The agency bet on a positive drug test - the board handed the worker his fees anyway
A staffing agency tried to deny an injured worker's claim over a positive drug test. Tennessee's workers' compensation appeals board wasn't convinced.
On October 14, 2025, a 24-year-old anodizing technician was checking a leaking tank at a Tennessee plant that makes custom art supplies. He turned to walk away when an automated crane forced him into the tank and pinned him. He felt three ribs break before he lost consciousness, according to the opinion, and was life-flighted to a hospital with a lacerated liver and a collapsed lung.
The worker had been placed at the manufacturer by Express Employment Professionals, a temporary staffing agency. As his employer for workers' compensation purposes, Express covered some early care, then denied the claim in full.
Its reason: medical records from three providers showed the worker tested positive for THC. Express raised intoxication and "willful misconduct" as defenses and pointed to his "alleged illegal drug use." The worker testified he had eaten a cannabis edible at home in late September and denied ever coming to work under the influence.
Express also argued he broke a safety rule by standing on a catwalk while the cranes ran automatically. The trial court found the agency had not proved a written rule existed, that it was enforced, or that the worker knew about it. His supervisor, who had asked him to check the tank, did not testify.
In a decision filed July 9, 2026, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board agreed the employer had not shown it was likely to prove a willful-misconduct defense, which requires clearing a four-part test. The trial court had also found no evidence of how much THC was in the worker's system and no link between cannabis and the accident - findings Express did not challenge on appeal.
The sharper signal for employers came on money. Express had honored one referral - to an orthopedist - but denied three others, for pulmonology, neurology, and mental health, without explanation. The trial court awarded attorneys' fees for an "unreasonable" failure to start benefits, and the board affirmed.
It was the first time the board interpreted "unreasonably," a word the state legislature added in 2023 to replace "wrongfully." The board found Express had "no supportable reason" to deny the referrals when it did, and that the denial "lacked any legal or factual basis."
The board affirmed the medical benefits and fees in full and sent the case back to the trial court. Because this was an interlocutory - or interim - appeal, no final ruling has been reached on the underlying claim.
