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Benefits denied for safety rules violation
Where a Goodwill driver willfully violated his employer’s known safety rules, he is denied workers’ compensation benefits. Background Appellant was employed by Rappahannock Goodwill. On Oct. 10, 2016, appellant sustained […]
Teacher’s injury was within scope of employment
A fourth-grade teacher’s fall from a school bus during a summer trip to visit students entitled her to workers’ compensation. Background Claimant worked for employer as a fourth-grade teacher. In […]
Reliance on treating physician’s testimony affirmed
The commission was entitled to give greater weight to the treating physician’s opinion and rely on his testimony that physical therapy and massage administered to manage an employee’s pain was […]
Driver denied benefits for not wearing seatbelt
Credible evidence supported the commission’s finding that the bus driver’s willful violation of his employer’s rule and the statutory requirement to wear a seatbelt was the proximate cause of his […]
Employer fined $25K for failure to maintain comp insurance
Although an employer objected that a $25,000 fine was “burdensome, excessive and in violation of public policy,” the record showed the employer failed to maintain required workers’ compensation insurance and […]
Follow up treatment for work accident denied
A Lowe’s employee who failed to produce evidence that the treatment he sought for crying spells was causally related to his work accident has his claim denied. Background Claimant suffered […]
Challenge claiming too much weight on medical opinion fails
An employer’s argument that the worker’s comp commission gave too much weight to a medical opinion, and ignored contrary evidence in the record concerning an employee’s injury, was not a […]
Injuries not tied to identifiable incident
Where credible evidence in the record supported the commission’s conclusion that claimant engaged in repetitive movements, could not recall specifically when his symptoms began, and was unable to identify a […]
Court rejects employer’s challenge to workers’ comp commission decision
An employer’s argument that the worker’s comp commission gave too much weight to a medical opinion, and ignored contrary evidence in the record concerning an employee’s injury, was not a […]
Man burned in chemical accident settles claim 12 years later – $2,084,578 Settlement
On March 3, 2005, the claimant, then a 27-year-old chemical mixer in good health, suffered severe injuries while mixing chemicals for an industrial chemical distributor in Roanoke. He sustained chemical […]
VWCC: Injury caused by employee’s disregard for safety protocol
A claimant was not eligible for benefits after the commission found he intentionally circumvented a safety protocol that de-energizes dangerous machinery upon an employee entering the area. The commission rejected […]
Claimant fell from roof, hurt spinal cord – $1,221,282 Settlement
Claimant sustained a spinal cord injury when he fell from a roof in 2017. The employer accepted the claim and the Commission entered an award order. The parties began settlement […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Rear-seat passenger injured when car hits telephone pole
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Car crash after back surgery causes additional injuries
- Medical Malpractice – Jurors side with cardiologist over treatment of strokes
- Negligence and Tort- Ice pack use during tattoo removal causes frostbite
- Workers’ Compensation Struck by metal door at workplace, plaintiff sustains subdural hematoma
- Motor Vehicle Negligence Woman struck by vehicle loses senses of taste, smell
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Pedestrian struck by car while in parking lot
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Driver fractures right leg in tractor-trailer collision
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Motorcyclist hit by car suffers two broken wrists
- Medical Malpractice – Young patient commits suicide while on psychoactive drugs
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Art teacher’s hand injured in collision
Opinion Digests
- Criminal – Sentence for ‘unusually heinous’ conduct is affirmed
- Criminal – Sentence wasn’t unreasonable despite deportation consequences
- Appeals – Waiver in plea agreement forecloses most arguments on appeal
- Appeals – Appellant’s informal brief forfeited appellate review
- Employment – Failure to exhaust administrative remedies dooms Title VII suit
- Jurors – Dishonest juror didn’t violate defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights
- Criminal – Motion to suppress backpack denied where defendant abandoned item
- Civil Rights – Officer denied immunity in fatal shooting case
- Civil Rights – No qualified immunity on excessive force police K-9 claim
- Criminal – Probable cause includes dog’s positive alert for narcotics
- Criminal – Evidence supports obstruction of justice conviction
- Search & Seizure – Inventory search exception applies to warrantless search
