News: E-Blast

On December 21, 2023, the Commission announced the release of a new Medical Fee Services (MFS) calculator. The calculator is currently in the testing phase and is slated to completely replace the old MFS Reference Tool in January 2024. Please note that the current MFS Reference Tool will only remain active until January 31, 2024. The new MFS calculator is intended to be a more convenient and efficient tool to determine regional classifications and maximum rates of payment, with the ability to adjust for certain modifiers. To use the calculator, the following information must be known: the Jurisdictional Claim Number...

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Virginia Code Section 65.2-709 allows for claimants to obtain a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their weekly compensation benefits each year. COLA does not apply to temporary partial disability benefits or permanent partial disability benefits. It does apply to temporary total disability benefits, permanent total benefits, and death benefits. The purpose behind COLA is to ensure that the value of benefits paid to injured workers is not diminished by inflation. The COLA rate is dictated by the Consumer Price Index and varies year to year. It is published on the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Commission website. There is also a calculator on...

Joe Smith and Mary Jones are “horsing around” at work. Joe takes it a bit too far and Mary sustains an injury. Is Mary’s injury compensable? It is not necessarily a common fact pattern, but it happens – – an employee is injured due to the actions of a fellow co-worker. The Commission has, historically, endeavored to separate these injuries into two categories: (1) those sustained as a result of horseplay, and (2) those sustained as a result of assault. The distinction is crucial to understanding a claimant’s burden of proof in these cases. For assault cases between two co-workers,...

In last month’s e-blast, Scott C. Ford, Esquire, discussed Virginia’s elusive definition of an “injury by accident.” (see full article here). Yet again, the Full Commission has again expanded the definition of a compensable injury by accident, this time in the context of the extremely slippery world of ladder accidents. In Allen v. ABF Freight System, Inc., JCN VA00001877064 (August 3, 2023) the Full Commission overturned the Deputy Commission’s holding that the claimant had failed to prove his right knee injury arose out of a risk of his employment. In Allen, the claimant, a truck driver, backed his truck up...

The Full Commission’s Opinion in Woodmancy v. Jett’s Specialty Contracting, JCN: VA00001945163 (July 7, 2023) is yet the latest example of the Commission’s application of definition of “injury by accident” in Virginia. For years the definition of “injury by accident” was quite straightforward requiring claimant to establish a single, identifiable incident. The most often cited case for this proposition was Morris v. Morris, 238 Va. 578 (1989). However, beginning with the case of Van Buren v. Augusta County, Record No.: 1975-15-3 (July 19, 2016) we began to see an erosion of the definition of “injury by accident.” This author believes...

Click here to watch this month’s one minute adjuster tip that is on the topic of:  Legal Minute: Permanent Total Disability

Due to divided political control of the Virginia government, the 2023 legislative session was relatively mild in regards to workers’ compensation. Four new bills are set to take effect on July 1, 2023, almost all of which expand benefits to first responders. Each of the bills passed by the General Assembly this year were signed by the Governor without amendment. NEWLY ENACTED LEGISLATION – BILLS ARE EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023: HB 1408: Presumption of Compensability for Bladder and Thyroid Cancers – Expands the presumption of compensability of certain cancers for firefighters, police officers, and certain hazardous material officers and special...

It is important for the Virginia adjuster to closely examine whether the claimant has indeed suffered a “sudden mechanical or structural change in the body.” If not, the claim should be denied. This defense is often overlooked in Virginia. The determination as to whether the claimant has suffered a “sudden mechanical or structural change in the body” requires a close examination of the medical records and often a specific inquiry to the treating physician(s) in appropriate cases. The Virginia adjuster should be mindful of this potential denial of a claim particularly in cases involving pre-existing condition and/or in instances where...

Click here to watch this month’s one minute adjuster tip that is on the topic of:  Legal Minute: Termination for Justified Cause