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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...

Corinne is an Associate in our Northern Virginia office. Her practice is focused on defending employers and carriers against workers’ compensation claims in Virginia.     Practice Areas Litigation Workers’ Compensation Local Counsel Click to view full bio

The Virginia General Assembly recently passed new legislation that will influence how police officers and firefighters will be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Virginia. The new statute, Va. Code § 65.2-107, requires that insurance carriers cover treatment for PTSD developed by police officers and firefighters as a result of exposure to a “qualifying event” in the line of duty. For purposes of this statute, a “qualifying event” includes any incident or exposure: resulting in serious bodily injury or death to any person or persons; involving a minor who has been injured, killed, abused,...

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about COVID-19, and how it will pertain to Workers’ Compensation. We hope this quick video is a good primer into a larger discussion. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to any of the attorneys at Ford Richardson, P.C.

On July 15, 2020, Virginia became the first state in the nation to adopt temporary, mandatory workplace safety standards for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), when 16VAC25-220 was enacted and adopted by the Safety and Health Codes Board. The standards include mandating: appropriate personal protective equipment, sanitation, social distancing, infectious disease preparedness and response plans, record keeping, training, and hazard communications in workplaces. Interestingly, 16VAC25-220 explicitly states that, “nothing in the standard shall be construed to require employers to conduct contact tracing of the SARS-CoV-2 disease.” Of note, application of the standard is based upon the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus....

On July 28, 2020, the Virginia Supreme Court entered its Eighth Order Extending Declaration of Judicial Emergency in Response to Covid-19 Emergency, which extends the current declaration of judicial emergency through August 30, 2020.  Jury trials remain suspended within the Commonwealth of Virginia; however, statutes of limitations and other “case-related” deadlines remain unaffected after the Virginia Supreme Court ceased tolling of those deadlines on July 20, 2020.  Deadlines contained in the Speedy Trial Act will continue to toll under the Eighth Order. Currently, the Chief Circuit Judges of Virginia are drafting plans proposing how to safely restart jury trials within...