If you have a pre-existing injury, you may seek workers’ compensation benefits if that injury is aggravated or worsened by work-related activities or the working environment. Virginia’s workers’ compensation system covers injuries that happen while you’re engaged in work-related activities or pre-existing injuries aggravated by your job. In one recent…
For the most part, no. The Code of Virginia requires employers to provide a list of at least three doctors injured employees can see if they are hurt on the job. This is known as the employer’s Panel of Physicians. Each of these doctors must be from a different medical…
Virginia’s workers’ compensation system provides benefits to the surviving family members of an employee who dies due to a work injury or an occupational illness. If your loved one passed away due to a work-related injury or illness, you may be entitled to collect workers’ compensation death benefits. The workers’…
Yes. Workers’ compensation provides medical and partial wage replacement benefits to people injured on the job. Virginia is an at-will employment state, meaning that employers can generally fire employees for any reason or no reason at all. Receiving workers’ compensation does not change this dynamic. Employers are not required to…
Generally, the maximum time that you can receive workers’ compensation benefits in Virginia is 500 weeks. There are exceptions to this limit, such as if you suffered a severe injury such as a spinal cord injury, brain injury, or amputation of multiple limbs. The amount of time that you can…
In Virginia, a person who is injured in a workplace accident or who develops a disease or other medical condition due to exposure or other conditions on the job is typically entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation provides several kinds of benefits, including: Payment for the reasonable and necessary…
A person that suffers severe injury or illness typically will be unable to return to work for a significant period of time. During this time, the person likely will also incur medical expenses in addition to everyday living expenses. However, in some cases, compensation may be available to help the…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a broad term that refers to many different types of progressive lung disease. Chronic bronchitis, refractory asthma and emphysema are a few of the diseases which fall under this umbrella term. Some people develop COPD after smoking for many years. However, many others contract…
When employees are injured at work in Virginia, they should have the right to receive workers’ compensation benefits. However, obtaining these benefits is not always easy. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. They often try to reduce, delay or deny claims. One way they do this is…
Every claim is different, so there is no straightforward answer to this question. If your claim progresses relatively smoothly and your employer promptly approves it, you may start receiving benefits within a few weeks. You have two years from the injury date to file your workers’ compensation claim. However, the…
