Voted One of the Best Workers Comp Lawyers in Richmond VA
Our Richmond Work Injury Attorneys Help Employees Throughout Central Virginia
One day, you go to work, just like any other day.
But an accident happens.
And you are injured.
Now you face thousands of dollars in medical bills and uncertainty about your future and whether you will heal so you can return to work.
How will you pay your mortgage or rent?
What happens if you can’t pay the utility bill or car note?
How will you afford clothes, school supplies, and food for your spouse or children?
Workers compensation benefits are the answer. And if you had an eligible occupational injury or illness, you can receive lifetime medical treatment, wage loss payments, and compensation for permanent loss of use and impairment.
But what should you do if your employer’s workers comp insurance company denies your claim or delays payment? And how can you ensure the insurer continues payments or offers a reasonable workers compensation settlement?
You can protect your rights and your family’s future by calling a top-ranked Richmond workers compensation lawyer like the ones at our firm: 804-251-1620.
We know how to deal with workers comp adjusters and defense attorneys and scare them into setting adequate insurance reserves and treating you fairly. And we get results for injured workers in Richmond by gathering and developing the evidence needed to prove legal and medical causation, presenting persuasive settlement demands, obtaining Workers Compensation Award Letters, and showing a willingness to go to trial if the insurer or claim administrator (Sedgwick, ESIS, Gallagher Bassett, etc.) are unreasonable.
Contact us today to get started.
How Common Are Work Accidents and Injuries in Richmond?
A look at the city’s geography, population, and economy explains why more than 10,000 work injuries happened in the Richmond Metro Area in 2022.
Richmond’s Location and Population
Richmond is the capital city of Virginia.
The city sits at the James River’s fall line in Central Virginia. And major highways intersect and surround Richmond (Interstate 95, Interstate 64, Interstate 295, Virginia State Route 288, and Virginia State Route 150).
The Richmond Metropolitan Area is home to more than 1.2 million people. And the number continues to grow.
This region includes Amelia County, Ashland, Atlee, Bon Air, Bowling Green, Brandermill, Byrd Park, Caroline County, Carver, Carytown, Charles City County, Chesterfield County, Church Hill, Colonial Heights, Court End, Creighton Court, Dinwiddie County, Fan District, Forest Hill, Fulton Hill, Glen Allen, Goochland County, Hanover County, Henrico County, Hopewell, Innsbrook, Jackson Ward, King William County, Lakeside, Libby Hill, Manchester, Mechanicsville, Midlothian, Monroe Ward, Montrose, Mosby Court, New Kent County, Northside, Petersburg, Port Royal, Powhatan County, Prince George County, Sandston, Scott’s Addition, Shockoe Slip, Short Pump, Union Hill, Varina, and Westover Hills.
Richmond’s Economy
Richmond is home to numerous industries:
For example:
Area hospitals, clinics, and health care providers employ thousands of Richmond residents as doctors, counselors, nurses, physical therapists, administrative assistants, and security guards. Nurses and medical professionals are at a high risk of workplace injury due to the physical exertion required to lift, move, and transfer patients.
In addition, Richmond is home to many grocery, leisure, retail, food, and hospitality companies that employ thousands. Common injuries at these locations include head trauma (concussions), back injuries, herniated discs, knee injuries, and torn rotator cuffs from lifting, slip and fall, and work-related motor vehicle crashes.
In addition, Richmond and the surrounding counties have vibrant manufacturing industries providing many products. Unfortunately, these manufacturing facilities and warehouses are the site of many work accidents, especially those involving heavy machinery and chemicals (such as degloving injuries and burns).
Further, Richmond is a central transportation hub with many trucking and logistics companies.
And our Richmond personal injury law firm has served as workers comp attorneys for employees in almost every industry and occupation.
The largest employers in the metro Richmond region include the following:
- Abilene Motor Express
- Altria Group: Manufacturer of tobacco products (including cigarettes)
- Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield: Health insurer
- Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corporation
- Bon Secours Richmond (includes St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, and Richmond Community Hospital)
- Capital One Financial
- CarMax: Automotive retailer
- Comcast
- CSX Transportation
- Dominion Energy: This electric and gas utility also uses electric linemen and contractors throughout the state
- DuPont: Chemical company
- Estes Express Lines: Trucking company
- General Dynamics
- GE Power: Machine manufacturing
- HCA Virginia Health System (includes Chippenham Hospital, Johnston-Willis Hospital, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, John Randolph Medical Center, and Retreat Doctors’ Hospital)
- Hillcrest Transportation
- Hill Phoenix: Manufacturer of refrigerated display cases
- Hourigan Group
- Integrity Staffing Solutions
- KBS Inc.
- Kings Dominion: Amusement park
- Mondelez International/Kraft Foods: Snack/food manufacturer
- NAPA Transportation
- Norfolk Southern
- Patient First
- Performance Food Group (PFG): This food distributor employs many delivery drivers.
