Savoy v. Alsco: Aggressor Defense Based on Words Fails

Corey R. PollardWorkers' compensation & disability attorney · Former insurance defense · Best Lawyers in America®

Virginia Workers’ Comp Opinion: Calling Someone a “Snitch” May Not Make You the Aggressor

An employee who is the victim of workplace violence in Virginia can receive workers’ compensation benefits under certain circumstances, as long as they were not responsible for the assault. A recent opinion from the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission found that an employee was not the aggressor despite evidence that he had words with the attacker (a co-worker) and called him a “snitch.” Savoy v. Alsco Inc., JCN VA02000041218 (August 26, 2026).

The general rule

The Commission will look at two things when determining whether a claimant can receive benefits for injuries from a fight with a co-worker.

First, whether the fight arose from the employer’s manner of business; if the fight is personal and not business-related, you cannot recover benefits.

Second, an employee at fault for starting a fight with another employee cannot prove a compensable work injury because the injuries did not “arise out of” employment; rather, they resulted from the claimant’s fault. Stillwell v. Lewis Tree Service, Inc., 624 S.E.2d 681 (Va. Ct. App. 2006).

The facts in Savoy

In Savoy, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission affirmed the award of benefits.

The claimant worked for the employer as a delivery driver. He and a co-worker disagreed about who should drive a particular truck, so the co-worker complained to the boss. The boss told the claimant to switch trucks.

Later that day, the claimant saw his co-worker and called him a “snitch.” According to a witness, both men were arguing, and the co-worker told the claimant that he would beat him up if he called him a snitch again.

The claimant did, and the co-worker attacked him with a hand truck. Injuries ensued.

The Commission’s holding

The employer and insurer raised two primary defenses on appeal. First, they alleged that the incident never happened, at least not as described. Alternatively, they argued that the claimant was the aggressor; therefore, the incident did not arise out of the employment. The defendants did not dispute that the fight, if it actually happened, arose from a disagreement related to the employment – who drives which delivery truck.

The Commission disagreed with the defendants’ first argument, finding that the incident happened. Next, the Commission found the claimant was not responsible for the assault because calling someone a snitch was not “so extreme as to deem the claimant the instigator of the dispute.”

The takeaway for employees

Don’t fight at work. Or anywhere else. Nothing good comes of it.

But if, for whatever reason, you suffer injuries in a fight with a co-worker, you may be able to receive workers’ comp benefits even if you argued with that person before the attack.

Under Virginia workers’ comp law, verbal insults – even calling someone a “snitch” multiple times – may not make you the aggressor.

This opinion indicates that the Commission will want to know who made physical contact first. That point does not make or break your claim, but it is a fact that may decide whether you win or lose your claim. If you made contact first, the Commission may find you were the aggressor and not entitled to compensation.