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Effective July 1, 2020, we saw the decriminalization of marijuana in Virginia. Legislation passed then provided for a civil penalty of $25.00 for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. No arrests could be made and no criminal records could be created. The legislation explicitly sealed past marijuana convictions from employers and school administrators. Later in 2020, legislation was passed which allowed individuals to pre-pay their civil penalties, much like a traffic citation, which eliminated the need to appear in court. Even greater strides were taken by the 2021 Virginia General Assembly. Legislation was enacted to legalize the cultivation,...

For many years, it has been assumed that if a claimant had one limb severely injured in an occupational injury, and a second limb severely injured as a compensable consequence, those two injured limbs could form the basis of a claim for permanent and total disability. The Supreme Court of Virginia disproved that assumption this week in Merck & Co., Inc. v. Vincent, Record No. 20022 (2021). Vincent, a pharmaceutical sales representative for Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”) injured his neck and left upper extremity while making a sales call at a physician’s office. The Commission awarded the claimant with...

In every case, a claimant is required to prove two things by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) that their accident occurred in the course of their employment and (2) that their injury was caused by some condition of the employment that put them at greater risk of injury than the general public. In Virginia Workers’ Compensation 101, employers, attorneys, adjusters, and claims administrators learned that simple acts of walking, bending, and standing – without more – were not compensable and should be denied. Similarly, if an injured worker could not explain what caused their accident, their claim should be...

Governor Northam signed into law SB No. 1351 on March 31, 2021. This new law will go into effect July 1, 2021 as Va. Code § 65.2-706.2. It provides as follows: No order by the Commission awarding or denying benefits shall bar by res judicata any claim by an employee or cause a waiver, abandonment or dismissal of any claim by an employee if the order does not expressly adjudicatie such claim. This new law is most certainly a reaction to cases such as Brock v. Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation, 59 Va. App. 39, 716 S.E.2d 485 (2011) that...

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved an interesting challenge to workers’ compensation systems around the country. Specifically, there has been a significant push for providing for coverage of healthcare workers and other front-line workers who have faced, and continue to face, a greater risk of exposure than the majority of the population. After Virginia’s first attempt at a bill to provide for a healthcare provider COVID-19 presumption was passed by indefinitely during the 2020 Special Session I, it ultimately succeeded in both chambers during the 2021 Special Session, and was signed into law by Governor Northam on March 31, 2021. This...

OCTOBER 5, 2021 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 20TH ANNUAL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION VIRTUAL SEMINAR CEU credits applied for this presentation

The Virginia General Assembly at its 2021 Regular Session and 2021 Special Session produced several new pieces of legislation of particular interest – please click here to read this article

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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...