Full Opinion

FILED Oct 22, 2026 11:06 AM(CT) TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT NASHVILLE JAIRO NOE MORALES Docket No. 2025-60-2740 VILLAREAL, Employee, State File No. 860121-2025 v. HANDYMAN HOME Judge Robert Durham IMPROVEMENT, LLC, Uninsured Employer. EXPEDITED HEARING ORDER GRANTING BENEFITS (DECISION ON THE RECORD) The Court considered Mr. Morales’s request for an Expedited Hearing based on the record on October 14, 2026. In an earlier expedited hearing order, the Court ordered Handyman Home Improvement to provide medical treatment for Mr. Morales’s work-related injury. However, the Court declined to order payment of temporary disability benefits because Mr. Morales did not submit evidence to establish his compensation rate or the duration of his disability. The Court further found that Mr. Morales did not prove he was a Tennessee resident at the time of his injury and thus did not meet the threshold to seek benefits from the Uninsured Employer’s Fund. Since that order, Mr. Morales has gathered additional evidence and requested another expedited hearing. The Court finds that Mr. Morales is likely to prove that Handyman must pay temporary disability benefits for his work-related injury. However, he is not likely to prove entitlement to benefits from the Uninsured Employers Fund at this time. History of Claim On July 2, 2024, Mr. Morales fell more than 25 feet from a ladder while painting a house for Handyman. The accident resulted in several vertebrae fractures, a fractured sternum, and 12 days in the hospital. Mr. Morales testified that he did not return to work after the injury and remains disabled. When he was released from the hospital, Handyman gave him $300 a week for two months, but that is all the benefits he received, since Handyman did not have workers’ compensation insurance. Mr. Morales moved back to Mexico to receive assistance from his family. He filed a petition for benefit determination on April 28, 2025. Mr. Morales introduced a medical report dated July 8, 2026, from Dr. Luis Armando Santiago Zambrano, who is currently treating him in Mexico. Dr. Santiago stated that Mr. Morales’s work-related spinal injury totally disabled him from working from July 2, 2024, through July 8, 2026. He further stated that Mr. Morales requires “complete rest and rehabilitation” and should “avoid physical labor.” Handyman did not offer any evidence to rebut Dr. Santiago’s opinions. In a Rule 72 Statement, Mr. Morales said that Handyman paid him $25 an hour in cash, and he worked 35 to 40 hours a week. Handyman did not rebut this statement, either. Finally, Mr. Morales offered a consular identification card from Mexico to prove his residency in Tennessee at the time of his injury. The card is valid from April 19, 2024, through April 19, 2029, and lists a home address in Nashville, Tennessee. Law and Analysis To obtain his requested benefits, Mr. Morales must show a likelihood of prevailing at a compensation hearing. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(1) (2025). At the earlier expedited hearing, the Court found that Mr. Morales was likely to prove at a compensation hearing that he was Handyman’s employee and that he suffered a work-related injury on July 2, 2024. The Court’s order that Handyman pay for Mr. Morales’s reasonable and necessary medical expenses caused by this injury remains in effect. As for temporary disability benefits, Mr. Morales has now submitted unrebutted evidence that Handyman paid him $25 an hour for 35 to 40 hours of work per week. Thus, the Court finds Mr. Morales is likely to prove an average weekly wage of at least $875, which is $25 multiplied by 35 hours. This results in a compensation rate of $583.33. Mr. Morales also provided unrebutted evidence from his treating doctor that he was temporarily totally disabled from July 2, 2024, through July 8, 2026, or 736 days. This equals $65,499.63 in temporary total disability benefits. Mr. Morales testified that Handyman paid him $300 a week for two months immediately after his injury. The period from July 2 through September 2 is 62 days. Thus, Handyman’s payment equals $2,657.14. The Court holds Handyman must pay Mr. Morales the remaining $62,842.49 in temporary total disability benefits. Finally, since Handyman was uninsured at the time of Mr. Morales’s injury, Mr. Morales seeks an award of temporary disability benefits and medical expenses from the Uninsured Employers Fund under section 50-6-801. To be eligible, Mr. Morales must establish that he worked for an uninsured employer and that he is likely to prove at a hearing on the merits that he suffered an injury arising primarily in the course and scope of employment. Id. § 50-6-801(1)-(2). The Court finds that Mr. Morales met both those elements. However, he must also establish that he was a Tennessee resident on the date of injury and that within 180 days of that date, he notified the Bureau about his injury and Handyman’s lack of insurance. Id. § 50-6-801(3)-(4). Mr. Morales presented a consular identification card to prove legal residency in Tennessee. However, even assuming the identification card is enough to prove residency, Mr. Morales cannot satisfy the final element. On this record, his first established contact with the Bureau was the petition for benefit determination filed on April 28, 2025, 300 days after his injury. Thus, the Court finds that at this time Mr. Morales is not entitled to apply for assistance from the Uninsured Employers Fund. IT IS ORDERED: 1. In addition to the payment of medical expenses previously ordered, Handyman must pay Mr. Morales $62,482.49 in temporary total disability benefits. 2. This case is set for a Scheduling Hearing on November 19, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. The parties must call 615-253-0010 or 855-689-9049 to participate. Failure to call might result in a determination of the issues without the party’s participation. Unless interlocutory appeal of the Expedited Hearing Order is filed, compliance with this Order must occur by seven business days of entry of this Order as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(d)(3). Failure to comply might result in referrals to the Compliance Program for consideration of the imposition of penalties, as well as a finding of contempt under section 50-6-238(a)(5). 