It is one thing to modify an injured employee’s vehicle so as to accommodate his wheelchair or scooter. It is quite another to provide the employee with necessary transportation assistance...
Virginia Court Requires Insurer to Provide Transportation to Doctor’s Office In Spite of Fact That It Already Paid to Modify Vehicle Virginia Court Requires Insurer to Provide Transportation to Doctor’s Office In Spite of Fact That It Already Paid to Modify VehicleOn Tuesday, a Virginia appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that reinstated disability benefits to a convenience store employee who refused to undergo recommended surgery–a...
Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery JustifiedIn the vast majority of states, non-dependent relatives of employees who suffer fatal work-related injuries are caught in a Catch-22. Since most state acts limit workers’ compensation death benefits to...
Virginia: Non-Dependent Relative of Deceased Worker Caught in Catch-22 Virginia: Non-Dependent Relative of Deceased Worker Caught in Catch-22As noted by Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 84.02 et seq., some of the most complex disability questions arise when the claimant returns to some kind of employment after the...
Virginia: Claimant Awarded Post-Termination PD Benefits; Her Poor Performance Was In Part Tied to Her Compensable Injuries Virginia: Claimant Awarded Post-Termination PD Benefits; Her Poor Performance Was In Part Tied to Her Compensable InjuriesIn yesterday’s post, I pointed out the difficulty courts (and not a few practitioners) have had with a specific form of neutral risk–those in which an employee falls while walking...
Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Benefits Related to Unexplained Fall In Spite of Evidence That Claimant’s Step From Truck Was Larger Than Normal Staircase Distance Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Benefits Related to Unexplained Fall In Spite of Evidence That Claimant’s Step From Truck Was Larger Than Normal Staircase DistanceVirtually every jurisdiction’s comp act has a “by accident” provision of some sort in its definition of compensable injury [for an extended discussion, see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 42.01,...
“By Accident,” the Oft-Ignored Provision in Workers’ Compensation Law “By Accident,” the Oft-Ignored Provision in Workers’ Compensation LawRecognizing that no matter how competent and reasonable a commission or board’s determination of a claimant’s medical condition and level of disability might be at the time of a hearing,...
Virginia Court: Removal of Ankle Prosthesis, Without its Replacement, Does Not Trigger Reopening Statute Virginia Court: Removal of Ankle Prosthesis, Without its Replacement, Does Not Trigger Reopening Statute