Objection, Your Autumn!

September is here, bringing cooler days, fall festivals, and a busy month ahead. In this edition, we’re highlighting some great events across Tennessee and Kentucky, including the Tennessee Valley Fair and Louisville’s WorldFest. We’ll also be hitting the road ourselves this month for the MSWCA and TNSIA conferences, where partners Kitty Boyte and Cate Dugan will be taking the stage at TNSIA. Read on for what’s happening this month, along with the latest from our team and around the region.

See Us on the Conference Circuit This September

The Peterson White team is looking forward to connecting with colleagues and industry professionals at the MSWCA Annual Conference in Memphis and the Tennessee Self-Insurers Association Annual Conference in Chattanooga this September.

We’re especially proud to have partners Kitty Boyte and Cate Dugan taking the stage at TNSIA on September 17. They’ll join fellow attorneys for “Case Law Review: The Cases Redefining Workers’ Compensation,” a discussion of recent cases and developments shaping workers’ compensation in Tennessee. If you’ll be attending either conference, be sure to say hello!

Bench Buzz

Derrick Hands v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., et al.
Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, Aug. 7, 2026

In workers’ compensation, medical-bill disputes occasionally arrive wearing a hard hat and carrying a very large invoice. Hands is one of those cases. The employee sought more than $562,000 in past bills for unauthorized back treatment after the employer denied recommended surgery. The Appeals Board affirmed an order requiring payment only at Tennessee’s medical-fee-schedule rates, and made clear that a prior denial does not turn the fee schedule into an optional suggestion.

How the dispute got there

Derrick Hands fell through rotted wood while making a delivery in November 2018, reporting injuries to his low back and right knee. The employer accepted the knee claim, but its authorized evaluators attributed the proposed lumbar surgery primarily to a preexisting condition and the employer denied the surgery. Hands nevertheless proceeded with treatment, including surgery, through the spine surgeon. At trial, the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims found a compensable permanent worsening of the back condition, awarded permanent partial disability and future medical benefits, and ordered payment of reasonable and necessary past care, but pursuant to the fee schedule. 

On appeal, the employee argued that once an employer wrongly denies treatment, it should have to pay the providers’ full charges, not merely the scheduled amount. His concern was straightforward enough: if providers could pursue a remaining balance, the injured worker might be left “holding the bag.” The Board found no record evidence that any provider was actually seeking such a balance, so that concern was speculative and not ripe for decision. 

The Board’s holding

The Appeals Board rejected the employee’s effort to distinguish authorized from later-determined-compensable unauthorized care for fee-schedule purposes. Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(a)(3)(A)(iii) says the employer’s liability “shall be limited” to the maximum allowable fee. The governing rule also prohibits employers and carriers from paying more than the applicable maximum without a Bureau waiver. In the Board’s view, those mandatory terms apply to all reasonable and necessary medical bills arising from a compensable injury; the workers’ compensation court cannot order a higher payment simply because the care was initially denied. 

The Board also identified an important employee-protection qualifier. If an employee personally paid for care later determined compensable, the employee may be entitled to full reimbursement for those out-of-pocket costs, even if the reimbursement exceeds the fee-schedule maximum, provided the service was reasonable and necessary and causally related to the work injury. 

Why employers and carriers should care

Hands supplies a clean rule for a messy fact pattern: denying treatment may expose the employer to responsibility for reasonable and necessary unauthorized care if the claim is later found compensable, but it does not expose the employer or carrier to payment above the medical fee schedule. That is meaningful cost-control guidance, particularly where a disputed surgery is followed by extensive post-operative treatment.

That said, the ruling is not a license to deny first and sort it out later. A denial can still produce substantial downstream medical exposure, litigation expense, and a fact-intensive causation fight. Claims professionals should preserve the basis for the denial, scrutinize causation opinions, and closely document any alleged employee out-of-pocket payments. The fee schedule may be the ceiling for provider payment, but a documented personal expenditure can create a separate reimbursement issue.

The takeaway

The Board affirmed, certified the judgment as final, and taxed appellate costs to the employee. For the defense community, the headline is pleasantly unglamorous: Tennessee’s fee schedule remains mandatory, even when unauthorized treatment later becomes compensable. In the perennial contest between a dramatic bill total and a statutory payment cap, the fee schedule won. 

