If you’re hurt in a factory accident in Virginia, you have a chance to get the benefits you need to recover through Virginia workers’ comp.
When you’re hurt at your job in a Virginia factory, the results can change your life. Amputations, paralysis, and other severe injuries can have permanent effects, making it tough to recover from your injuries. Here’s how a Workers’ Comp claim works after a factory accident.
Common Factory Accident Injuries in Virginia
Your Virginia factory accident can lead to some severe injuries that may take a little more than rest to cure. You may suffer from permanent, painful injuries that impact your quality of life. In some cases, you may lose an important sense like sight, or you may be unable to take care of yourself after the accident.
Your factory accident lawyer in Virginia can step in when you’re injured and help you with your claim for medical care and lost wages. Below are some common injuries you may have suffered in a Virginia factory accident:
- Back injuries
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Traumatic amputations
- Eye damage
- Musculoskeletal injuries
Am I Eligible for Workers’ Comp Benefits After a Factory Accident?
When you’re seriously hurt in a factory accident, you may not know where to start. Are you even eligible for Workers’ Comp benefits? How do you get them? Getting these answers now can help you prepare for your hearing with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.
The short version is, most workers in the state are eligible for Workers’ Comp benefits. If your employer has three or more employees regularly in service, they are generally required to carry that coverage, although some exceptions apply. If not, your factory accident lawyer can determine whether your employer is breaking the law.
Once you know you’re eligible for compensation, getting started is easy. You must report your injury to your employer within 30 days and file a claim with the Commission within two years. Missing either deadline can cost you your benefits, although exceptions can apply.
Learn how we can help you with your factory accident Workers’ Comp case.
Your Benefits for a Virginia Factory Accident
Worried about getting benefits after a Virginia factory accident? If you’re unsure what benefits you’re due, it’s easy to accept an agreement that doesn’t meet your needs following your factory accident. Because of this, you need to know what coverage you’re eligible for and talk it over with your factory accident lawyer.
First, you shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for your doctor visits when you’re hurt on the job. Benefits may include reasonable and necessary medical care and part of your lost wages. That’s not just your initial treatment, either. Travel costs, rehabilitation, and specialist visits can be included too, when they are reasonable, necessary, and related to the accident.
If you’re unable to work, you still need money for your needs. Your bills won’t stop just because you can’t work. Because of this, you may need disability benefits, which replace a portion of your weekly wages. The wage replacement benefits you get will depend on the details of your claim, like whether you’re able to return to work at all.
What if you’re not the one injured in a factory accident? Maybe you recently lost a loved one to a fatal factory accident. That puts you in a difficult position financially because you may have relied on them, as your spouse or guardian, for your financial needs. Death 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.
Virginia Factory Accident FAQ
After a factory accident, you may have more questions than answers. All you’re sure of is that you’re hurt, and you need benefits to recover from your injuries. Here are the questions we hear most.
When can I expect my benefits from my accident?
When you’re hurt in a Virginia factory accident, you need Workers’ Comp benefits now, not later. If you have not heard back about your claim, ask the insurance company for its decision in writing. If your claim is denied, you have the right to request a hearing before the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission so you don’t have to keep waiting for your Workers’ Comp coverage.
What if my employer denied my Virginia Workers’ Comp claim?
Sadly, you may have received a letter about your Workers’ Comp benefits, only to find you’ve been denied compensation. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You can ask for a hearing before the Commission, where a deputy commissioner hears the evidence and decides whether benefits are due. Here’s how to prepare for a hearing and get your Workers’ Comp benefits.
In Virginia, can I get all my Workers’ Comp benefits right now?
In some cases, you may want a lump-sum settlement for your Virginia factory accident, rather than weekly payments. A lump sum means you’ll receive a compromised payment of your benefits all at once. Settling your case closes everything and ends benefits, so you may be unable to get further benefits for your injury if you’re not healing as fast as your doctors thought.
What if I don’t have a new injury from the accident, but my old injury is worse?
In some cases, your factory accident may not have caused a new injury. But that old back injury flared up, or a previous head injury made your concussion much worse. In these situations, your injury may be more severe than it would have been. Workers’ comp can cover a pre-existing condition that a work accident made worse, but the medical records have to show what the accident changed.
Do I need a factory accident lawyer?
When you’re hurt in a factory accident, you may not have the answers you need. Sure, you know to tell your employer about the accident, but what about the insurance company? What if your claim is going to a hearing? A lawyer is not required to file a claim. Factory claims often turn on the machine, the guard, and the safety rules: a willful breach of a known, reasonable safety rule can bar recovery, and the employer has the burden of proof. Attorney fees in Workers’ Comp cases are subject to the approval and award of the Commission.
Does Virginia Workers’ Comp pay for lost wages?
After a serious work injury in Virginia, you may be directed to your Workers’ Comp benefits to recover from your injuries. You can’t cover your bills and needs without your wages, so it’s vital that you get coverage.
Yes, in part. If the insurance company accepts your claim for lost wages, it sends you an Award Agreement. Once that is signed and the Commission enters an award, you are paid for the time you are unable to work because of the injury, starting on day 8, and if you are out of work more than three weeks, the first seven days are paid too (Va. Code § 65.2-509).
What happens when you file a Workers’ Comp claim?
After a serious work accident, you may have immediately reported your accident to your employer. They need to know about injuries that happen at work, and they’re responsible for your Workers’ Comp benefits.
After you file, the Commission will order your employer’s insurance company to respond to your claim within 30 days. It may accept the claim or deny it.
What’s the Workers’ Comp Process in Virginia?
Virtually all employers with three or more employees regularly in service in Virginia are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If an employee receives an injury while completing their job-related duties, they can file a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission to seek benefits including reimbursement of costs. Employees can use the Workers’ Comp process to apply for several financial benefits.
Hurt in a Factory Accident?
Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Call 804-505-0633 or fill out our online contact form.