Virginia: UPS Driver Awarded Benefits for PTSD Caused by Encounter With Murdered Customer

A Virginia appellate court affirmed an award of benefits to a UPS driver who claimed he had suffered from work-related PTSD.  Acknowledging that in Virginia, a claimant may recover workers' compensation benefits for a purely psychological injury, provided the injury is causally related to a sudden shock or fright arising out of and in the course of the claimant's employment, the court held that there was ample credible evidence in the record to support the commission's award of benefits.  On the date of the incident, claimant discovered the dead body of a longtime customer as he made a delivery.  The customer had apparently been shot in the face.  Claimant testified that he became nauseated and fearful that the assailant might still be in the deceased customer’s residence.  The employer’s contention that claimant only looked at the victim’s face for five to ten seconds were discounted by the court. Claimant remained at the scene for approximately an hour after the police arrived and during that time was told that there was another dead body in the house. The entire incident, during which claimant remained in shock, crying, and vomiting, lasted over an hour.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is a leading commentator and expert on the law of workers’ compensation.

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance. Bracketed citations link to lexis.com.

See United Parcel Serv., Inc. v. Prince, 2014 Va. App. LEXIS 298 (Sept. 9, 2014) [2014 Va. App. LEXIS 298 (Sept. 9, 2014)]

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 56.06 [56.06]

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

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