Multi-State Workers’ Compensation Cases: Deciding Where to File a Claim
How to Recover More Money When Multiple States Have Jurisdiction Over Your Workers Compensation Claim
Many of you work for employers with a principal place of business in a different state or have a job requiring travel to sites in other states. For example, many Northern Virginia residents have jobs involving work in Virginia, the District of Columbia (D.C.), and Maryland.
Occupational injuries in this type of employment present unique legal issues and opportunities to maximize the workers’ comp payments you receive because of how workers’ comp works.
Each state created a workers’ compensation system in the first half of the 20th century. And the rules and regulations and available workers comp benefits vary from state to state.
Some states provide better workers’ comp benefits than others. For example, a work-related hand injury in one jurisdiction may be worth tens of thousands of dollars more than an identical injury in a neighboring state. Or a herniated disc or workplace back injury may result in compensation for permanent loss of use (PPD) benefits in North Carolina but not Virginia.
This difference in state workers’ comp systems may create an opportunity for you to get more money through an Award Letter or a lump sum cash settlement.
This article teaches you how to identify the states with jurisdiction over your workers’ comp case and what to consider when deciding how to maximize your recovery when multiple workers’ comp laws may apply.
If you have any questions or want to hire one of Virginia’s best workers’ comp attorneys to pursue your legal rights, call me at (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. My law firm is ready to help you and your family get a fresh start after a catastrophic work injury.
When Does a State Have Jurisdiction Over a Specific Workers’ Compensation Claim?
Many state workers’ comp laws have different jurisdiction rules depending on whether the injury happened inside or outside its borders.
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Within Their Borders
Most states will take jurisdiction of workers’ compensation claims for accidental injuries and occupational illnesses within their borders.
This standard, known as the “place of injury” test, rests on the view that a state is interested in an injury affecting its citizens and should provide a backstop liability if a claimant finds himself on the wrong side of other extraterritorial rules, even though control of the work, payment of wages, and the employment relationship have their roots elsewhere.
For example, suppose you are a truck driver who lives in North Carolina and works for a North Carolina logistics company. But your route takes you to Virginia each day, and you hurt your neck and tear your rotator cuff when unloading a heavy item from the back of your trailer in Virginia.
In this situation, North Carolina and Virginia may have concurrent jurisdiction over your workers’ compensation case.
Out-of-State Injuries
In addition to in-state injuries, some states will assert jurisdiction over an injury by accident that happens outside their borders.
This article’s next section examines Virginia’s statute on out-of-state accidents.
An Example of a Statute for Foreign Injuries: When Can Virginia Assert Jurisdiction Over an Accident Outside Its Borders?
Many states, including Virginia, have statutory and case law controlling when their workers’ comp administrative agency can exercise jurisdiction over injuries outside the state.
For example, Virginia Code Section 65.2-508, titled Foreign Injuries, says:
A. When an accident happens while the employee is employed elsewhere than in this Commonwealth which would entitle him or his dependents to compensation if it had happened in this Commonwealth, the employee or his dependents shall be entitled to compensation, if:
1. The contract of employment was made in this Commonwealth; and
2. The employer’s place of business is in this Commonwealth;
provided the contract of employment was not expressly for service exclusively outside of the Commonwealth.
B. However, if an employee shall receive compensation or damages under the laws of any other state, nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to permit a total compensation for the same injury greater than is provided for in this title.
Where Did the Employer and Employee Make the Employment Contract?
The written contract is the first place to look to see where the parties made the employment contract. Often the written employment contract says what state has jurisdiction over workers’ comp claims arising from the employment relationship.
For example, I have represented many airline employees (including those with American Airlines and United Airlines) and professional athletes and entertainers whose contracts specified that Virginia had jurisdiction over occupational injury claims even though the employees lived in other parts of the country.
But many employer-employee contracts do not involve a written contract. Instead, a verbal agreement establishes the employment relationship. And this relationship is “at will,” meaning that your employer can fire you for any reason or no reason, without warning, subject to few exceptions.
If the actions constituting an offer and acceptance of the contract occurred over more than one state, where you or your employer performed the last act necessary to complete the contract is where you made the contract.
For example, suppose you live in Virginia Beach, but the employer calls you from Atlanta, Georgia, to offer the job. Under Virginia law, “an acceptance of an offer by telephone is effective, and the contract is created at the place where the acceptor speaks.” Therefore, you made the employment contract in Virginia if you accepted the job offer while on the telephone at your home in the Commonwealth.
