The 7 Virginia Workers’ Comp Benefits – and What Each One Pays

Corey R. PollardWorkers’ compensation attorney · Former insurance defense · $100M+ recovered

What Workers’ Compensation Benefits Can I Get in Virginia?

Complete 2026 Guide to All Seven Benefit Types Under Virginia Law

Last Updated: August 2026 | Reviewed for accuracy under the current Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act

Virginia workers’ compensation provides seven categories of benefits to employees injured on the job or diagnosed with an occupational illness. Under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act (Va. Code §§ 65.2-100 through 65.2-1310), these benefits cover medical treatment, wage replacement for time from work missed during disability, compensation for permanent impairment, and financial support for families when workplace injuries prove fatal. All wage replacement benefits are tax-free, and Virginia does not impose a fixed dollar cap on authorized medical care for an accepted injury. Treatment may remain available to you, at the employer’s or insurer’s expense, as long as it is reasonable, necessary, authorized, and causally related to the work injury.

Virginia does not cap the dollar value of medical care, but there is a deadline to open the claim. Under Va. Code § 65.2-601, you generally have two years from the accident date to file a claim with the Commission. Miss that deadline and none of the benefits below become available, no matter how serious the injury.

The 7 Types of Virginia Workers’ Compensation Benefits

1. Medical Benefits – Authorized treatment for the work injury, with no fixed dollar cap
2. Temporary Total Disability (TT) – Weekly payments while completely unable to work
3. Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) – Payments when working at reduced wages
4. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) – Compensation for lasting impairment to specific body parts
5. Permanent Total Disability (PT) – Lifetime benefits for catastrophic injuries
6. Vocational Rehabilitation – Job retraining and placement assistance
7. Death Benefits – Financial support for dependents (plus up to $15,000 for burial expenses and $1,000 for transportation for the deceased worker)

Key Facts About Virginia Workers Comp Benefits

• ✓ All disability payments are 100% tax-free under federal and Virginia law
• ✓ No fixed dollar cap on care that is authorized, reasonable, necessary, and related to the injury
• ✓ You can receive multiple benefit types simultaneously
• ✓ A claim must be filed within two years of the accident to receive any of these Virginia workers’ comp benefits (Va. Code § 65.2-601)

Why Most Injured Workers Don’t Get Every Benefit They Deserve

Here’s something I’ve learned after 15 years of practice: most injured workers leave money on the table because they don’t know all the benefits they qualify for. The insurance adjuster handling your claim isn’t required to tell you about them – and in my experience, they rarely volunteer the information.

I represented a Richmond warehouse worker last year who’d been collecting temporary partial disability for eight months after a back injury. When he came to me, he had no idea he was also entitled to permanent partial disability benefits once he reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) because the injury affected the use of his legs. That PPD award added over $35,000 to his recovery – workers’ comp benefits he would have forfeited if he’d settled his claim when the adjuster first suggested it.

This guide explains every benefit available under Virginia law so you can identify what applies to your situation. Use the comparison chart below to find the benefits relevant to your circumstances, then read the detailed guides linked throughout.

Quick Reference: Which Workers’ Compensation Benefit Applies to Your Situation?

How Virginia Workers’ Comp Benefits Work Together

One thing that confuses many injured workers: you’re often entitled to multiple benefit types at the same time or in sequence. Understanding this timeline can significantly increase your total recovery.

Typical benefit progression after a serious injury:

• Immediately after injury: Medical benefits begin covering all treatment. If you miss work, temporary total disability payments start after a 7-day waiting period (which is paid retroactively if you’re out more than 21 days).

• Return to light duty: If your employer offers modified work at reduced pay, you receive temporary partial disability (two-thirds of the wage difference) while continuing medical treatment.

• Maximum medical improvement (MMI): When your doctor determines you’ve recovered as much as expected, you may receive permanent partial disability compensation if you have lasting permanent impairment – even if you’ve returned to full-time work.

• Throughout the process: Medical benefits continue as long as treatment is reasonable, necessary, and causally related to your work injury – even if you require the care years after your work injury.

Real example: An injured nurse I represented received $47,000 in temporary total disability over 14 months, then $28,000 in permanent partial disability for a 15% impairment to her shoulder, plus ongoing medical coverage for future surgeries – all from the same rotator cuff tear. Total recovery exceeded $180,000 after we negotiated a workers’ compensation settlement for future medicals and potential wage loss.

Most injured workers don’t realize they qualify for multiple benefit types. If you’re unsure whether you’re getting everything Virginia law provides, let’s talk.

