Can Liquor Store Worker who Tripped on Rug Collect Partial Disability?

Richmond, VA (WorkersCompensation.com)–An employee may be able to collect partial disability benefits if he injures himself at work and then works fewer hours because of the injury.

But what if there were other reasons the employee’s schedule was reduced? A Virginia court addressed that situation in a case involving a worker for ABC liquors and the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.

In December 2019, a part-time sales associate at a Virginia ABC store approached a register to serve a customer and tripped over a rug that was "bunched up" on the floor. He "wrenched" his right knee and immediately felt pain, he said.

After the incident, he continued working for about three months, without any restrictions.

In January 2020, the worker visited an orthopedic surgeon, reporting that he had knee pain while walking, squatting, and bending. He eventually learned that he had a medial meniscus tear.

In March 2020, with a wave of COVID-19 cases rolling into the country, the sales associate decided to stop going in to work on the advice of his cardiologist, who was concerned about his vulnerability to the virus.

In February 2021, after the associate received the COVID-19 vaccine, he obtained a note from his orthopedic surgeon permitting him to return to work on "light duty.” The doctor did not explain what “light duty” meant.

But it turned out the store had already replaced him. In addition, the store had implemented changes in equipment and procedures. He worked fewer hours, he said, because of scheduling issues and the need to be retrained.

Between February 15, 2021, and April 30, 2021, the worker applied for 54 jobs attempting to market his residual work capacity. None of his applications was successful.

The Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded the employee temporary partial disability beginning February 2021.

The Authority appealed that decision.

The appeals court explained that partial disability benefits can be awarded if the claimant demonstrates that his wage loss is causally related to his partial incapacity.

Was the sales associate entitled to partial disability benefits?

A. No. His reduced hours were due to the pandemic, and changes in work procedures and schedules.

B. Yes. His 54 job applications showed that he made a reasonable effort to secure suitable light duty work. If you chose A you sided with the court in Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Auth. v. Blott, No. 1395-21-2 (VA Ct. App. 09/06/22), which held that the evidence did not show the sales associate’s wage loss was caused by his knee injury.

The court pointed out that the employee continued to work after the accident with no restrictions for about three months. Moreover, when he stopped working in March 2020, it was not because his injury, but because of concerns about COVID-19.

Finally, when he returned to work in February 2021, the court observed, his hours were in fact reduced. But this wasn’t because of his knee injury. Instead, it was because another employee had filled his former position and he needed training to get caught up on new equipment and procedures.

“To be sure, the [orthopedic surgeon] returned [the associate] to work on ‘light duty’; but his note did not contain any specific restrictions, and no evidence demonstrated that an alleged squatting restriction limited his wages,” the court wrote.

The court reversed the Commission’s decision.

This feature does not provide legal advice.

Forms, email updates, legal, regulatory, and compliance information from Virginia and 52 other jurisdictions across the U.S. can be found on WorkCompResearch.com.

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