Hurt at work in Richmond? Virginia workers’ comp can pay for your medical treatment and part of your lost wages, but only if your accident meets the legal test and your claim is filed on time. Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims, only for injured workers, and our main office is here in Richmond.
Our office is at 8010 Ridge Road, Suite A, Richmond, VA 23229. We meet by appointment, and we can meet by phone or video if getting to the office is hard while you recover. Your first consultation is free. Call 804-505-0633 or use the form on this page.
Workers’ Comp in Richmond: The Rules That Matter First
A Virginia workers’ comp claim from Richmond follows the same rules as a claim anywhere else in the state. The first few rules decide whether you get anything at all:
- Who is covered: Virtually all employers with three or more employees regularly in service in Virginia are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Being called an independent contractor doesn’t always settle it. What matters most is whether the company has the right to control how the work is done.
- What you have to show: that your injury arose out of and in the course of your employment, and that it was caused by an identifiable incident at a reasonably definite time that produced a sudden mechanical or structural change to your body.
- Notice: give your employer written notice of the accident within 30 days, although exceptions exist.
- Filing: Your claim must be on file with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of your date of accident, although exceptions apply. File it even if the insurance company is already paying you.
- Fault: it doesn’t matter whether your employer caused the accident. Your own conduct can matter, for example willful misconduct or willfully breaking a known safety rule.
Here’s how to file a workers’ comp claim, step by step.
What Workers’ Comp Pays
- Wage checks while you can’t work: If a doctor says you cannot return to work at all for a temporary period because of your injuries, you may receive two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, up to a maximum weekly compensation rate.
- Wage checks on light duty at lower pay: two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you earn now, up to the weekly maximum.
- Medical treatment: the insurance company is required to pay for treatment that is reasonable, necessary, and causally related to the accident. That doesn’t mean it will.
- Permanent partial disability: a set number of weeks of pay for a permanent loss of use of certain body parts, based on a doctor’s rating.
- Other benefits in some cases, including vocational rehabilitation and home or vehicle modifications.
- Death benefits: These benefits can pay for a limited amount of funeral expenses, medical bills incurred before the death, and lost wages for certain periods of time for certain survivors or dependents who meet statutory criteria.
Workers’ comp does not pay for pain and suffering. More on what workers’ comp covers in Virginia and how benefits are calculated.
Can I Sue My Employer?
Usually not. If your injury is covered by workers’ comp, that is generally your only remedy against your employer (Va. Code § 65.2-307). You may have a separate injury claim against someone outside your company, such as a driver who hit you while you were working, but not against a coworker. More on suing your employer in Virginia.
If the Insurance Company Denies Your Claim
Insurance companies deny claims for many reasons. A few common ones: the accident didn’t happen at work, the injury is degenerative, or the treatment isn’t related to the accident.
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission decides those disputes. Its headquarters is at 333 E. Franklin Street in downtown Richmond. You can ask the Commission for a hearing no matter what the insurance company decides, and some hearings are held by video. The insurance company will have a lawyer at that hearing. Here’s what to do if your claim is denied.
What to Bring to Your Consultation
Bring what you have. Nothing here is required to call us.
- Medical records, work notes, and visit summaries
- Medical bills
- Anything from your employer: the accident report, the list of doctors you were given, emails or texts about the injury
- Letters or emails from the insurance company
- Anything from the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission
Workers Near Richmond
We take cases from Henrico, Chesterfield County, Hanover County, Powhatan County, and every other part of Virginia. If you can’t get to Ridge Road, we can meet by phone or video.
If your injury turns out to be a kind of claim we don’t handle, call us anyway. We may be able to point you to a lawyer who does.
Talk to a Richmond Workers’ Comp Lawyer
Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Call 804-505-0633 or fill out our contact form.