If you were just hurt on the job in Virginia, the single most important thing to know is this: you have a short, strict window to tell your employer about the injury - and a second, separate deadline to file a claim with the state. Everything else in the process, from medical care to wage benefits, flows from getting those two steps right.
Two Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Notice to your employer: immediately, and no later than 30 days from the date of injury (60 days from the date an occupational disease diagnosis is communicated to you). The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission warns that failing to do this could result in losing your right to benefits. Treat it as a hard deadline - but see Late Notice Is Not Always Fatal below, because Virginia law does contain real exceptions.
Claim Form filed with the Commission: generally within two years of the date of injury (there are exceptions - see below). The Commission is explicit that reporting the injury to your employer is not the same as filing a claim, and that you must file even if the insurer is already paying you voluntarily.
What to Do First
Get medical care. If it's an emergency, go to the ER or call 911. For non-emergency care, tell the provider the injury happened at work.
Report the injury to your employer right away - in writing if you can, and keep a copy.
Ask your employer for a panel of doctors. Your employer should give you a list of at least three medical providers to choose from.
Write down the details - date, time, what happened, who you told, and when - while your memory is fresh.
File your Claim Form with the Commission rather than waiting to see what the insurer does.
Keep everything you receive from your employer or its insurance carrier.
Virginia's Workers' Compensation Agency
Virginia's system is run by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (VWC). The Commission administers claims, holds hearings when there is a dispute, and publishes the forms, guides, and current benefit rates injured workers need. Its official site is workcomp.virginia.gov, and its Customer Contact Center can be reached toll-free at 877-664-2566.
Late Notice Is Not Always Fatal
Report the injury immediately - that is always the safest course, and this section is not a reason to wait. But if you are reading this after the 30 days ran out, or you only told a supervisor out loud, do not assume your claim is dead. Virginia's notice statute has built-in exceptions:
Reasonable excuse, no prejudice. Under Va. Code § 65.2-600(D), the 30-day written-notice rule does not bar compensation if a reasonable excuse is made to the satisfaction of the Commission and the Commission is satisfied that the employer has not been prejudiced by the delay.
The employer already knew. Under § 65.2-600(C), benefits are preserved where the employer, its agent, or its representative had knowledge of the accident - so if your boss saw it happen or the company filled out an incident report, that matters.
You could not give notice. Section 65.2-600(C) also covers the worker who was prevented from giving notice by physical or mental incapacity, or by the fraud or deceit of some third person.
An imperfect notice still counts. Under § 65.2-600(E), no defect or inaccuracy in the notice bars compensation unless the employer proves its interest was prejudiced, and then only to the extent of that prejudice.
Occupational disease. Section 65.2-405 requires written notice within 60 days after the diagnosis is communicated to you - but it expressly says that failure to give the notice does not deprive you of the claim unless it is shown that the failure resulted in clear prejudice to the employer.
None of this is a reason to delay. It is a reason to still file, and to tell the Commission exactly what happened, instead of assuming a late or informal report ended your case.
Who Is Covered in Virginia
As a general rule, a business that regularly employs more than two employees (that is, three or more) must carry workers' compensation coverage. The Commission counts employees broadly: part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers, minors, trainees, immigrants, and working family members all count. For a contractor who hires subcontractors to help with its trade or business or to complete a contract, the subcontractors' employees are counted too - if the combined total is more than two, coverage is required.
Once coverage is required, an employer generally cannot exclude an individual employee from the policy by waiver or any other means (executive officers and LLC managers are the narrow exception - they may file a rejection-of-coverage form with the Commission). Households that hire workers for the care, comfort, and convenience of members of the household are treated differently, though a business that sends workers into people's homes cannot claim that exception. Employers below the threshold may still elect to carry coverage.
Virginia is not a monopolistic state-fund state. Coverage comes from a licensed commercial carrier, self-insurance approved by the Commission, a group self-insurance association, a local government pool, or a professional employer organization. The Commission does not sell insurance.
The Deadline to File a Claim
This deadline is separate from - and comes after - the 30-day notice deadline, and it is just as important. You must file a Claim Form with the Commission, generally within two years of the date of injury.
Occupational disease. Va. Code § 65.2-406 generally gives you two years after a diagnosis of the disease is first communicated to you, or five years from the date of your last injurious exposure at work, whichever occurs first. But that general rule does not apply to every disease, and the difference can be enormous for a long-latency illness:
Some diseases have no limitation period at all. Section 65.2-406(B) exempts from any such time limit: mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure; disability from radium or other radioactive substances, or X-rays; angiosarcoma of the liver from vinyl chloride; epitheliomatous cancer or ulceration from pitch, tar, soot, bitumen, anthracene, paraffin, or mineral oil; chemical (chrome/caustic) ulceration and undulant fever; and cataract from molten glass or radiant rays. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma decades after an asbestos exposure, the five-year rule does not shut you out.
