Injured and Wanting to Return to Work in Tennessee?
Compensation for permanent partial disability in a Tennessee workers’ compensation case is capped at 1.5 times the worker’s impairment rating if the worker sustained an injury after June 30, 2004, and made a “meaningful return to work” at the same rate of pay or more. This limitation can significantly limit the amount of benefits an injured worker can recover. As such, there is much litigation over what constitutes a “meaningful return to work”, particularly on allegation that the worker could physically return to work but failed or refused to do so.
The determination of meaningful return to work rests on the reasonableness of the employer in attempting to return the employee to work and the reasonableness of the employee in failing to either return to or remain at work. Thus, if a worker is physically able and permitted to return to work but refuses to do so, a court may cap her benefits according to law. For example, in Newton v. Scott Health Care, the worker refused to return to work after injury because he was not given special consideration as to shift hours. The court didn’t buy this excuse and limited his recovery.
However, in Haney v. Five Rivers Elec. Innovations, the court found unreasonable the employer who allowed the worker to return to work but then later terminated the employment due to no fault of the employee’s and with no assurance the he would be re-employed in the future.
In a more recent case, a worker injured her left shoulder and was willing to return to work. However, the employer sent the employee a letter that advised her that she could not resume her employment unless she was able to return with no restrictions. The trial court found the employer’s written demand unreasonable chiefly because she had previously been working with restrictions on her right shoulder from a previous work-related injury.
When you’ve been injured at work, getting what you are entitled to under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation laws can be a difficult, frustrating affair—and often one that leaves you with less than you deserve. Your best bet is to retain an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who can work with you to maximize your recovery. Dial 866-853-2888 to schedule an appointment with a workers’ compensation attorney at Baker Associates. Our offices are located in two convenient locations in Knox and Sevier counties.
Sources: TCA 50-6-241 (2008); Haney v. Five Rivers Elec. Innovations, 2006 Tenn. LEXIS 689 (Tenn. Special Workers’ Comp. Panel 2006); Newton v. Scott Health Care, 914 S.W.2d 884 (Tenn. Special Workers' Comp. Panel 1995); Vincent v. Calsonic Kansei North America, Inc., 34 TAM 36-3 (Tenn. Special Workers’ Comp. Panel, July 13, 2009).
