                                                                                   FILED
                                                                                 Feb 28, 2020
                                                                                 09:07 AM(CT)
                                                                               TENNESSEE COURT OF
                                                                              WORKERS' COMPENSATION
                                                                                     CLAIMS




             TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
            IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS
                             AT NASHVILLE

Jennifer Ferrari-Bullock,                     )   Docket No. 2019-06-1597
             Employee,                        )
v.                                            )
United Parcel Serv., Inc.,                    )   State File No. 23980-2018
            Employer,                         )
And                                           )
Liberty Mut. Ins. Corp.,                      )   Judge Kenneth M. Switzer
            Carrier.                          )


                      ORDER ON COMPENSATION HEARING


       This case came before the Court on February 27, 2020, for a compensation
hearing. United Parcel Service contests the amount of permanent partial disability
benefits it owes and Ms. Ferrari-Bullock's entitlement to future medical benefits. The
Court grants open medical benefits and awards $3,539.28 in permanent partial disability
benefits.

                                     History of Claim

        This claim is largely undisputed. The parties agreed as follows:

     • Ms. Ferrarri-Bullock injured her left knee at work on ;March 28, 2018.
     • UPS accepted the claim, and she received authorized treatment with Dr. Justin
       Langan.
     • Ms. Ferrari-Bullock previously alleged injuries to other body parts, but she now
       waives those claims.
     • UPS paid all temporary disability benefits to which Ms. Ferrari-Bullock is entitled.
     • UPS paid for all authorized medical treatment.
     • Dr. Langan placed Ms. Ferrari-Bullock at maximum medical improvement on
       August 29, 2018, and assigned a four-percent medical impairment rating to the
       body as a whole. This entitles her to eighteen weeks of benefits at the agreed
       compensation rate of$196.63, or $3,539.28, as her original award.

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   •   Ms. Ferrari-Bullock does not wish to pursue increased benefits under Tennessee
       Code Annotated section 50-6-207 (3 )(B) (20 19).

     According to UPS's Pre-Compensation Hearing Statement, the tssues are the
"amount of permanent disability benefits" and "future medical benefits."

                       Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

        "[A]t a compensation hearing where the injured employee has arrived at a trial on
the merits, the employee must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she
is, in fact, entitled to the requested benefits." Willis v. All Staff, 2015 TN Wrk. Camp.
App. Bd. LEXIS 42, at *18 (Nov. 9, 2015).

       Regarding the first issue, permanent partial disability benefits, according to the
stipulations above, Ms. Ferrari-Bullock only seeks an original award under Tennessee
Code Annotated section 50-6-207(3)(A) in the agreed amount of $3,539.28. She waived
any entitlement to increased benefits. Thus, the Court concludes that Ms. Ferrari-Bullock
established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that she is entitled to an original award
of permanent partial disability benefits but no increased benefits.

      Concerning the second issue, Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-
204(a)(l)(A) states that the employer "shall furnish, free of charge to the employee such
medical and surgical treatment . . . as ordered by the attending physician . . . made
reasonably necessary by accident as defined in this chapter."

        UPS offered no argument in support of its position that Ms. Ferrari-Bullock is not
entitled to future medical benefits. The Supreme Court has held:

       [U]nder the provisions of T.C.A. § 50-6-204 an employee is entitled to
       recover any reasonable and necessary medical expenses in the future which
       are incurred as a result of a compensable injury. If and when application is
       made for any such future medical expenses, the trial judge will at that time
       and under the evidence then adduced have to determine whether the
       employer or its insurance carrier is liable for the payment of such expenses.

Bazner v. Am. States Ins. Co., 820 S.W.2d 742, 745 (Tenn. 1991). Therefore, the Court
further concludes Ms. Ferrari-Bullock is entitled to future reasonable and necessary
medical benefits for her left-knee injury that are related to the work accident.

       IT IS ORDERED as follows:

   1. Under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-207(3), Ms. Ferraii-Bullock is
      entitled to $3,539.28 in permanent partial disability benefits, to be paid in a lump

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                                 Certificate of Service

      I certify that a copy of this Compensation Hearing Order was sent as indicated on
February 28, 2020.

Name                     Certified    Via        Via      Service sent to:
                          Mail        Fax       Email
Jennifer Ferrari-           X                    X        jenni reran gelina l(a~ yah oo.com
Bullock, self-                                            3199 Old Sams Creek Rd.
represented employee                                      Pegram TN 37143
David Hooper,                                    X        dhooper@hoo12erzi nn .com
Employer's attorney                                       rlangl in (@,hoonerzi nn.com




                                        Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
                                        WC.CourtCierk@tn.gov




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