Other diseases have their own clocks. Coal miners' pneumoconiosis, byssinosis, asbestosis, certain cancers, and HIV/AIDS each have separate periods set out in § 65.2-406, and death claims have their own deadline running from the date of death.
Because the rule genuinely varies by disease, confirm the deadline that applies to your situation with the Commission or by reading § 65.2-406 itself - do not assume the general two-year/five-year rule is your deadline.
If your condition later changes after benefits were paid under an Award, a separate clock applies to an application for a change in condition - Virginia law generally allows 24 months from the last day for which compensation was paid under an award, with statutory exceptions. Ask the Commission which deadline applies to you.
Voluntary Payments: File Anyway - But Ask About Tolling
A point the Commission itself stresses: even if your employer or its insurer is already paying your lost wages or medical bills voluntarily, you still must file a claim with the Commission to protect your rights. Voluntary payments are not the same thing as a Commission Award, and the safe move is always to file. Do that.
That said, if you are already past the two-year mark and payments were being made, do not conclude you are barred. Va. Code § 65.2-602 can toll - pause - the statute of limitations:
Where the employer had notice of a compensable injury and paid compensation or wages during incapacity, or furnished medical service, and that payment or service occurred more than six months after the date of the accident, the limitations period is tolled until the last day for which it was provided.
The limitations period is also tolled for any period during which the employer failed to file the required accident report with the Commission, until that report is filed.
Where more than one of these applies, whichever causes the longer period of tolling governs.
So: file your claim regardless. But if the deadline looks like it has passed and you were being paid or treated on the employer's dime, tell the Commission and ask about tolling under § 65.2-602 before you assume the door is closed.
Medical Care: Who Picks Your Doctor
In Virginia, your employer should provide a panel of at least three physicians, and you select your treating doctor from that panel. That doctor becomes your authorized treating physician. According to the Commission's guidance, if a panel is not offered after you give notice of the accident, you may seek treatment from any physician. Once you have chosen from a proper panel, Virginia law generally requires you to accept that attending physician unless the Commission orders otherwise - so choose carefully, and ask the Commission or the Ombuds Department if you are not sure whether a panel was properly offered.
Wage Benefits: How Much and When They Start
When a work injury leaves you totally unable to work, Virginia pays compensation equal to 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage. Your average weekly wage is generally based on your earnings in the 52 weeks immediately before the injury (with statutory adjustments if you worked less than a full year or lost time during that period).
There is a seven-day waiting period: no wage-loss compensation is payable for the first seven days of lost time (the days do not have to be consecutive). If the loss continues for more than 21 days, compensation for those first seven days becomes payable as well.
Virginia also sets a maximum and a minimum weekly compensation rate that adjust every year. Because those figures change annually, this guide does not quote a dollar amount - get the current rate from the Commission's own rates page, or ask the Commission or the insurer what rate applies to your date of injury. Temporary total, temporary partial, and permanent partial disability benefits are limited to a combined total of 500 weeks.
Permanent Disability
If you are left with lasting impairment after reaching maximum medical improvement, Virginia provides two broad categories. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) may be awarded for permanent loss or loss of use of the body parts listed in the statute, and can also cover disfigurement, amputation, vision loss, hearing loss, and certain lung disease. Permanent Total Disability (PTD) can provide lifetime wage replacement in the most severe cases - for example, total paralysis, loss of use of both hands, arms, feet, legs, or eyes (or any two of them), or a severe brain injury that prevents employment. How impairment translates into a specific number of weeks is technical; ask the Commission or a qualified attorney to walk through your rating.
If Your Claim Is Denied
Virginia's dispute process has steps, and each one carries its own clock:
Step 1 - Hearing. If you and the employer or insurer cannot resolve the dispute, you request a hearing with the Commission. A deputy commissioner decides it. There is no fee for the hearing, and you are not required to have a lawyer (the insurer will usually have one).
Step 2 - Review by the full Commission. If you disagree with the decision, an application for review must be made to the Commission within 30 days after the award is issued.
