If only it were that simple. In order for an injured worker to recover benefits under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act for a trauma-related disability, she must prove she sustained an injury: 1) by accident; 2) arising out of; and 3) in the course of her employment. Virginia’s appellate courts have defined each of these phrases over the years in terms that are not self-evident. And the definitions sometimes serve to make it more difficult for claimants to recover workers’ comp benefits. Even the meaning of the term ‘injury’ is currently evolving. The number of court decisions addressing whether the evidence satisfies these elements could fill a library. Insurance companies and their lawyers know their way around these legal definitions; most injured workers do not. This places unrepresented claimants at a severe disadvantage.
Don’t gamble with your workers’ compensation rights. The words and phrases that are central to workers’ comp claims in Virginia are complex and often counterintuitive. If you are injured at work, don’t assume anything. Speak with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer for legal advice. The Law Office of Craig A. Brown— representing workers compensation claimants in Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier, Front Royal, Stafford, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania.