Virgina Pols Seek to Include Repetitive Stress in WC-covered Injuries
- Virginia politicians are looking to bring the state’s workers’ compensation system into line with the country’s other 49 states, to include repetitive stress injuries under coverage.
- The state’s legislators, unions and WC lawyers have been trying to do so for 40 years, for injuries caused by repeated stresses over time, in addition to when injuries result from a single, identifiable accident.
- Expanding coverage for repetitive stress injuries would mean about 1,200 more claims a year, costing Virginia’s $1 billion-plus compensation system an additional $20 million, according to a consultant advising the effort.
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Seven Years Later, WC Plaintiff Wins Missouri Case
- A Missouri man’s workers’ compensation claim has been adjudicated, seven years after his death and almost a decade since his on-the-job injury.
- Dustin Elsworth was 18 years old when he started driving the truck for Wayne County, Missouri. A crash about six months later left him paralyzed in a coma-like state until his death in 2017.
- A workers’ compensation claim filed on his behalf went before an Administrative Law Judge who awarded him and his sole dependent wife, permanent and total disability benefits. The employer demanded the benefits be reduced and argued Elsworth was partly responsible for his injuries and failed to follow safety protocols.
- Elsworth died due to causes not related to the accident but with his WC claim still pending.
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