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Over the past few years, there has been a steady rise of claims seeking payment of medical bills for treatment long since provided to injured employees. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has recently issued several opinions providing more clarity on how to defend against these claims. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission approved a final settlement via Petition and Order on July 17, 2019, relating to a compensable injury by accident occurring on December 28, 2012. Flynn v. Crossmark Holdings, Inc., JCN VA00000720409 (Dec. 17, 2020). On September 5, 2019, the claimant sought payment of alleged unpaid and underpaid medical expenses...

Due to the power shift from the 2019 elections when the Democrats gained control over the General Assembly, the 2020 legislative session resulted in workers’ compensation bills that largely favored the interests of injured workers over those of employers and insurers. Although the 2020 Special Legislative Session resulted in the temporary defeat of COVID-19 presumption legislation, largely due to the expense to localities and to the Commonwealth, the 2021 Session of the Virginia General Assembly is slated to similarly favor injured workers. Based on the content of the bills introduced thus far, the proposed legislation expands the rights of injured...

In today’s aging workforce, an injured worker’s retirement will likely arise often in workers’ compensation claims. How does an injured worker’s voluntary retirement impact their workers’ compensation benefits? Is the employer still responsible for wage loss, when an injured worker retires? Under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, the employer and carrier are only responsible for a claimant’s wage loss that is attributable to his or her work injury. In the case of a claimant’s retirement, the claimant’s economic loss is related to his retirement, and not his injury. His or her retirement is the cause of his loss of compensation,...

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In the age of COVID-19, many employers are turning to telecommuting as a preventative measure to protect their employees from the virus. But what happens when a telecommuting employee suffers an injury while working at home? What circumstances determine whether or not the injury incurred at home is compensable? Virginia Code § 65.2-101 requires that the claimant prove that he or she suffered an “injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment.” An injury occurs in the course of employment when it takes place within the period of employment, at a place where the employee...

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently had occasion to address the “in the course of” requirement as well as the personal comfort doctrine in the case of Newman Knight Frank and Zurich American Insurance Company v. The Estate of Bruce A. Williams, Record No.: 0600-20-2 (November 4, 2020). The Court of Appeals affirmed the Commission’s award of death benefits finding that credible evidence supported the Commission’s finding that decedent was either resting before his shift or working. Furthermore, the Court of Appeals held that the Commission did not err in determining that, regardless of which was true, decedent’s injury...

For decades, the Courts have been endeavoring to define an injury by accident in Virginia in the realm of workers’ compensation. This issue has garnered a great deal of attention and continues to be litigated through our judicial process. It is the million dollar question in which the answer has become more obscure and unsettled with time. Under Virginia law, to prove an injury by accident, a claimant must prove 1) an identifiable incident, 2) that occurs at some reasonably definite time, 3) an obvious sudden mechanical or structural change to the body, and 4) a causal connection between the...

[UPDATE] It appears that the COVID-19 presumption legislation has been set aside by the Senate. After extremely contentious proceedings in the House of Delegates, the bill was passed by the House on a largely partisan vote, and sent to the Senate. The expectation was that this bill would proceed in similarly contentious-yet-inevitable fashion in the Senate. However, in the first Committee hearing, before the Commerce and Labor Committee, on September 16, 2020, the bill was immediately, and unanimously, referred to the Senate Finance Committee without any debate or comment. On September 24, 2020, the Senate Finance Committee voted to pass...

We are pleased to partner with McGriff to offer you a series of webinars on the most pointed topics of the times. 9/23 – A Review of the Intersection Between Workers’ Compensation and Employment Law (45 mins) Presented by: Alan K. Delahunty and Chris Pitts of McGriff Faraaz A. Jindani and Jessica J. Berdichevsky of Ford Richardson   10/5 – A Review of the Latest Statutory and Regulatory Changes Pertaining to COVID-19 (45 mins) Presented by: Alan K. Delahunty, Chris Pitts and Jen Desko of McGriff Scott C. Ford and Kwabena A. Akowuah of Ford Richardson   10/16 – A...

If you were unable to attend this webinar: Please click here to access the recording. Please click here to access the slides Thank you for your interest – We appreciate you taking the time to listen! Webinar occurred – September 17, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. They discussed and reviewed the most noteworthy legal cases for the year. The format was a highly interactive review of those legal decisions that every Virginia adjuster should be aware of. Event was led by Scott Ford, Brian Richardson, Kwabena Akowuah, Audrey Marcello and Brian McNamara. This was a collaborative course with real-time...