News & Publications

This Recent Opinion is a Departure

In its recent Opinion in Elliott v. Sam Green Vault Corp., JCN VA00001108316 (Oct. 5, 2021), the Commission departs from its prior rulings, with one Commissioner dissenting. 

The 2022 Edition Ranks three practice areas for the first time

The 2022 Edition of US News – Best Lawyers® ranks thirteen McCandlish Holton PC practice areas, including three practice areas that are newly ranked:

• Litigation - Insurance
• Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
• Workers‘ Compensation Law - Employers

McCandlish Holton PC received metropolitan Richmond Tier 1 ratings in three practice areas:

• Immigration Law 
• Commercial Litigation
• Personal Injury Litigation- Defendants

To be eligible for a practice area ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^®, which recognizes 5% of lawyers practicing in the United States. In 2022, McCandlish Holton PC has 17 attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers. 

WORKERS COMPENSATION CASE WATCH

On August 26, 2021, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued an Opinion in City of Charlottesville, et al. v. Sclafani, Record No. 200791 (Va. Aug. 26, 2021), which provides additional guidance regarding the Van Buren “injury by accident” line of cases. 

After a series of appeals and remands, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Commission’s determination that Sclafani, a police officer, sustained a compensable injury by accident when he injured his left shoulder during a four-hour afternoon training session.*  During that session, the claimant’s activities included being put on the ground and handcuffed, picked up, and moved away. 

The Supreme Court disagreed with the reasoning of the Court of Appeals, noting that the Court of Appeals seems to establish a “bright line rule that a four hour time period is sufficiently temporally precise to establish a compensable injury under the Act.” 

The Supreme Court found that asserting that an injury occurred over a four hour time period where multiple potential causative events occurred is not enough to establish

WORKERS COMPENSATION CASE WATCH

In Summit Pharmacy, Inc. v. Costco Wholesale, Record No. 0970-20-1 (Mar. 30, 2021), the claimant was under a medical award. Summit Pharmacy (“Summit”) provided prescriptions to the claimant for her injury and the employer made partial payments to Summit for those prescriptions. Four years after Summit received its last partial payment from the employer, Summit filed a claim seeking full repayment.

Va. Code § 65.2-605.1 allows health care providers to file claims contesting the

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DEFENSE DIGEST | FEB 2021

SPECIAL EDITION | Coronavirus & Comp Updates

Read the full 4-part Workers’ Comp and COVID-19 Update.

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has awarded medical and indemnity benefits for adverse reactions to vaccines given to prevent the flu, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, and smallpox. In those cases, the Commission evaluated whether the vaccine was an inherent risk of employment and whether the vaccine caused the claimant’s symptoms.

To determine whether a side effect of a vaccine constitutes a compensable injury by accident, the Commission considers factors including:

1. whether the alleged side effect can be medically linked to the vaccine;
2. whether the vaccine was required by the employer; and
3. whether the vaccine was encouraged by the employer.

CASE LAW ANALYSIS

4 cases where claims of vaccine-related workplace injury were evaluated

CASE NO. 1 | COMPENSABLE

In Overton v. Augusta Correctional Center[1], correctional officers were regularly exposed to blood, urine, and feces at work. Due to these exposures the employer required the claimant to attend a meeting about blood borne pathogens. During the mandatory meeting,

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE WATCH

In Handel v. Alexandria City Public Schools, (October 15, 2020) the Supreme Court of Virginia found that the Court of Appeals incorrectly applied and defined the legal requirement of an “obvious sudden mechanical or structural change in the body.”

The claimant, a teacher, slipped on a puddle on her classroom floor.  She landed on her right side, alleging injuries to several body parts.   The parties agreed that the claimant sustained several injuries in the fall, but

JOIN US FROM ANYWHERE

Join us virtually on October 14, 2020 for the premier workers’ compensation event in the Mid-Atlantic Region presented via webcast from Richmond, Virginia. 

We are happy to provide you with the same high-quality programming to which you have become accustomed, with the ability to attend from the safety and comfort of your own home or office.

A FULL DAY OF PROGRAMMING & CE/CEU’s

Our Annual seminar features a full day of timely and useful information. It includes free CE/CEU’s for adjusters, risk managers, employers, nurse case managers, and brokers. Our application is pending for up to 7 credits.

Credits for attending individual sessions are APPROVED for:

WORKERS COMPENSATION CASE WATCH

The claimant had previously settled his workers’ compensation claim.  Following settlement approval, the claimant, by counsel, filed a claim seeking full payment of medical services from a medical provider.  Partial payment of the bills had been made, with an outstanding balance of approximately $25,000 remaining.