Virginia: Court Eases—Ever So Slightly—State’s “Sudden Mechanical or Structural Change” Rule

Virginia, which has one of the most restrictive coverage formulae in the nation, generally requires that a claimant show she suffered a “sudden mechanical or structural change to the body” in order to meet the state’s definition of “injury.” According to a recent decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, that requirement does not require the claimant to show such a mechanical or structural change in each body part injured in a work-related accident; it is sufficient if she shows one such mechanical and structural change. In the instant case, the claimant sought benefits related to an injured shoulder. She experienced pain, but imaging tests revealed no abnormality. Because she had shown the necessary “suddenness” for other injuries, she need not show any actual change in her shoulder.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis 

See Alexandria City Pub. Schs. v. Handel, 2019 Va. App. LEXIS 114 (May 14, 2019)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 43.03

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law

For a more detailed discussion of the case, see