Refer a Virginia workers’ comp or disability case

Where to Send Someone Who Got Hurt at Work

Someone who trusts you got hurt at work or can no longer work because of a medical condition, and they asked you what to do. Send them to us. We handle both workers’ compensation and Social Security disability claims, in about equal numbers.

I defended workers’ comp claims for insurance companies before I started representing injured workers, and my firm has handled thousands of Social Security disability claims at every stage of the process, from the initial application through the administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing and federal court. Below is what we take, what we don’t, what you can expect when you refer someone to us, and what we need to start helping them.

What we take

• Virginia workers’ compensation: We can help your patient or client who received a denial letter from the insurer, had their checks stop after an IME, has an evidentiary hearing scheduled before a deputy commissioner, or wants to negotiate a workers’ compensation settlement.
• Social Security disability: We help individuals with physical, mental, or neurological conditions qualify for SSDI or SSI.
• Longshore claims: Specific shipyard and port workers are not covered under the state workers’ compensation law. We help Newport News Shipbuilding employees with Longshore Act claims, as well as Jones Act claims for seamen and § 905(b) suits against the vessel.
• Brain injury cases: whatever the cause.
• Third-party cases that come with a work injury: a crash in a work vehicle or an injury on a job site controlled by another contractor. We handle the workers’ comp claim and the civil action together, so one case doesn’t undermine the other.

What we don’t take

• Car crashes with no work connection, unless there is a brain injury
• Medical malpractice
• Employment discrimination and wrongful termination
• Railroad injuries under FELA

Not sure which side of the line a case falls on? Send it. We’ll tell you, and refer you to someone who can help.

What happens to the person you send

1. We call them the same business day.
2. You hear back promptly with the person’s permission. You get a short note saying whether we took the case and, if not, who we sent them to. After that, the client decides how much we can share with you.

What you keep

Lawyers. You keep your client. We help with the workers’ comp or disability claim, including negotiating a lien reduction or waiver if your client has a pending personal injury case. Remember: settling the personal injury case without the comp carrier’s permission puts the client’s workers’ comp benefits at risk.

Doctors, nurses, therapists, and counselors. You keep your patient. Medical providers play a key role in workers’ comp, disability, and injury cases. We explain the type of evidence the court or agency looks for from providers.

Union stewards and business agents. We will talk with your member. Sometimes the problem is one the union is better equipped to fix. Other times we can take the lead. We’ll explain how comp or disability claims and the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) interact to protect your member’s benefits.

Case managers, social workers, and discharge planners. You are helping a family that is scared and doesn’t know what will happen when they leave the hospital. We’ll explain the potential legal options, including whether your patient should file for Social Security disability or SSI now.

What it costs the worker to ask

Nothing. We don’t charge a fee unless we win the case or negotiate a recovery. Once we accept representation, the fees work like this:

• Virginia workers’ comp: any fee has to be approved by the Workers’ Compensation Commission under § 65.2-714. See how comp fees work.
• Social Security: the fee comes out of past-due benefits, not future checks, and Social Security approves and caps it under 42 U.S.C. § 406.
• Longshore: fees are approved under 33 U.S.C. § 928, and the employer may have to pay the fee in addition to the worker’s benefits.
• Brain injury and third-party lawsuits: no fee unless we recover money through a verdict or settlement.

Ethics rules do not allow us to pay non-lawyers for referrals. But we share fees with lawyers when the client consents and the law allows it.

Pick your page

You are a lawyer. A client walks in with a work injury or a Social Security denial; a family-law, elder-law, or bankruptcy client can no longer work and doesn’t know what to do; or you have an injury case and just learned there is a workers’ comp lien to address. The page for referring lawyers covers fee sharing and the lien.

You are a doctor, nurse, therapist, or chiropractor. The adjuster denied authorization for the treatment you recommended or refuses to pay your bill; your patient cannot work and wants to know whether they qualify for Social Security disability, or wants you to complete an SSA form or workers’ comp questionnaire. The treating providers page covers billing, authorization, the causation letter, and the disability forms.

You are a union steward or business agent. A member got hurt, and the employer is already saying things. At a shipyard or on the water, the deadlines are shorter than you think. The union steward’s page tells you how to help your colleague.

You are a case manager, social worker, or discharge planner. The injury or illness is serious, the person is not going back to work, and the family asked you who to call. The page for case managers covers the first 30 days of a spinal cord, brain, or amputation claim and when to file for Social Security disability.

What every referral needs

We always ask for the following:

For a work injury, three facts: the date of the injury, the employer’s name, and whether the person has filed a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.

For a disability claim, we need three facts: the date the person last worked, whether they have applied to Social Security, and the date of the most recent denial letter.

This information is usually enough to determine whether a deadline is approaching or has passed; not all deadlines are two years:

• Virginia workers’ comp: written notice to the employer within 30 days (§ 65.2-600) and a claim filed with the Commission within two years of the accident (§ 65.2-601). Occupational diseases run on a different clock (§ 65.2-406).
• Longshore: notice within 30 days and a claim within one year (33 U.S.C. § 912, § 913).
• Social Security: 60 days from the denial to appeal, at each level (20 C.F.R. § 404.909, § 404.933).

If you’re close to the deadline on any of these and nothing has been filed, call today. You may have time.

Sending details about a patient or a member? Have the worker call us, or get their permission first.

Why send someone here

• We know what the other side looks for. I spent the first years of my career defending employers and insurance carriers in workers’ comp claims. Nothing catches us by surprise.
• We appear before Social Security’s judges every week. The firm has taken disability claims through thousands of hearings.
• The work is public. Our cases at the Court of Appeals of Virginia include Henrico County Public Schools v. Mack, on who pays for the impairment rating, and Village Avenue Management v. Schofield, on what an employer must show to get a hearing to stop benefits.
• Others have checked us. The firm is ranked by Best Law Firms for workers’ compensation on the claimants’ side.
• The results. We’ve recovered more than $100 million for injured and disabled clients. Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes. Every case is decided on its own facts.
• Who we are. Corey Pollard Law and Corey R. Pollard.

Questions we get from referral sources

Will I lose my client? No. You keep the personal injury case while we handle the workers’ compensation or disability claim.

Does the person have to have been hurt at work? No. Social Security disability covers any condition that keeps a person from working for a year or longer.

Do you pay referral fees? We are not allowed to pay referral fees to non-lawyers. But we can share fees with lawyers if the client consents.

Can you update me on the case? Yes, when the client agrees.

What if the case is not one you take? We tell you and offer to find a referral.