BOBUR ISOYEV v. NIPPON PAINT AUTOMOTIVE AMERICAS, INC., ET AL. - Articles

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BOBUR ISOYEV v. NIPPON PAINT AUTOMOTIVE AMERICAS, INC., ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 11, 2026

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: J. Allen Callison, Nashville, Tennessee, for the employer-appellant, Nippon Paint Automotive Americas, Inc.

Attorneys 2: Bobur Isoyev, employee-appellee, pro se.

Judge(s): WEAVER

The employer avers the trial court erred in finding the employee was likely to prove at trial that he provided timely notice of an alleged gradual injury and in awarding medical benefits in this interlocutory appeal. The employee began having low back pain after being assigned additional work duties and sought medical care on his own, including physical therapy. Following his termination from the employer, the employee’s primary care physician referred him for an MRI. The employee filed a petition for benefit determination fifteen days after the referral, and the employer denied the claim for lack of timely notice. By the time of the expedited hearing, the employee had obtained a medical opinion from a neurosurgeon recommending surgery and opining that the injury and need for surgery were primarily caused by the employee’s gradual work injury. The employer obtained a records review from a pain management specialist, who opined the employee’s herniated discs were likely degenerative in nature. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court found the employee was likely to be successful at a trial in proving he gave timely notice of a work-related injury, credited the employee’s expert over the employer’s expert as to causation, and ordered the employer to provide a panel. The employer has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s order and remand the case.

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