Achilles Tendon Rupture at Work in Virginia: Workers’ Comp and Settlements

Nothing in this article should be taken as legal advice. Every case is different.

Virginia workers’ comp covers an Achilles tendon rupture when a specific accident at work caused it, such as a push-off with a heavy load, a jump down from a truck, or a missed step on a ladder. It can pay for your treatment, two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you can’t work, and a set number of weeks of pay for any permanent loss of use of your leg or foot. There is no average settlement for a torn Achilles. And the insurance company is likely to argue that your tendon was already worn out before you ever got to work.

What Virginia Workers’ Comp Pays for a Torn Achilles

Workers’ comp does not pay for pain and suffering. Wage checks also have a seven-day waiting period. Here’s when Virginia workers’ comp starts paying.

What an Achilles Rupture Is

The Achilles tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel bone. It is what lets you push off and rise onto your toes. A complete rupture usually comes from a strong, sudden force or a fast stretch of the calf, such as landing from a jump or pushing off hard (AAOS). At work, that can be:

• jumping down from a truck bed, a loading dock, or equipment, or stepping down from an unusually high or awkward step
• pushing off to move a heavy cart, a pallet jack, or a load
• a missed rung on a ladder, or a misstep on stairs that are defective or that your job had you rushing down or carrying something on
• stepping into a hole or off an edge on a job site

Most people feel a pop, then severe pain and swelling near the heel. Many can’t walk normally or stand on their toes on that leg (AAOS). Many describe it as feeling like someone kicked them in the back of the leg.

Does Workers’ Comp Cover a Torn Achilles?

Virginia workers’ comp covers an Achilles rupture caused by a specific accident at work that produces a sudden structural or mechanical change in the body. The accident must also arise out of and in the course of your job, meaning an actual risk of your work caused it (Va. Code § 65.2-101). Two arguments come up in almost every Achilles claim.

“It Happened While You Were Just Walking”

An Achilles can tear during ordinary movement, and the insurance company knows it. If your tendon tore while you walked across a flat, clear floor, expect it to argue that nothing about your job caused the injury. If it tore while you jumped down from a truck bed, pushed a heavy load for your job, climbed while carrying tools, or stepped onto uneven ground, the work connection is much stronger. An ordinary step or ordinary stairs usually aren’t enough on their own. The details matter: what you were carrying, how high or awkward the step was, and what was under your foot. Write them down while you still remember them, and tell your doctor the same thing.

“Your Tendon Was Already Weak”

Orthopedic surgeons recognize that a tendon weakened by an earlier injury, steroid injections, some chronic diseases, or certain antibiotics is more likely to tear (AAOS). Insurance companies use that to argue the rupture was waiting to happen. An MRI may also show older changes in the tendon, and the insurance company’s doctor may call the tear “degenerative.”

A weak tendon does not automatically end your claim. If a work accident caused the rupture, a sudden structural change, the injury can still be covered even though the tendon wasn’t perfect beforehand. The fight comes down to the medical evidence: what the MRI shows, what your surgeon writes about the cause, and how clearly your records describe the accident.

Steps to Take After an Achilles Rupture at Work

1. Get medical care. Tell every doctor that the injury happened at work and exactly what you were doing, so your records say so from the start.
2. Give your employer written notice within 30 days. Virginia law requires you to notify your employer within 30 days of the accident. Do it in writing. Late notice can limit or even bar your benefits.
3. Write down the details. The step, the load, the surface, the height, and who saw it. In an Achilles case, these facts often decide whether the claim is covered.
4. File your claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission. Notice to your employer is not the same as a claim. The claim must generally be filed with the Commission within two years of the accident, although exceptions apply (Va. Code § 65.2-601). File it even if the insurance company accepts your injury and starts paying. Here’s how to file a workers’ comp claim.
5. Watch for the insurance company’s answer. After you file, the Commission will order the insurance company to respond within 30 days. Whatever it decides, you can ask the Commission for a hearing.

