Injury, post accident drug test, worker's compensation, proximate cause of accident

Larry J. Wells, an order filler with Orgill Brothers & Company, lost his job after an on-the-job injury prevented him from continuing his duties. Here he is seeking larger worker's compensation award. Orgill Brothers, meanwhile, argue that Wells should not receive worker's compensation because he tested positive for drug use following the injury.

The Shelby County Court found that Wells had sustained an injury to his left wrist while on the job and awarded 40 percent permanent partial disability to Wells. The trial court also found that although Wells had marijuana in his system at the time of the accident, it was not the proximate cause of the accident and subsequent injury.

Wells wins. The Supreme Court of Tennessee at Jackson affirmed the trial courts decision, retaining the worker's compensation award as stated by the trial court and dismissing for lack of proof the Orgill Brothers' claim that the injury was due to intoxication.