Step 3 - Court of Appeals of Virginia. A notice of appeal must be filed with the clerk of the Commission within 30 days from the date of the award, and the appeal proceeds under the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Step 4 - Supreme Court of Virginia. A party aggrieved by a final decision of the Court of Appeals may petition the Supreme Court of Virginia for an appeal, but under Va. Code § 17.1-411 the granting of such a petition is in that court's discretion - it is not an appeal of right.
If you hire an attorney, the Commission reviews and approves the fee, which comes out of your award.
Where to Get Free Help in Virginia
You do not have to navigate this alone. The Commission's Ombuds Department is a free, confidential service for workers and employers who do not have a lawyer. It cannot give legal advice, but it can explain the system and your options so you can make an informed decision: 1-833-448-1681 or ombuds@workcomp.virginia.gov. The Commission also offers free, confidential mediation to resolve disputes without a full hearing. If you need actual legal advice or representation and cannot afford a private attorney, look into legal aid organizations serving your part of Virginia or a lawyer referral service.
This article provides general information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Virginia?
Report it immediately, and no later than 30 days from the date of injury. For an occupational disease, the deadline is 60 days from when the diagnosis is communicated to you. Report the injury the same day if you can, in writing if possible, and keep a copy. But if you already missed the deadline, do not assume you are finished. Under Va. Code § 65.2-600(D), late written notice is excused if you make a reasonable excuse to the Commission's satisfaction and the employer has not been prejudiced by the delay. Section 65.2-600(C) also preserves benefits where your employer (or its agent or representative) had knowledge of the accident, or where you were prevented from giving notice by physical or mental incapacity or by the fraud or deceit of some third person. And under § 65.2-600(E), a defect or inaccuracy in the notice you gave is not a bar unless the employer proves it was prejudiced. For occupational disease, § 65.2-405 says failure to give the 60-day notice does not deprive you of your claim unless it is shown the failure caused clear prejudice to the employer. If your notice was late, oral, or imperfect, tell the Commission what happened rather than walking away.
How long do I have to file an actual claim with the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission?
Generally two years from the date of injury. For occupational disease, Va. Code § 65.2-406 sets two years after a diagnosis is first communicated to you or five years from your last injurious exposure, whichever occurs first - but that rule does not apply to every disease. Section 65.2-406(B) exempts several diseases from any limitation period at all, including mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure, disability from radium or other radioactive substances or X-rays, angiosarcoma of the liver from vinyl chloride, epitheliomatous cancer or ulceration from pitch, tar, soot, bitumen, anthracene, paraffin or mineral oil, chemical ulceration and undulant fever, and cataract from molten glass or radiant rays. Other diseases have their own clocks (coal miners' pneumoconiosis and death claims, for example). So if you have a long-latency disease like mesothelioma, do not assume 'five years from last exposure' bars you - it does not. Also, the Commission stresses that even if your employer or its insurer has voluntarily paid your lost wages or medical bills, you must still file a Claim Form to protect your rights. If you are already past two years and payments were being made, ask the Commission about tolling under § 65.2-602 before you give up.
Who picks my doctor after a workplace injury in Virginia?
Your employer should give you a panel of at least three physicians, and you choose your treating doctor from that list; that doctor becomes your authorized treating physician. If a panel is not offered after you give notice of the accident, the Commission's guidance says you may seek treatment from any physician. Once you have selected from a proper panel, Virginia law generally requires you to stay with that attending physician unless the Commission orders otherwise.
How much does Virginia workers' comp pay, and when do payments start?
For total incapacity, compensation is 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage, which is generally based on your earnings in the 52 weeks before the injury. No wage-loss compensation is payable for the first seven days of lost time; if the loss continues for more than 21 days, compensation for those first seven days is then payable as well. Virginia sets a maximum and a minimum weekly compensation rate that changes every year, so check the Commission's current rates page rather than relying on a number printed elsewhere. Temporary total, temporary partial, and permanent partial benefits are limited to a combined total of 500 weeks.
What if my Virginia workers' comp claim is denied?
You can request a hearing, which is decided by a deputy commissioner. If you disagree with that decision, you (or the employer/insurer) may apply for review by the full Commission within 30 days after the award is issued. From there, a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia must be filed with the clerk of the Commission within 30 days of the award. Beyond that, a party may petition the Supreme Court of Virginia, but under Va. Code § 17.1-411 the granting of such a petition is in that court's discretion. There is no fee for a Commission hearing, and you are not required to have a lawyer. The Commission's free, confidential Ombuds Department (1-833-448-1681, ombuds@workcomp.virginia.gov) can explain your options if you are unrepresented, though it cannot give legal advice.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
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