It’s important to know whether your hearing before the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is an “expedited hearing” or a “trial on the merits”. There is a different burden of proof depending upon which type of hearing. For the trial on its merits, the standard of proof is “preponderance of evidence”; for the expedited hearing, it is whether the employee is “likely to prevail”, which is a lesser degree of proof than the preponderance standard.

Knowing on the front end which type of hearing you are attending will guide you in decisions such as what witnesses or affidavits to present as evidence.