3. Mr. Morales has not proven he is entitled to benefits from the Uninsured Employers Fund. ENTERED October 22, 2026. ____________________________________ JUDGE ROBERT DURHAM Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims APPENDIX Exhibits: 1. Mr. Morales’s Rule 72 statement 2. C-32 Written Medical Form from Dr. Santiago 3. Expedited Request for Investigation 4. Consular identification card CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that a copy of this Order was sent on October 22, 2026. Certified Name Email Service sent to: Mail Jairo Noe Morales Villareal X Handyman Home 1402 Hunters Branch Road Improvement, LLC X X Nashville, TN 37013 c/o Angelica Espinoza Angelicaespi83@icloud.com Compliance Program X WCCompliance.Program@tn.gov ____________________________________ PENNY SHRUM, COURT CLERK wc.courtclerk@tn.gov Right to Appeal: If you disagree with the Court’s Order, you may appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. To do so, you must: 1. Complete the enclosed form entitled “Notice of Appeal” and file it with the Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims before the expiration of the deadline. ¾ If the order being appealed is “expedited” (also called “interlocutory”), or if the order does not dispose of the case in its entirety, the notice of appeal must be filed within seven (7) business days of the date the order was filed. ¾ If the order being appealed is a “Compensation Order,” or if it resolves all issues in the case, the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days of the date the Compensation Order was filed. When filing the Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy on the opposing party (or attorney, if represented). 2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten calendar days after filing the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at any Bureau office or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the alternative, you may file an Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s website or any Bureau office) seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully-completed Affidavit of Indigency within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will result in dismissal of your appeal. 3. You are responsible for ensuring a complete record is presented on appeal. If no court reporter was present at the hearing, you may request from the Court Clerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. If you choose to submit a transcript as part of your appeal, which the Appeals Board has emphasized is important for a meaningful review of the case, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript, and you must file it with the Court Clerk. The Court Clerk will prepare the record for submission to the Appeals Board, and you will receive notice once it has been submitted. For deadlines related to the filing of transcripts, statements of the evidence, and briefs on appeal, see the applicable rules on the Bureau’s website at https://www.tn.gov/wcappealsboard. (Click the “Read Rules” button.) 4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the Court Clerk transmits it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties. If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the Court Order becomes enforceable. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(3) (expedited/interlocutory orders) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7) (compensation orders). For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667. NOTICE OF APPEAL Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries-at-work/ wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1-800-332-2667 Docket No.: ________________________ State File No.: ______________________ Date of Injury: _____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Employee v. ___________________________________________________________________________ Employer Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________ [List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.] appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board;ĐŚĞĐŬŽŶĞŽƌŵŽƌĞĂƉƉůŝĐĂďůĞďŽdžĞƐĂŶĚŝŶĐůƵĚĞƚŚĞĚĂƚĞĨŝůĞͲ ƐƚĂŵƉĞĚŽŶƚŚĞĨŝƌƐƚƉĂŐĞŽĨƚŚĞŽƌĚĞƌ;ƐͿďĞŝŶŐĂƉƉĞĂůĞĚͿ͗ ප Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ ප Motion Order filed on ___________________ ප Compensation Order filed on__________________ ප Other Order filed on_____________________ issued by Judge _________________________________________________________________________. Statement of the Issues on Appeal Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal: ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ Parties Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ‫܆‬Employer ‫܆‬Employee Address: ________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Name: ______________________________________________ BPR#: _______________________ Attorney’s Email: ______________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant * LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082 Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: _____________________ Date of Inj.: _______________ Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ‫܆‬Employer ‫܆‬Employee Appellee’s Address: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ Email: _________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Name: _____________________________________________ BPR#: ________________________ Attorney’s Email: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee * CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800-02-21, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____. ______________________________________________ [Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant] LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082