Mannery v. WAL-MART DISTRIBUTION CENTER

OPINION

FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J.,

delivered the opinion of the court,

in which E. RILEY ANDERSON, ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JANICE M. HOLDER, joined.

The dispositive issue in this workers’ compensation appeal is factual: whether the right inguinal hernia for which the plaintiff claims recovery existed prior to the work-related accident that occurred on April 24, 1998. If the hernia existed prior to the accident, recovery is barred by Tenn.Code Ann. § 50-6-212(a)(5) which provides that an employee must prove that the “hernia or rupture did not exist prior to the accident for which compensation is…