1. Medical Benefits: Authorized Care with No Fixed Dollar Cap

Under Va. Code § 65.2-603, your employer must provide “such medical attention as may be necessary” for your work injury. In practical terms, this means every reasonable medical expense gets covered: emergency room visits, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, durable medical equipment, and even home modifications when medically required.

Virginia sets no dollar ceiling on authorized medical care. I’ve represented clients with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage whose lifetime medical costs exceeded two million dollars – all covered by workers’ compensation.

What “Reasonable and Necessary” Actually Means

Insurance adjusters love this phrase because it gives them wiggle room to deny treatment. Here’s what I tell my clients: “reasonable and necessary” means treatment that a qualified physician recommends to cure or relieve the effects of your work injury. The key is documentation. If your doctor prescribes it and documents why it’s needed, the insurance company will have a hard time defending its denial of the treatment.

The Panel of Physicians System

Virginia uses an employer-controlled panel system for initial treatment. Your employer must post a list of at least three physicians, and you generally must choose from this panel for your treating doctor. This is one of the biggest frustrations injured workers face – you don’t get to pick your own doctor initially.

However, there are important exceptions. If your employer failed to post a valid panel, you could treat with any physician. If you need specialist care not available on the panel, you can request a referral. And if the panel physician isn’t providing adequate care, you can file a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission seeking a change in treating physicians.

One of the easiest ways to persuade the Commission to grant a change in treating physician is to get a second opinion, then ask your authorized treating physician to refer you to the second opinion doctor. Often the insurer will accept the change in doctors without putting up a fight when you have this documentation.

→ Read the Complete Medical Benefits Guide

2. Temporary Total Disability: Wage Replacement While You Heal

Temporary total disability (TT) is the most common benefit injured workers who hire counsel receive. If your work injury prevents you from performing any job – not just your pre-injury position – you’re entitled to weekly payments equal to two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, subject to Virginia’s maximum compensation rate.

How TT Benefits Are Calculated

Virginia generally calculates your average weekly wage (AWW) using earnings from the 52 weeks preceding the injury, but special rules apply when you had been employed for less than 52 weeks, or the ordinary calculation would be unfair. This AWW includes regular wages, overtime, bonuses, and the value of certain fringe benefits. The formula matters – a higher AWW means higher weekly benefits and a larger PPD award down the road.

For 2026, Virginia’s maximum compensation rate is $1,507.01 per week (effective July 1, 2026). This means if your average weekly wage was $2,500, you’d receive $1,507.01 (the max) rather than $1,667 (two-thirds of $2,500). The minimum rate is $376.75. Your injury date determines which max and min rates apply.

→ Learn how workers comp payments are calculated

The 7-Day Waiting Period

Under Va. Code § 65.2-509, you don’t receive TT benefits for the first seven days of disability. But here’s what adjusters don’t always mention: if your disability lasts more than 21 days, that waiting period gets paid retroactively. I see injured workers miss this all the time.

A hurt employee in Chesterfield came to me after accepting an initial settlement that didn’t include the retroactive waiting period payment. We reopened negotiations and recovered an additional $2,800 he was owed.

→ Read the Complete Temporary Total Disability Guide

3. Temporary Partial Disability: When You Return at Reduced Wages

Many injured workers return to light-duty positions that pay less than their pre-injury jobs. Temporary partial disability (TPD) compensates for this wage gap. Under Va. Code § 65.2-502, you receive two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and your current earnings.

TPD Calculation Example

Say you earned $900 per week as a construction foreman before your knee injury. Your employer offers you a desk job reviewing permits at $600 per week. Your wage loss is $300. TPD would pay you $200 per week (two-thirds of $300) on top of your $600 salary – bringing your total weekly income to $800.

→ Read the Complete Temporary Partial Disability Guide

4. Permanent Partial Disability: Compensation for Lasting Impairment

Permanent partial disability (PPD) compensates you for the lasting loss of function to specific body parts – even if you’ve returned to work at full wages – as well as disfigurement and scarring from the injury, surgery, or burn. This benefit is based on Virginia’s “schedule” of body parts, which assigns a maximum number of weeks of compensation to each body part, and a physician’s impairment rating.

One part of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act catches almost everyone off guard: PPD is only available for body parts on the statutory schedule. There is no PPD award for the back or neck, or for whole-body impairment. A back or neck injury produces a PPD claim only to the extent it causes ratable impairment in an arm or a leg.

This is why a neck or back injury needs an impairment rating that specifically addresses the extremities, not just the spine.