- Phillip Morris USA
- Richmond International Airport
- Sabra Dipping Company
- Southern States
- SuperValu: Wholesaler and retailer of grocery store products
- The Brink’s Company
- Truist: Banking
- Tyson Foods: Poultry processing
- United Parcel Service (UPS): Learn more about UPS delivery driver and warehouse worker claims here
- University of Richmond
- Verizon Communications
- Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System (includes MCV Hospital, Children’s Pavilion and Tower, Community Memorial Hospital, and Tappahannock Hospital)
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Wells Fargo: Banking
- Westminster Canterbury: Retirement and senior living communities employing nurses and medical professionals
- WestRock: Packaging company with plants in Covington and West Point, Virginia
- YMCA of Greater Richmond
Whether you work for one of these large employers or a small business with a handful of employees, our Richmond workers compensation lawyers can help you win.
What Can I Get Through Workers Comp?
Virginia workers compensation laws allow you to get the following:
- Income replacement/lost wages: You may receive payments if you cannot return to your job after your injury (temporary total disability) or perform modified duty but earn less (temporary partial disability). But you may have to prove that you conducted a good faith job search (marketed residual work capacity) before the insurer sends these checks. Usually these payments equal two-thirds of your pre-injury earnings (called the average weekly wage).
- Medical treatment (including hospitalizations, doctor visits, surgeries, physical therapy, prescription medication, chiropractic care, and other types of pain management): But you must prove the medical care is reasonable, necessary, and related to the work accident. And you may need to choose a doctor from a panel (list) of physicians or follow the treating doctor’s referral chain to force the employer and its workers compensation insurer to pay for the treatment.
- Permanent Partial Disability: You can receive compensation for permanent impairment (loss of use) of the injured body part, even if you can return to full duty.
- Vocational rehabilitation: If you receive light duty restrictions that prevent you from returning to your pre-injury job, you can force the employer to provide vocational rehabilitation services (including job counselors, training, and educational opportunities) so you can return to the labor market. But you should only request these services once you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) for the occupational injury or have had a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) to determine your capabilities. Otherwise, the employer and insurer may push you back to work before you are ready.
Other benefits are available depending on the facts of your case. For example, spouses and dependent children may recover death benefits in fatal work accident claims.
What Should I Do When I’m Hurt at Work in Richmond?
Several deadlines apply to workers comp claims (often called statutes of limitations).
For example, you must give your employer written notice of the accident and injury within 30 days. And you must submit a claim to the Workers Compensation Commission within two years of the accident date.
If you get hurt or develop an occupational illness, seek medical treatment and report it to your supervisor immediately.
Then call one of our Richmond workers compensation attorneys to ensure you satisfy the procedural and evidentiary burdens the law places on injured employees.
You pay nothing unless we help you recover benefits or settle your claim.
How Can a Richmond Workers Comp Lawyer Help Me?
Although employers with three or more employees (full-time or part-time) must provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage under Virginia law, insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs) usually process claims and decide whether to pay compensation or cover medical treatment.
Because someone you have no relationship with decides the claim, you cannot count on the insurance company to treat you fairly. Instead, consider hiring a Richmond workers compensation attorney who uses pretrial discovery (interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions, subpoenas, and depositions), doctor disability letters, familiarity with local orthopedic (OrthoVirginia, Tuckahoe Orthopedics, etc.) and neurology specialists, and knowledge of the statutes and rules to ensure the claim adjuster and defense attorney do not undervalue your claim or deny medical treatment they should cover. And who has a reputation for taking cases to trial and resisting appeals when the insurer refuses to pay enough.
Workers Comp Hearing Locations and Deputy Commissioners in Richmond
You want a Richmond workers compensation lawyer familiar with the local deputy commissioners and how they run their courtrooms. We are.
If your occupational injury or illness occurs near Richmond and an evidentiary hearing is needed, the trial will happen at the Commission’s headquarters at 333 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219.
And one of these deputy commissioners will hear evidence and issue an opinion in your case:
- James J. Szablewicz, Chief Deputy Commissioner
- Frederick M. Bruner, Deputy Commissioner
- John T. Cornett, Jr., Deputy Commissioner
- Angela F. Gibbs, Deputy Commissioner
- Linda M. Gillen, Deputy Commissioner
- Brooke Anne C. Hunter, Deputy Commissioner
- Andrea White Lee, Deputy Commissioner: This judge also hears cases arising from work injuries in Williamsburg and James City County.
- P. Randolph Roach, Jr., Deputy Commissioner
Our Richmond workers compensation attorneys have tried cases before or participated in settlement mediation conferences with each of these judges. And we have even gone against some of these deputy commissioners when they were in private practice representing insurers and employers.
Get Help from a Skilled Richmond Workers Compensation Lawyer
We have negotiated millions of dollars in settlements, won countless times at workers comp hearings, and developed the evidence needed for our clients to qualify for other income sources due to their work injury (Social Security Disability, SSI, Long Term Disability, VRS, third-party civil actions, etc.).
And we are ready to start building your case.
Call now to get a top-rated Richmond workers compensation lawyer on your side: 804-251-1620.
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