4

W.A. Kendall's training manual and videos show an employee correctly

approaching the chipper from the rear on the ditch side. Mr. Hardin testified he did the

same on the date ofinjury. 5

Even if W.A. Kendall proved Mr. Hardin violated the rule, it failed to prove he did

not have a valid excuse for doing so. The Court finds that on the day of the accident, Mr.

Hardin fed the chipper as he was trained by his superiors, so if he violated the rule, W. A.

Kendall failed to prove he lacked a valid excuse for doing so.

Concerning rule two, Dr. Ziernicki concluded that Mr. Hardin could not have been

at the side of the feed table but was behind it reaching into the hopper, which was a

violation of the rule. He came to this conclusion based on statements from Mr. Moore

and others that there were no big items to throw into the chipper but just small rakings.

He then assumed that the small clippings could have not made it to the rollers, and Mr.

Hardin reached into the hopper to flick them into the rollers.

There was conflicting testimony on the pile of branches, as some employees did

not see a large pile of branches after the accident. However, Mr. Wells testified as did

Mr. Hardin that there was large brush still to be chipped at the scene. Mr. Wells

recounted his embarrassment from falling in the pile. The Court finds his testimony

highly credible. The preponderance of the evidence does not support W. A. Kendall's

assertion that Mr. Hardin reached into the hopper because there were only small clippings

left to be chipped.

As to the notice about the safety bar, the Court does not consider it a rule, but a

warning. Nonetheless, every person who described operating the chipper or

demonstrated its use for a video illustrated using both hands to throw brush into the

chipper. It would be anatomically impossible to grab the control bar at all times during

the feeding/chipping process. Therefore, even if it were a rule, Mr. Hardin had a valid

excuse for violating it.

Because the Court holds that Mr. Hardin suffered a compensable injury, he is

entitled to necessary and reasonable medical benefits. He proved his work-r lated injm

was primarily responsible for his need for medical treatment. 6 Thus, the CoUJt holds

W.A. Kendall shall pay for all emergency treatment that Mr. Hardin received at the

hospital in the amount of $72,482.

5

The Court notes a slight discrepancy between Mr. Hardin's trial testimony and his deposition testimony,

but the Court finds it inconsequential. Mr. Hardin repeated at trial on direct and cross as to what

happened on the date of the injury. The Court notes he did not waiver in his testimony at trial.

6

This information is contained in the C-32s from Drs. Lord and Brantner.

5

Mr. Hardin requested a panel of physicians for his compensable injury on January

31, 2017, which W. A. Kendall denied. The Court holds Mr. Hardin was reasonable in

seeking treatment with Drs. Knox, Lord, and Brantner. W.A. Kendall shall pay for Mr.

Hardin's prior treatment and ongoing medical treatment with these physicians that is

related to his injury. As to Mr. Hardin's request for approval of Mr. Graybeal's

prosthetic arm recommendations, the Court holds this issue is best left to physicians. Mr.

Hardin must return to Dr. Knox or Dr. Lord for a determination of the prosthetic devices

that are reasonable and necessary for his injury. 7

Concerning temporary total disability benefits, Mr. Hardin must prove by a

preponderance of the evidence: (1) a disability from working as the result of a

compensable injury; (2) a causal connection between the injury and the inability to work;

and (3) the duration of the period of disability. Shepherd v. Haren Canst. Co., Inc., 2016

TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 15, at *13 (Mar. 30, 2016). Dr. Melissa Powell

restricted Mr. Hardin's use of his right arm until he was cleared by an orthopedist. Dr.

Lord found that Mr. Hardin's injury had caused him to miss work and did not place him

at MMI until October 8, 2018. Thus, Mr. Hardin proved entitlement to temporary total

disability benefits of $26,010.87. 8

Regarding permanent partial disability benefits, an employee who establishes a

partial disability from a compensable permanent injury is entitled to payment of

permanent partial disability benefits for the number of weeks calculated by multiplying

the applicable impairment rating by 450 weeks. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-207(3)(A).

These benefits are paid at the weekly compensation rate whether or not the employee

returns to work. !d. The Workers' Compensation Law refers to this as the original

award. Dr. Lord assigned a sixty percent impairment rating to the whole body. 9

Therefore, the Court finds he sustained a sixty percent permanent partial impairment.

This equates to an original award of 270 weeks benefits or $78,281.10.

Finally, Mr. Hardin requested attorney fees for W.A. Kendall's wrongful denial of

his claim. The Court holds Mr. Hardin is entitled to the requested fees.

Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-226( d)(l )(B) allows the Court to award

reasonable attorney's fees and costs when an employer wrongfully denies a claim or fails

7

Dr. Lord referred Mr. Hardin for a prosthetic-orthotic evaluation, and the Court found Prosthetist

Graybeal qualified to testifY as an expert at trial. However, the specific types of prosthetics recommended

were not ordered by Dr. Lord or Dr. Knox.

8

This amount represents eighty-nine weeks and five days, as 20 16 was a leap year.

9

Although Dr. Brantner's impairment rating was entered as exhibit twenty-four, Dr. Brantner never

placed Mr. Hardin at MMI, and Mr. Hardin did not request permanent disability payments based on Dr.

Brantner's rating in his pre-hearing statement or at trial.

6

to timely initiate benefits. At the time of Mr. Hardin's injury, the statute did not define

the term "wrongfully." However, in a 2018 amendment, the Legislature defined

"wrongfully" to mean "erroneous, incorrect, or otherwise inconsistent with the law or

facts." In Andrews v. Yates Serv., LLC, 2018 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 22 (May

8, 20 18), the Appeals Board held that, although the amended definition does not directly

apply to injuries prior to its enactment, like Mr. Hardin's injury, a court should "look to

the new statute as persuasive authority in evincing the General Assembly's original

intent." /d. at *9.

In Andrews, the Board concluded that:

a trial court may consider whether an employer's decision to deny a claim was

erroneous, incorrect, or otherwise inconsistent with the law or facts at the time the

denial decision was made. Thus, it is within a trial court's discretion to consider

an employer's decision to deny a claim in light of evidence or other information

reasonably available to the employer at the time the claim was denied.

/d. at *12 (Emphasis added).

Applying that authority here, the Court holds W. A. Kendall's actions at the time it

denied Mr. Hardin's claim were erroneous, incorrect, and inconsistent with the facts.

Namely W.A. Kendall did not speak with Mr. Hardin before its denial, relied upon only

circumstantial evidence, 10 and had no expe1i proof at that time which establjshed Mr.

Hardin's alleged misconduct. The investigation undertaken by W.A. Kendall "at the time

the denial decision was made" was inadequate to establish its willful misconduct defense

and, thus, was inconsistent with a complete picture of the facts as of the date of denial.

Therefore, the Court holds that Mr. Hardin should be awarded attorney fees. Mr.

Hardin's attorney shall submit an accounting of his time and hourly rate with an affidavit

for consideration of attorney fees. He shall also simultaneously submit a request for

reasonable and necessary costs. W.A. Kendall shall have five business days to respond.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. The Court designates Drs. Knox, Lord, and Brantner as Mr. Hardin's authorized

physician. Mr. Hardin is awarded a judgment of $72,482 against W.A. Kendall

for past medical expenses, and W. A. Kendall shall provide reasonable and

necessary future medical treatment under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-

204(a)(l)(A).

2. Mr. Hardin is awarded a judgment of $26,010.87 against W.A. Kendall for past

temporary total disability benefits.

10

Mr. Hardin was the only eyewitness to the accident.

7

3. Mr. Hardin is awarded a judgment of $78,281.10 against W. A. Kendall for

temporary total disability benefits. All incurred benefits shall be paid in lump sum

with the remaining in weekly benefits.

4. Mr. Hardin's attorney shall submit an accounting of his time and hourly rate with

an affidavit for consideration of attorney fees. He shall also simultaneously

submit a request for reasonable and necessary costs. W.A. Kendall shall have five

business days to respond.

5. W.A. Kendall shall pay $150.00 costs to the Court Clerk within five business days

under Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.07.

6. W.A. Kendall shall prepare and submit a Statistical Data Form (SD2) within five

business days of this order becoming final.

7. W. A. Kendall failed to timely file a notice of denial or provide a panel to which

Mr. Hardin was entitled. The Court refers the case to the Bureau's Compliance

Unit for consideration of a penalty.

8. Absent an appeal, this order shall become final in thirty days after issuance.

ENTERED this the 13th day of February, 2019.

IS/ Brian K. Addington

BRIAN K. ADDINGTON, JUDGE

Court of Workers' Compensation Claims

APPENDIX

Exhibits:

1. Statement ofUnderstanding

2. Photo

3. Collective Exhibit-Photo (3)

4. Photo

5. Phot

6. Photo

7. Collective "' xhibit-Photos (4)

8. Employee s Choice of Physician Form

9. Photo

lO.Photo

8

11. Photo

12. Labor Training Manual

13. Test for Labor Training

14. Job Safety Analysis Form

15. Employee Handbook

16. Target Training Form

17. Collective Diagram (Deposition Exhibit 3)

18.Mentor Progress Sheet

19. MedicOne Medical Response

20. Johnson City Medical Center-Billing Statement

21. Photo

22. Johnson City Medical Center records

23. Standard Form Medical Report-Dr. Kent Lord

24. Standard Form Medical Report-Dr. Jim Brantner

25. Mortality Table

26. Prosthetist License of Will Graybeal

27. Orthotist License of Will Graybeal

28. Video-Limb Prosthetics

29. Recommended Prosthetic Hands Chart

30. Bristol Orthotics and Prosthetics records

31. Referral Order Dr. Benjamin Knox

32. Curriculum Vitae of Charles Coones

33. Forensic Investigations and Technologies preliminary report

34. Forensic Investigations and Technologies supplemental report

3 5. Demonstration video-Charles Coones

36. License Status Website (identification purposes)

3 7. Wage Statement

38.Notice ofDenial of Claim

39. TOSHA Report (identification purposes) 11

40. Video-Dr. Richard Ziernicki

41. Analysis of the Hazards of Wood Chipper Accidents

42. Video-W.A. Kendall demonstration video

43. Kendall Record of Instruction or Correction

44. Collective Exhibit-Photos (4 7)

45. New employee training video

46. Brandon Moore's Deposition

47. Brandon Moore's Affidavit

48. Affidavit of Criminal Complaint, Brandon Moore

49. Criminal Court Judgment, Brandon Moore

11

The Court reserved ruling on the admissibility of this document until it had an opportunity to review the

Appeals Board's decision in Kizer v. Express Servs. Inc., 2018 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 17 (Apr.

20, 20 18). Based on the holding in Kizer, the Court finds W.A. Kendall did not lay a proper foundation

for this document.

9

50. Criminal Plea, Brandon Moore

51. Robert Williams' Deposition

52. Letter dated January 31, 2017

53.Email

54. Handwritten statements (identification purposes)

Technical Record:

1. Petition for Benefit Determination

2. Dispute Certification Notice

3. Employer's Motion to Compel HIPAA Release

4. Employee's Response to Motion to Compel HIPPA Release

5. Order Compelling Discovery

6. Employee's Notice of Compliance

7. Employee's Request for Scheduling Hearing

8. Scheduling Hearing Order

9. Employee's Motion for Permission to Serve Additional Interrogatories

10. Order Granting Additional Interrogatories

11. Employee's Motion to Amend Scheduling Order

12. Employer's Response to Motion to Amend

13. Order Granting Extension of Deadlines

14. Employer's Witness List

15. Employee's Witness List

16.Employee's Notice of Intent to Use C-32

17. Employer's Motion to File a Brief Exceeding Ten Pages

18.Employee's Motion in Limine

19.Employee's Motion to Exclude Discovery Depositions

20. Employee's Motion to Compel Expert Witness' Investigative File

21. Employee's Motion to File a Brief Exceeding Ten Pages

22. Post Discovery DCN

23. Employer's Response to Motion to Exclude Discovery Depostions

24. Employer's Response to Motion in Limine

25. Employee's Objection to Employer's Untimely Filing of Responses to Motions

26. Court Order on Motions

27. Employee's List of Proposed Exhibits

28. Employee's Pre-Compensation Hearing Statement

29. Employee's Pre-Compensation Hearing Brief

30. Employer's List of Proposed Exhibits

31. Employer's Pre-Compensation Hearing Statement

32. Employer's Notice of Filing Proposed Exhibits

33. Employer's Pre-Hearing Brief

10

13

II

I 'I

Compensation Hearing Order Right to Appeal:

If you disagree with this Compensation Hearing Order, you may appeal to the Workers'

Compensation Appeals Board or the Tennessee Supreme Court. To appeal to the Workers'

Compensation Appeals Board, you must:

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled: "Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal," and file

the form with the Clerk of the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims within thirty

calendar days of the date the compensation hearing order was filed. When filing the

Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy upon 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 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 ofthe 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 lndigency will

result in dismissal of your 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. A licensed court

reporter must prepare a transcript and file it with the court clerk within fifteen calendar

days of the filing the Notice of Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a statement of the

evidence prepared jointly by both parties within fifteen calendar 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

of the evidence 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. 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. The appealing

party has fifteen calendar days after the date of that notice to submit a brief to the

Appeals Board. See the Practices and Procedures of the Workers' Compensation

Appeals Board.

To appeal your case directly to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Compensation Hearing

Order must be final and you must comply with the Tennessee Rules of Appellate

Procedure. If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the trial court's

Order will become final by operation of law thirty calendar days after entry. See Tenn.

Code Ann.§ 50-6-239(c)(7).

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

II I.

' 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: ! ~ li

I

'

Rent/House Payment $ per month Med icai/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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