04/30/21
Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer
In previous years, I ve made it a practice to travel across Tennessee to gather comments and answer questions from the public and practicing bar about the state of the Court of Workers Compensation Claims. These meetings have been referred to as “Listening Tours” and “Coffee with the Court.” They ve always been in-person, but 2020 wouldn t cooperate.
Last year, my plan to make similar visits to each court location was derailed by the pandemic. So we spent last summer working out methods to continue to approve settlements, have trials, hear motions, and all other tasks that a court of law normally does. It was an interesting year because in large part, we were kept out of our normal office space and resorted to working remotely – meaning from home. We re getting close to returning to a more normal approach to our work lives. And, it just so happens that this coincides with our bi-annual update of rules, which have yet to be publish