05/10/93 Cas N. Underwood V. Zurich Insurance

In this worker's compensation appeal, we are asked to determine whether a post-trial increase in disability constitutes a reason justifying relief from a final judgment under Tenn. R. Civ. P. Rule 60.02(5). The trial court awarded 58 percent disability to the body as a result of work-connected injuries caused by an explosion, and thereafter commuted the award to a lump sum. Later, the employee petitioned to reopen the lump-sum judgment because Post-traumatic Stress Disorder was diagnosed after the final judgment and that constituted grounds to reopen under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02(5)("any other reason justifying relief"). The trial court concluded that the judgment could not be modified because Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-231 (1991) only allows reopening for increased disability when the award is "payable periodically for more than six (6) months." We affirm the trial court judgment for the reasons stated below.