Tennessee Spotlight:

🎡 Tennessee Valley Fair Returns to Knoxville

The Tennessee Valley Fair returns to Knoxville September 11–20th, bringing ten days of carnival rides, live entertainment, agricultural exhibits, competitions, and plenty of classic fair food. It’s a great excuse to welcome the start of fall with a little old-fashioned fun. (link)

Kentucky Spotlight:

🌎 Experience the World in Louisville

WorldFest returns to downtown Louisville September 4–7th, filling the Belvedere with international food, live music, cultural performances, and vendors representing cultures from around the globe. This free Labor Day weekend festival is a great way to travel the world without leaving Kentucky! (link)

Historical Precedent

The Architect Who Never Left the Tennessee State Capitol

Visitors to the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville might expect to find portraits, monuments, and reminders of the state's political history. What they probably don't expect is to discover that the man who designed the building is actually buried inside it.

Architect William Strickland was selected to design the Tennessee State Capitol in the 1840s. Already a prominent American architect, Strickland envisioned a monumental Greek Revival building constructed primarily from locally quarried Tennessee limestone. Construction began in 1845, with Strickland personally supervising much of the work.

Building such an ambitious structure was a lengthy undertaking, and Strickland would never see his masterpiece completed. He died in Nashville in 1854, several years before construction was finished.

In recognition of his work, Strickland was given an unusual honor: he was entombed within the building he had designed. His tomb remains there today, making his final resting place quite literally part of his greatest architectural achievement.

The Capitol was completed in 1859 and has served as the home of Tennessee state government ever since. During the Civil War, Union forces occupied Nashville and the Capitol's hilltop location made it strategically valuable. In the decades that followed, its chambers continued to serve as the setting for some of the most important legislative debates in Tennessee history.

Perhaps the building's most famous moment came in August 1920, when Tennessee legislators considered ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to approve the amendment, providing the final state needed to guarantee women the right to vote nationwide.

More than 165 years after its completion, the Tennessee State Capitol remains one of the country's oldest state capitols still in active use. It is a building filled with political, architectural, and legal history, with one particularly unusual reminder of the man who created it.

William Strickland may not have lived to see the Tennessee State Capitol completed, but in a very literal sense, he never left.

Sidebar: Did You Know? President Polk Has Been Buried Three Times

Tennessee's James K. Polk served as the 11th President of the United States from 1845 to 1849, but his journey didn't end when he left the White House.

Polk died in Nashville just 103 days after leaving office, the shortest retirement of any U.S. president. He was initially buried at Nashville's City Cemetery because his death from cholera raised concerns about bringing his body to his home, Polk Place.

His remains were later moved to a tomb at Polk Place. After his widow, Sarah, died and the property was eventually sold, Polk was moved yet again. In 1893, James and Sarah Polk were reinterred on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol, where their tomb remains today.

That means the Capitol grounds are not only home to Tennessee's government, but also the final resting place of a U.S. president, while the Capitol building itself contains the tomb of its architect, William Strickland.

Spirits Under Seal

The moment that September hits, I’m going off my medicine…and switching to pumpkin spice everything!!!

Pumpkin Spice White Russian

The White Russian is already a cool-weather classic, so giving it a pumpkin spice makeover feels like a natural progression. Rich coffee liqueur, smooth vodka, and cream get a decidedly fall upgrade with pumpkin and warm baking spices. Think pumpkin spice latte, except this one definitely isn't intended for the morning commute.

Ingredients

• 2 oz. vodka

• 1 oz. coffee liqueur

• 1 oz. heavy cream or half-and-half

• 1 tbsp. pumpkin purée

• 1/2 oz. maple syrup

• 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

• Ice

• Cinnamon or additional pumpkin pie spice for garnish

Instructions

Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, pumpkin purée, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and the pumpkin is thoroughly incorporated.

Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Slowly pour the cream over the top for the classic White Russian layered look, or give everything a stir for a smooth, creamy cocktail.

Finish with a light dusting of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

Optional upgrade: Rim part of the glass with a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar for an extra touch of fall.

The verdict: Pumpkin spice season is officially in session.

The case for a furever home!

We love our pets around here, and many of our four-legged family members came from local rescue organizations. That’s why we’re making a case for adoption and turning our pet spotlight toward animals from local shelters and rescues who are just waiting for the right person, family, or situation to give them a place to call home.

The Humane Society of Jefferson County is a great resource for our community, and a wonderful option when looking for your next pet.

This is Charlotte, and she is a happy go lucky girl who shines after she realizes that you're an okay human being. Charlotte came from a hoarding case a few months ago. She is around 3 years old . She does great with other dogs at our building but can be dominant. She can be hesitant with people at first. She is around 20 lbs  and fully vetted. Come by and meet her anytime!

Need Guidance on Workers’ Compensation or Employment Law? We’re Here to Help.

If you have questions about workers’ compensation claims, workplace policies, or employment law matters in Tennessee or Kentucky, our experienced legal team is ready to assist. We’re committed to helping employers and carriers navigate complex regulations with clarity and confidence.

Give us a call, your peace of mind starts with a conversation. (855) 919-4124