Standing Order for Filing Medical Records

IN RE: Filing of Medical Records with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation in support of and/or in response to the filing of a Petition for Benefit Determination

This Order is issued pursuant to the authority granted to the undersigned by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-238(b)(2) (2016) to administer the day-to-day operations of the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims.

Medical records in workers' compensation claims are of critical importance in determining whether an alleged injury arises primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment. Likewise, an injured employee's prior medical history is often a factor in making this determination. The Court is aware of and acknowledges the importance these records play in the vast majority of workers' compensation cases.

However, the Court also recognizes that the common practice is to submit all collected medical records in a given case to the Court, sometimes without regard to their relevancy to the disputed issue(s) involved and without regard to whether the same medical record has been previously submitted. The Court further observes that considerable electronic storage space, for which the Court is charged a substantial fee, remains occupied by these irrelevant or duplicate records.

As a result, the Court adopted rules concerning the filing of irrelevant records and the necessary organization of filed medical records and specifically provided that once a medical record is filed with the Bureau in a given case it need not be refiled in support of a hearing request but may simply be referenced. See Court of Workers' Comp. Prac. & Proc. 7.02(A) (March, 2017). Moreover, the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Appeals Board discourages the filing of irrelevant and/or duplicative medical records. See Love v. Delta Faucet, 2016 Tenn. Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 45, at *9-11 (Sept. 19, 2016).

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The filing of any medical record(s) in excess of ten pages without a table of contents and page numbers is expressly prohibited in accordance with Rule 0800-02-21-.16(6)(c) (November, 2016) of the Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations. Self-represented litigants are exempt from this requirement.
2. Medical records that have no relevancy to the disputed issue(s) of the pending Petition for Benefit Determination shall not be filed with the Bureau.
3. Duplicate filing of medical record(s) is expressly prohibited except when the medical record is attached to a properly filed motion where that record is relevant to the Court's consideration of the motion.
4. Parties shall cooperate with the assigned Mediator to ensure all documents transmitted to the Court with the Dispute Certification Notice comply with these requirements.
5. This Order shall be printed and prominently displayed at each of the eight locations of the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims.
6. This is a standing Order of the Court and remains in full effect until amended or withdrawn.
7. Failure to comply with this Order may result in sanctions under Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 16.06 and/or penalties under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-118(9).

ENTERED this the 21st day of April, 2017.
Kenneth M. Switzer, Chief Judge
Court of Workers' Compensation Claims