News & Publications

By: Lauren Ebersole Hutcheson, Esq.

Historically, in Virginia, an employer’s pecuniary liability for medical, surgical and hospital treatment has been limited to the prevailing rate in the community to determine the reasonableness of the charge pursuant to Va. Code 65.2-605. The uncertainty of the prevailing rate in the community resulted in numerous claims filed by medical providers against employers and carriers for reimbursement of write-offs. As of March 2016, Virginia was one of only 7 states to be without a standardized fee schedule.

On Monday, April 17, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it received approximately 199,000 H-1B petitions during the first five business days of April (April 3-7, 2017) exceeding the statutory cap on available H-1B slots. As a result, USCIS conducted a random computer generated selection process, or “lottery,” to determine which H-1B petitions filed during this period would be accepted.

Virginia case law has consistently held that in order to prove an “injury by accident,”  a claimant must show: 

“(1) an identifiable incident; (2) that occurs at some reasonably definite time; (3) an obvious sudden mechanical or structural change in the body; and (4) a causal connection between the incident and the bodily change.”  Chesterfield Co. v. Dunn, 9 Va. App. 475, 476, 389 S.E.2d 180, 181 (1990).  “Repetitive activity” or “repetitive trauma” injuries are not covered by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.   However, in Van Buren v. Augusta County., 66 Va. App. 441 (2016), the Court of Appeals held that a firefighter who noticed neck and shoulder pain after a 45-minute rescue suffered an injury by accident.  The Commission followed that decision in Dugger v. Riverside Regional Jail Authority, JCN VA00001117636 (Jan. 3, 2017), holding that the claimant proved an injury by accident where she noticed a swollen knee after engaging in 4 hours of physical tactics training.   Those decisions suggested a fundamental change in the definition of “injury by accident.” 

In Virginia, there are certain advantages to defending a case in federal court. First, in Virginia state court, motions for summary judgment may not be based on deposition testimony. For attorneys seeking a case-dispositive ruling prior to trial, the state court evisceration of the summary judgment process thwarts such efforts. Second, the disclosure and qualification process for expert witnesses are far more stringent in federal court. Through robust expert disclosure requirements and the application of Daubert to experts who are properly disclosed, Virginia federal courts place a premium on well thought out and executed expert strategies.

Knowing most defendants would prefer to remove a claim to federal court, plaintiffs frequently attempt to include a non-diverse employee in a premises liability suit to prevent

By: Eva C. Roffis, Esq.

Typically, an injury sustained by a worker at a social or recreational event is not compensable. However, numerous factors must be examined in order to determine whether the claimant’s accident arose out of the employment.

On January 27, 2017, the new administration issued an Executive Order which suspends "entry into the United States" of individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days (and possibly longer). 

By: Amanda Tapscott, Esq.

Claimants are arguing that de facto awards apply in their claims with increasing frequency.

By: The Worker's Compensation Team

When we think of workers’ compensation in Virginia, we typically think of injuries by accident.  Virginia law instructs us to look for a specific and identifiable event as the cause of an injury.  That being said, there are situations where a person is entitled to compensation for injuries that lack any type of identifiable event, these are known as “Occupational Diseases.”   

Two Long-Established Richmond-Based Law Firms Announce Merger

Richmond-based law firms McCandlish Holton and Morris & Morris announce a merger of the two firms, to take effect December 1, 2016.  The newly combined firm will have 39 lawyers, offering clients a full range of legal services with specialties in business and corporate law, commercial real estate law, civil litigation in state and federal courts, workers' compensation, products liability, healthcare, and immigration.  Both firms have had a presence in Virginia in excess of twenty-five years.

By: Workers’ Compensation Practice Group

The leaves are beginning to turn and the holiday season is quickly approaching, which means it is the time of year when retail establishments often take on additional employees.  Some businesses contract out certain duties rather than having their own employees perform that work.  In Virginia, a business that contracts out work can be liable as a “statutory employer” if an employee of the contractor is injured on the job.