News & Publications

By: Megan Watson

Litigation is often the only way forward for immigrants. That was what U.S. Army Specialist Junfei Ge concluded as he waited nearly three years for the “expedited” naturalization he was promised by the U.S. government when he enlisted under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program.

Nine lawyers from McCandlish Holton were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America© for 2020. The entire group of recognized attorneys have been continuously recognized for five years or longer. 

By: Jim Snyder

When a new case first comes in, certain pieces of information facilitate our initial investigation. Of course, when a lawsuit is the first notice of loss, everyone is starting the defense with little to no information to pass along. However, in most instances, the client has received some essential information before the claim becomes a lawsuit and finds its way to us.

Immediate access to these three things helps us attack the case:

1) Accurate contact information for the named insured and the tortfeasor, if different. This would include at least a phone number and a physical address. Most files arrive with the name and address of the named insured, but being able to pick

Workers' Compensation Case Watch

In Clarke v. Hughes Center, LLC., the claimant established a treating physician relationship with a pain management doctor in Danville, VA. The claimant later moved out of state, but continued having appointments with the same treating physician. The claimant was traveling 320 miles round-trip to see the doctor. The defendants filed an Employer’s Application for Hearing seeking a change in treating physician. The Deputy Commissioner denied the Employer’s Application.  

On review, the Full Commission listed the six-factors it considers to justify a change in treating physician: 1) inadequate treatment is being rendered; 2) a specialist’s treatment is needed but

Looking through the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, you won’t find “marketing” or “duty to market” anywhere in the legislated sections of the Act. Instead, this frequently contested topic appears deep in the case notes of §65.2-510, a statutory provision dealing with the claimant’s refusal of employment.  

History

In J.A. Foust Coal Co. v. Messer, 195 VA. 762 (1954), the Supreme Court laid the ground work for the modern marketing rule with this single sentence: “one who has suffered a partial physical disability may obtain total incapacity payments if, because of his disability, he is unable to market his remaining capacity for work.” The consequence of this new rule was that the partially disabled

Workers' Compensation Case Watch

In Williams v. CJ Designs, Inc.,  VA00001427406 (July 8, 2019), the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission found that a claim arose out of the employment when an employee was injured while straightening up after bending from the waist with nothing in her hands.

The claimant, a Certified Nursing Assistant, was helping a patient into a car when she injured her back. The claimant bent straight forward from her waist, with her arms in a U-shape so she could scoop them under the patient’s legs and pivot the patient’s feet in front of her. She had already touched the patient’s feet, did not have anything in her hands, and was straightening from the waist when she felt a pop in her back. The claimant confirmed that she had performed this action many times and that it was not in any way awkward or unusual. The Deputy Commissioner found that the claimant’s injury did not arise out of the employment.

The Commission REVERSED, finding that the claimant was required to

Jennifer Minear was elected to serve as the AILA President-Elect for the 2019-2020 term. Ms. Minear is a director in the Immigration Practice Group, where her practice focuses on employment-based immigration, with a particular emphasis on the healthcare sector, including J-1 waiver and green card processing for foreign medical graduates.

Ms. Minear has a long and active history with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and held her first elected position in 2012 as a member of the Board of Governors. She is the

By Jessica Hacker Trivizas

Amanda T. Belliveau represented the employer and carrier in a recent win on a willful misconduct defense for failure to wear a seatbelt.  

In Mizelle v. Holiday Ice, Inc. , JCN VA00001515696 (June 18, 2019), the claimant testified that he has been aware of Virginia’s law requiring drivers to use a seat belt since he began driving at the age of 16. On the date of his accident, he got into the employer’s truck to make a delivery and started driving without putting his seat belt on. Though he knew the law required him to put on his seat belt, he admitted that he had not put on his seat belt, and testified that he intended to put on his seat belt during the trip. He drove for less than five minutes before he

Workers' Compensation Case Watch

The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission recently addressed the “in the course of” requirement in Redleaf v. W&L Mail Service, Inc., JCN. VA00001513936 (June 11, 2019).

The claimant, a bulk mail delivery driver, arrived at the loading dock of a post office.  When the claimant got out of his truck, he noticed a large wasp nest above the stairs and wasps flying around.  He asked a post office employee to take care of the nest because he did not want to get stung.  The post office employee sprayed the nest and spray ran down the walls to the ground.  The claimant got a broom to knock the nest down.  The post office employee was too short to reach the nest, so he asked the claimant to use the broom to knock it down for him.  The claimant jumped up to knock the nest down, slipped on a substance that he believed was wasp spray, and hurt his ankle. 

The claimant testified that removing the nest would ensure that there would not