TN Supreme Court Upholds Work Comp Award to Nurse for Fall at Work
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld a trial court’s award of compensation to a nurse who sustained injuries when she fell at the health-care facility where she was working. The nurse’s foot stuck to the floor as she was walking, causing her to fall. The trial court found that the nurse’s injury occurred due to a condition of her employment and thus awarded her benefits. The Supreme Court agreed and found that the nurse’s fall was not merely of some unknown origin, but was caused by some hazard related to the nurse’s employment. Justice Koch dissented, finding that the nurse failed to prove that the alleged employment hazard was what caused her to fall and thus, the employer is not liable to compensate an employee for the injury as work-related. The case is Marta Vandall v. Aurora Healthcare, No. W2011-02042-SC-R3-WC (April 24, 2013).