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★ Virginia · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Virginia.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Virginia raised its maximum weekly workers’ compensation rate to $1,507.01 on 1 July 2026. Whether you get it depends on where and how you were hurt: a store manager who caught her foot on a water display was covered, while a worker who broke her wrist on an icy public crosswalk on her way in was not.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in Virginia

Weekly benefit ratesMaximum $1,507.01 and minimum $376.75 from 1 July 2026; the cost of living adjustment rate is 2.65% from 1 October 2026.Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, notice of 2026 rates
Total disability66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage, between 25 and 100 percent of the state average weekly wage.Va. Code § 65.2-500(A)
Deadline to sue“[E]very action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery … shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.”Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)
united states · sister site
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★ VA · reported workplace outcomes

What Virginia courts have awarded.

Real Virginia decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Poole v. Quest Diagnostics
    Court of Appeals of Virginia · 2025
    Denial of benefits affirmed

    Audra Poole, who has multiple sclerosis, parked in a public lot and was halfway across a crosswalk on a public street to her Quest Diagnostics building when she slipped on ice and fractured her wrist. She had three surgeries. The Commission applied the coming and going rule, found the extended premises doctrine did not reach the lot and crosswalk, and denied benefits; the court affirmed.

  • Dollar Tree Stores v. Wilson
    Court of Appeals of Virginia · 2014
    Award of benefits affirmed

    Elizabeth Wilson, a store manager in Altavista, turned to follow an employee at closing and caught her foot on a stack of water cases in front of a register. She finished closing the store, and an MRI a week later showed a stress fracture of the left femoral neck that needed surgery. The Commission found the injury arose out of her work, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

★ VA · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in Virginia.

  1. 1

    Where you fall matters. Poole’s injury on a public crosswalk before work was outside coverage.

  2. 2

    Workplace conditions make an injury compensable. Wilson’s trip on a display stack at her register was a risk of the job.

  3. 3

    See a doctor even if you finish your shift. Wilson’s fracture was found a week later and still covered.

★ VA · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

Va. Code § 8.01-243

★ VA · fault rule
Pure contributory negligence

Pure contributory negligence, 1% claimant fault bars all recovery. Virginia retains the rule by long-standing common-law tradition and has resisted both judicial and legislative repeal.

★ VA · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a workplace settlement in Virginia.

★ workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Virginia's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
Virginia · you are herePure contributory negligence2 years from date of injury—
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · workplace →
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · workplace →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · workplace →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · workplace →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · workplace →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · workplace →
District of ColumbiaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryDC · workplace →
MarylandPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryMD · workplace →
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · workplace →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · workplace →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · workplace →
WyomingModified comparative, 51% bar4 years from date of injuryWY · workplace →
★ VA · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt at work in Virginia? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of VA
Virginia overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Virginia as a whole.

★ national frame
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Virginia. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.