Kennamer Brothers, Inc., the employer, appealed a Marshall Circuit Court judgment awarding Ronney Stewart, the employee, medical benefits and temporary-total-disability (TTD) benefits under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act. This was due to a rotator-cuff tear and other injuries Stewart sustained from a work-related truck crash in Tennessee in 2012. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decision that Stewart's rotator cuff injury was compensable but reversed the TTD benefits calculation.
In December 2013, Stewart filed a lawsuit alleging the employer was responsible for various injuries resulting from the truck crash. The employer contested the claims, especially about the right shoulder injury's compensability. During the trial, extensive medical records and expert testimonies, including Dr. Janssen's deposition, were presented. Dr. Janssen opined that Stewart's truck crash directly caused or contributed to the rotator cuff injury. Despite a gap between the incident and the documented symptoms of the shoulder injury, the court decided in favor of Stewart based on medical opinions and the absence of other potential causes.
However, the appellate court questioned the trial court's calculation of TTD benefits, spanning from December 21, 2012, to January 28, 2014. The employer provided evidence that Stewart's employment termination in early 2013 was due to insurance complications from prior accidents, suggesting that some periods of unemployment were unrelated to the 2012 crash. Despite this, the trial court concluded that the termination was indirectly related to the accident.
Employer Awarded Credit for Temporary Total Disability Payments Made after MMI
Shoulder Injury is not an Arm Injury, but an Injury to the Body as a Whole