Summers, Christine v. RTR Transportation Services
2021 TN WC App. 88
| Tenn. Work. Comp. App. Bd. | 2021Background
- Employee Christine Summers, a truck driver, was struck and killed while working on August 19, 2020. Her husband Sonney Summers (Surviving Spouse) pursued workers’ compensation death benefits.
- Employer RTR initially denied compensability during investigation; after mediation it accepted the claim, agreed to pay periodic death benefits, and paid burial expenses directly to Surviving Spouse.
- Surviving Spouse sought commutation of the periodic death benefits to a single lump-sum payment and asked that his attorneys’ 20% fee be paid in a lump sum. Counsel also sought a 20% fee on the burial expenses Employer paid.
- The trial court awarded a 20% fee on death benefits but denied commutation of the death award and denied payment of attorneys’ fees as a lump sum. The court also denied a fee on the burial expenses, treating burial costs analogously to medical expenses that must be contested at trial to support a fee.
- Surviving Spouse appealed the denials; the Appeals Board affirmed and certified the order as final.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the periodic death benefits may be commuted to a single lump sum | §50-6-229(a) permits commutation; Jones supports commutation to a lump sum | Case law (e.g., Gentry) and practical contingencies counsel against commutation for a sole surviving spouse; inability to calculate ultimate award | Denied — affirmed. Trial court did not abuse discretion; also found plaintiff failed to show commutation was in his best interest or that he could wisely manage a commuted award |
| Whether attorneys’ fees may be paid as a lump-sum | Statute authorizes lump-sum payment of attorneys’ fees (citing National Pizza) | Contingencies make it impossible to determine the ultimate award or a correct percentage; lump-sum fee could exceed actual benefits, creating inequity for employer | Denied — affirmed. Plaintiff did not show trial court abused its discretion in refusing a lump-sum fee |
| Whether counsel are entitled to attorneys’ fees on burial expenses Employer paid | Counsel expended effort to obtain burial expenses and are entitled to a recovery-based fee | Burial expenses were paid after claim acceptance and were not a contested issue at trial; no statutory basis for fee | Denied — affirmed. Court analogized to medical-expense fee rules: burial costs were not contested at trial, so fee not allowed |
Key Cases Cited
- Jones v. General Accident Ins. Co., 856 S.W.2d 133 (Tenn. 1993) (discusses trial-court authority to commute death benefits in some circumstances)
- Smith v. Gallatin Nursing Home, 629 S.W.2d 683 (Tenn. 1982) (historical placement of commutation in trial-court discretion)
- National Pizza Co. v. Young, 879 S.W.2d 817 (Tenn. 1994) (section 50-6-229(a) authorizes lump-sum attorneys’ fees in certain contexts)
- Langford v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 854 S.W.2d 100 (Tenn. 1993) (attorneys’ fees and contested medical-expense principles)
- Gonsewski v. Gonsewski, 350 S.W.3d 99 (Tenn. 2011) (abuse-of-discretion standard explained)