How PPD Is Calculated

Your PPD award equals: (Impairment Rating %) × (Scheduled Weeks) × (Compensation Rate)

Example: A 12% impairment rating to the arm due to a rotator cuff tear at a $900 compensation rate equals: 12% × 200 weeks × $900 = $21,600

I recently represented an Ashland electrician who returned to full-time work after a shoulder injury. Despite earning his full salary, he received a $41,000 PPD award for a 22% impairment rating to his arm at the shoulder. Many workers don’t realize they’re entitled to this benefit.

→ Read the Complete Permanent Partial Disability Guide

5. Permanent Total Disability: Lifetime Benefits for Catastrophic Injuries

Permanent total disability (PT) provides lifetime weekly payments for workers who can never return to gainful employment due to catastrophic injuries. Under Va. Code § 65.2-503(C), certain injuries create a possibility of permanent total disability:

• Loss of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, or both eyes
• Loss of any two of the above in the same accident or as compensable consequences
• Paralysis rendering the worker permanently incapable of physical labor
• Severe traumatic brain injury resulting in permanent unemployability

→ Read the Complete Permanent Total Disability Guide

6. Vocational Rehabilitation: Retraining When You Can’t Return to Your Job

When permanent restrictions prevent you from returning to your pre-injury occupation, Virginia workers’ compensation provides vocational rehabilitation services.

Vocational rehabilitation can include job placement assistance, resume development, interview coaching, on-the-job training programs, and even tuition for educational courses that lead to new employment. Wage loss benefits usually continue while you cooperate with an authorized vocational plan. An unjustified refusal to cooperate, however, can result in suspension of your benefits – which is what the insurance defense attorney or adjuster is counting on.

When Vocational Rehab Makes Sense

Vocational rehabilitation is most valuable for workers with transferable skills who can realistically transition to new careers. I’ve seen former construction workers become building inspectors, warehouse employees move into logistics coordination, and manufacturing workers transition to quality control positions—all with vocational rehabilitation support.

A Roanoke truck driver I represented couldn’t pass DOT medical certification after a back injury. Through vocational rehabilitation, he completed a logistics management certificate program and now works as a dispatch coordinator earning more than his pre-injury wage.

→ Read the Complete Vocational Rehabilitation Guide

7. Death Benefits: Support for Surviving Dependents

When a workplace injury or occupational disease proves fatal, Virginia workers’ compensation provides financial support to surviving dependents. Under Va. Code § 65.2-512, benefits are paid to those who were actually financially dependent on the deceased worker.

Who Qualifies as a Dependent

• Surviving spouse: If totally or partially dependent on the deceased employee, could receive benefits until remarriage, death, or the expiration of available weeks
• Children under 18: Presumed dependent; benefits continue until age 18 (or 23 if full-time student)
• Other dependents: Parents, siblings, or others who prove actual financial dependency

Additional Death Benefits

Beyond weekly payments, Virginia provides up to $15,000 for burial expenses and up to $1,000 for transportation of the deceased worker’s body. These are in addition to – not instead of – the weekly death benefits.

→ Read the Complete Death Benefits Guide

Additional Benefits You Should Know About

Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)

Virginia adjusts workers’ comp benefits annually to account for inflation – if you complete and file the paperwork requesting an increase – and if your combined workers’ comp and Social Security Disability payments do not exceed a specific amount. You should receive notice of the potential for COLA in October of each year. COLA increases apply to ongoing disability payments and can add thousands of dollars to long-term claims. The adjustment is based on changes in Virginia’s average weekly wage.

Mileage Reimbursement

Your employer must reimburse travel expenses for medical appointments, vocational rehabilitation meetings, and job interviews. This includes mileage at $0.76 per mile, parking fees, and tolls. If you can’t drive yourself, they must provide transportation or reimburse Uber/Lyft costs.

Lump Sum Settlements

Many Virginia workers’ comp cases eventually resolve through negotiated lump sum settlements. A settlement provides immediate payment and closure, but you must understand your case’s full value before agreeing. Once you settle, you typically give up all future rights to benefits.

Settlement Warning: Insurance companies frequently make lowball settlement offers hoping injured workers will accept out of desperation or ignorance. I’ve seen adjusters offer less than $15,000 for claims that settled for multiples of that. Never settle without understanding every benefit you’re entitled to receive. Received a settlement offer? Before you sign anything, get a free second opinion. I’ll tell you what your case is actually worth.

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About the authorCorey Pollard is a Virginia workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability attorney in Richmond. Best Lawyers in America® (2020–2026), $100M+ recovered, and a former insurance defense lawyer — which is the part that matters.