Surgery or a Boot: What the Choice Means for Your Claim

A torn Achilles is treated either with surgery to repair the tendon or without surgery, using a boot, splint, or cast followed by physical therapy. Surgery is often chosen for people whose activities depend on jumping and pushing off with their toes, and some studies suggest a lower chance of tearing it again after surgery (AAOS). For many workers on their feet all day, that describes the job.

That medical choice has workers’ comp consequences:

• The insurance company must pay for treatment that is reasonable, necessary, and related to the accident (Va. Code § 65.2-603). That includes surgery when your doctor recommends it. That does not mean it will. If it refuses, you can ask the Commission for a hearing.
• Turning down recommended treatment can cost you. Refusing treatment your doctor recommends, without a good reason, can stop your wage checks until you accept the treatment, and you may not get paid for that time (same law). If you and your surgeon choose the boot instead of surgery, make sure the records say it was a joint medical decision.
• Who the doctor is matters. In most cases you choose your treating doctor from a panel of at least three that the employer offers (same law). That doctor’s opinions on surgery, work restrictions, and your rating carry a lot of weight. See what Virginia workers’ comp covers.

How Long Will You Be Out of Work?

Complete recovery from an Achilles rupture can take about 12 months, and returning to your previous level of activity can take up to 18 to 24 months of strengthening and therapy (AAOS). For a job that means climbing, lifting, or standing all day, that can be a long time.

While your doctor keeps you out of work, you are owed wage checks. Once you are released to light duty, the rules change. If your employer offers a job within your restrictions and you refuse it, your checks can stop (Va. Code § 65.2-510). If the light-duty job pays less, you may be owed two-thirds of the difference. And if you can never go back to your old job, that changes the value of your claim.

How Is a Permanent Achilles Injury Rated?

Once you reach maximum medical improvement, meaning your doctor says you are as healed as you are going to get, a doctor may rate a permanent loss of use. The Achilles tendon isn’t listed on Virginia’s schedule (Va. Code § 65.2-503). A rating is usually stated as a loss of use of the leg (175 weeks), and sometimes of the foot (125 weeks), depending on the injury and the medical evidence. The difference is large:

Each week is paid at your compensation rate. Common reasons for a rating after an Achilles rupture include weakness pushing off, lost ankle motion, and a limp. A limp can also strain your other leg, knee, or hip; here’s when an injury from favoring the first one is covered. Insurance companies frequently send injured workers to their own doctors for a lower rating. Here’s what happens after an IME in Virginia.

What Is an Achilles Rupture Worth in Virginia?

No one can fairly value an Achilles claim without the medical records. What usually moves the value:

• Whether the accident qualifies at all, especially when the insurance company says you were “just walking”
• The insurance company’s “weak tendon” defense, and how strong your surgeon’s causation opinion is
• Surgery, and any complications or a second tear
• Time out of work, and whether you can go back to a job on your feet
• The impairment rating, and whether it is to the leg or the foot
• Your average weekly wage
• Future medical care, since a full and final settlement closes your medical benefits for good

A settlement is optional, and the Commission must approve it (Va. Code § 65.2-701). Here’s more on how a Virginia workers’ comp settlement is calculated.

Achilles Injury Questions

Can I get workers’ comp if my Achilles tore while I was walking at work?

Possibly, but it depends on why it tore. Virginia requires that an actual risk of your work caused the accident. An unusually high or awkward step, uneven ground, a heavy load your job had you carrying or pushing, or a climb your job had you rushing can help supply that risk. Walking on a clear, level floor usually does not.

What if I had Achilles tendinitis before the rupture?

An earlier problem does not automatically bar the claim. If a work accident caused the rupture, it can still be covered. Expect the insurance company to point to the earlier problem, and make sure your surgeon addresses it in writing.

Is a partial Achilles tear covered?

A partial tear can be covered the same way as a full rupture if a specific work accident caused it. Partial tears are much less common than complete tears (AAOS), and the insurance company may call one “tendinitis” from overuse. Gradual overuse injuries are generally not covered as an accident.

Talk to Pathfinder Injury Law About Your Achilles Injury

Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Call 804-505-0633 or use our online contact form. For related injuries, see our guides to ankle injuries and foot injuries at work.