News

In Virginia, to prevail on a mental injury with no physical impact requires that claimant establish a “sudden shock or fright.” Historically this has been a rather significant burden for a claimant to meet. The recent split decision (2-1) by the Full Commission in Nha-Uyen Nguyen v. INOVA Health Systems, JCN No. VA00001870151 (December 21, 2023) may mark as a turning point where the path towards compensability may prove easier for claimants. The Deputy Commissioner had held that the claim was not compensable. The Deputy Commissioner found that the patient’s behavior was not “out of the ordinary in terms of...

Thank you to those who attended our 23nd Annual Workers’ Compensation Seminar that was held on September 12, 2024 from 7:30am – 5:00pm We want to extend our appreciation to all the fantastic sponsors as well as to all of our speakers for providing educational and engaging content. Save the date for 2025 coming soon.

Join us for the General Liability Pre-Conference Workshop that will be held on September 11, 2024 from 2:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

On January 16, 2024, The Court of Appeals of Virginia (“COA”) issued an opinion in the matter of Lucinda Walker v. Virginia Dept. of Corrections, which was on appeal from the Full Commission of the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Commission (“VWCC”) where her claim for temporary total disability based on a change in condition had been deemed barred under Virginia Code § 65.2-708. The reasoning of The COA for overturning VWCC’s decision represents a significant shift in how and under what circumstances § 65.2-708 (below) is interpreted. Specifically, in deciding when/if the clock starts for the twenty-four (24) consecutive months “from...

An interactive webinar where Nadeem A. Khan, MD (Interventional Pain and Spine Specialists) and Scott Ford, Esquire (Ford Richardson, P.C.) examined the medical and legal aspects of Orthopedic advancements of Orthobiologics and their benefits for acute as well as chronic injuries.

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...