Appeals court hears dispute over whether truck crash "aggravation" met Tennessee's 50% causation rule

An appellate panel on Tuesday heard arguments in Joe Carroll Edwards v. Peaply's LLC over whether a Aug. 14, 2020, truck crash aggravated preexisting knee osteoarthritis enough to make knee replacements compensable under Tennessee workers' compensation law.

Larry Hicks, counsel for the employee, told the court the case turns on the statutory causation standard and the weight to give medical opinions: "the statute is clear, relative to that, that there if the aggravation is more than 50% related to the accident ... then it is compensable." Hicks said the trial court found the claimant credible and that the medical record shows the wreck ‘‘hastened the need for surgery.’’

The case centers on whether the workers' compensation appeals board applied the correct standard of review and whether treating and independent medical exam (IME) opinions were entitled to a…