Does Your Employer Have a Place of Business in the State?
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act does not define “employer’s place of business.” Nor has an appellate court or the commission explained the term’s precise meaning.
But judges acknowledge that the term contemplates something other than the employer merely conducting business in this Commonwealth.
I recommend examining the following items when determining whether your employer has a place of business in Virginia:
- Whether the employer performed its bookkeeping work, including payroll and taxes, in Virginia
- Whether the employer leased or owned its property in Virginia, including buildings, office space, and vehicles
- The number of employees based in Virginia when you got hurt.
- The number of job sites or contracts your employer had in Virginia at the time of your accident and injury
- Whether you had one or more supervisors in the Commonwealth
- Whether your employer recruited employees in Virginia at the time of your accident and injury
- What other administrative functions were performed by your employer in Virginia
- Whether the employer had a registered agent in the state
The more employees, contacts, and administrative functions performed in Virginia, the greater the likelihood that Virginia has jurisdiction over your workers’ compensation case.
An Exception to Code Section 65.2-508
In some cases, Virginia does not have jurisdiction over out-of-state work accidents, although you satisfy both prongs of Code Section 65.2-508.
Suppose the employer hired you with the understanding that all the work performed would happen outside of Virginia and follows this agreement. In that case, Virginia does not have jurisdiction over your foreign injury.
An Example of Virginia Code Section 65.2-508 in Action
I represented a construction worker who works in Virginia most of the time.
But his employer received a contract to build a gas station/convenience store in North Carolina and assigned him to that job. The employer provided a hotel room in North Carolina as part of the assignment.
While traveling from the hotel to the job site, my client suffered a torn ACL and concussion in a work-related car accident.
After some negotiation and argument, the insurer accepted that Virginia had jurisdiction over the workers’ comp claim, while North Carolina had jurisdiction over the car crash lawsuit.
Do All States Have Foreign Injury Statutes Similar to Virginia’s?
No.
For example, Connecticut does not consider nonresidents injured within its borders as employees under its workers’ comp law unless that person works for an employer who has a place of employment or a business facility located in Connecticut where the person spends at least half of their employment time or has an employment contract stating the work is to be performed primarily in Connecticut.
Who Decides Where You Must File a Claim When Multiple States Have Jurisdiction?
You do.
Often the employer, insurer, or third-party claim administrator (Sedgwick CMS, ESIS, CorVel, Gallagher Basset, Liberty Mutual, etc.) will push you to seek benefits in a specific jurisdiction. But this doesn’t mean you should listen. Indeed, the claim adjuster likely recommends a particular state because it provides fewer benefits than your other options.
Instead, evaluate the likelihood you can meet your burden of proof in each state and how much you could receive in benefits. Then file your claim in the best jurisdiction for you.
Can I File a Workers’ Comp Claim in Two (or More) States at Once?
Yes.
You can file workers’ comp claims (and pursue them) in two or more states for the same accident and injury.
However, do not expect to receive a double recovery.
Many states, including Virginia, give employers and insurers a dollar-for-dollar credit for workers’ comp payments (and sometimes settlements) made in other states for the same accident. These rules prevent the duplication of benefits.
In addition, check the relevant states’ statutes to see if the states with potential jurisdiction bar you from applying for benefits after receiving an award elsewhere.
Constitutional Conflicts of Law: When Multiple States Have Jurisdiction, Can One State Claim Its Workers’ Comp System Superior to Another?
No.
The United States Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause says that full faith and credit must be given in each state “to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.”
But, in Crider v. Zurich Ins. Co., 380 U.S. 39, the United States Supreme Court held the Full Faith and Credit Clause does not extend to workers’ compensation laws. Instead, the U.S. Constitution does not demand that a state subordinate its workers’ compensation law to another’s state.
Therefore, a state may make its law exclusive for injuries and illnesses within its territory; however, outside its borders, it cannot bind other states’ courts.
We Can Help You Determine the State with the Best Workers’ Comp Laws for Your Injuries
Multiple workers’ comp statutes may apply when you live and work in different states.
But just because you can bring a work injury claim in a particular state doesn’t mean you should.
Deciding what jurisdiction is best for your workplace accident case requires an analysis of many factors.
You can research and evaluate these factors yourself.
Or you can focus on healing and let an experienced attorney review your case and evaluate where to file your workers’ comp case to maximize your recovery.
Call us for help. We are ready to help you get workers’ comp in whichever state has jurisdiction and the most advantageous laws.
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