News

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, providing guidance on how to respond to employee claims involving the disease has been an ever-evolving practice. July 1, 2021 saw a COVID-19 presumption become law, with retroactive effect. Additionally, the Department of Labor and the Virginia Department of Health also have reporting requirements that employers must observe. What follows is step-by-step guidance to the evaluation of a COVID-19 workers’ compensation claim, and a brief reporting guideline for employers to ensure compliance with state regulations. Upon receipt of a COVID-19 claim, consider the following issues: 1) Is the employee in question...

It should come as no surprise that when a claimant changes the facts surrounding how their injury occurred that a major red flag should be raised. After all, that is the easiest way to determine that the claimant has a major credibility issue. Nevertheless, there are times when the claimant does not just change his or her story but attempts to allege that upon further reflection they believe the injury simply happened in a different way. In those situations, it could be tempting to believe the claimant and assume that they just did not properly assess their surroundings properly. You...

Since the Full Commission issued its first Opinion in the case of Sclafani v. City of Charlottesville in 2018, the case has captured the attention of the workers’ compensation bar, as it appeared to be the latest in a series of cases in which the Commission and the Court of Appeals had been expanding the definition of “injury by accident.” Previous cases had blurred the definition of “injury by accident” from an event that is bounded within the temporal limits of an identifiable piece of work – in most cases very brief or even instantaneous, to a new definition that...

Ford Richardson achieves significant reversal in Sclafani v. City of Charlottesville rejecting the holding that an injury can occur over a four-hour period in Virginia! More to follow!

This webinar took place on:  Tuesday, September 7, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT Please click here to view the recording of this Virtual Seminar Agenda: Don’t Fall For It: A Discussion of Heights, Ladders, and Compensability in Virginia   Corinne M. Bahner, Associate Enacting Safety Rules that Stick Scott C. Ford, Partner Avoiding Becoming a Covered Statutory Employer Audrey M. Marcello, Partner Legalized Drugs: Is There a Place for Them in the Workplace? Roberta A. Paluck, Of Counsel

Days ago the Virginia Supreme Court issued an Opinion in Gladys Lopez, As Personal Representative of the Estate of Lizeth Lopez v. Intercept Youth Services, Inc., Record No. 191545 (August 5, 2021). In Lopez, the decedent, an Evening Support Counselor for at-risk youth in a residential program, was murdered by one of the residents. The trial court sustained the Plea in Bar filed by the employer. The Virginia Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err in finding that the exclusive remedy available to the Estate were those benefits available under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act (“the Act”)....

On July 1, 2021, Virginia became the first southern state to legalize adult use of marijuana. Virginia’s new marijuana law, however, has left employers with more questions than answers. Further complicating matters is the fact that marijuana prohibition continues at the federal level. Because Virginia decriminalized the simple possession of marijuana in 2020, employers can no longer require job applicants to disclose information regarding arrests, charges or convictions for simple possession of marijuana. Employers can still ask about other criminal convictions; however, they must state that the conviction is not an automatic disqualification to employment. As of 2021, nothing prohibits...

This webinar took place on: Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM EDT Where:  Virtual Seminar Agenda: 1:00 p.m. Welcome presented by:  Scott C. Ford, Esq. 1:10 p.m. TBIs and Concussion – Phony or Real?  Understanding the Medical & Legal Components presented by:  Scott W. Sautter, Ph.D., Audrey M. Marcello, Esq., Brian J. McNamara, Esq. 2:30 p.m. Review of Recent Important Legal Decisions – Is it Compensable or Not? presented by:  Scott C. Ford, Esq., Brian A. Richardson, Esq., Kwabena A. Akowuah, Esq. 4:15 p.m. Updates at the Commission and Legislative Updates presented by:  Corinne M. Bahner,...

The Full Commission days ago ruled upon the first claim for benefits associated with COVID-19 to reach them: Rountree v. Traditions Seniors Management, Inc., JCN No. VA00001742408 (June 9, 2021). The Full Commission affirmed the finding of the Deputy Commissioner that the claimant failed to meet her burden of establishing that her diagnosis for COVID-19 was either a disease or an injury by accident. The claimant, a licensed practical nurse at a long-term care facility, contended that she had been exposed to COVID-19 at work through a co-worker. Claimant alleged that this co-worker worked in close proximity to her, coughed...