When is a fall a Virginia Workers' Compensation Accident?

Bill came by the office last week. He had a question about his father's accident. It seems a month ago Bill's father fell off his tractor. He worked for a supply company. The foreman found Bill's father at 8:00 am in the morning behind the tractor. Bill's father was unconscious so the foreman called for an ambulance. Bill's father did not wake until a week later. He had no recollection of his accident.

Bill's father suffered a severe disability from the fall. Bill wanted to know if I could help his father. I agreed to investigate. I reviewed all of the medical reports. All of the doctors had recorded Bill's father had revealed no recollection of his accident.

The workers' insurance company had denied the claim.

I also spoke to the foreman. There were no other witnesses. The foreman said he had not witnessed the accident. He said most likely the accident happened between 7 and 8 am since Bill's father usually arrived at 7:00 am. He said he had no idea how long Bill's father had laid on the ground before he found him.¿

I told Bill we had a big problem. We had an unexplained accident. Even though Bill's father was found at work and was injured at work he did not receive any presumption that the accident was "caused" by work. This was so because the Virginia Supreme Court had refused to extend the death presumption to cases where the victim had survived the accident.

Regretfully, I had to tell Bill his father could not prove his case; fortunately, the insurer was a offering a settlement. Under the circumstances I advised Bill his father should take the settlement.

Call or Email Jerry Lutkenhaus now for a free consultation about your case.

Jerry Lutkenhaus has been a practitioner of Virginia Workers Compensation law in the Richmond, VA for over 35 years. He was given an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell in 2003. Richmond Magazine has listed Mr. Lutkenhaus as one of the best lawyers in central Virginia. There is more information at www.virginiadisabilitylawyer.com or www.geraldlutkenhaus.com. In 2010 he was given AVVO's highest rating of "superb" in their system. http://www.avvo.com/ attorneys/23230-va-gerald-lutkenhaus-1814627.html.

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