The West Virginia (WV) Supreme Court of Appeals issued a decision on June 10, 2024, in a case we argued on behalf of the employer and claim administrator.

The 2023 regular session of the West Virginia (WV) Legislature produced changes to WV workers’ compensation and the WV deliberate intent law. Employers should be aware of these updates and how they may impact them and their employees moving forward...

When an employee is injured at work in West Virginia (WV), the employer and workers’ compensation insurance provider, when applicable, may be responsible for covering the resulting expenses, including medical costs and lost wages. However, a variety of factors may be considered when determining workers’ compensation compensability in WV.

When a worker is injured on the job, but the injury occurs as a result of a preexisting condition or certain acts by the employee, an employer may have cause to dispute the compensability of a workers’ compensation claim filed in West Virginia (WV).

Employers in West Virginia (WV) must manage business operations and employment matters in what can feel like a funnel cloud of changing federal and state regulations. At Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC, we strive to provide legal counsel and representation to alleviate some of this burden.

Employers served by the workers’ compensation defense team at Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC often have questions about WV temporary total disability (TTD) benefits, including acceptable reasons for stopping WV TTD benefits, when reopening a workers’ compensation claim for TTD benefits is permitted, and more. In this second blog in a series of two, we answer some of the frequently asked questions we receive regarding TTD benefits in West Virginia.

Jenkins Fenstermaker’s West Virginia (WV) workers’ compensation defense team often receives questions regarding the handling of claims for workers' compensation in WV. Specifically, clients and other interested parties frequently need information on WV temporary total disability (TTD) benefits, including rates, time limits, and closure of claims. In response to this need, our WV workers’ compensation lawyers created a “cheat sheet” with quick facts to answer some of the most common WV workers’ compensation questions.

As of July 1, 2022, West Virginia (WV) employers are navigating a new WV workers’ compensation review system.

Few subjects seem to generate as many questions as West Virginia’s statutory requirement stating that workers’ compensation claims must be filed on the state-approved form, known as WV Form OIC-WC-1, or the “WC-1” for short. The purpose of this article is to update you regarding case law trends pertaining to the WV Form WC-1 requirement.

The West Virginia (WV) Legislature has passed a bill called the West Virginia Appellate Reorganization Act, which will establish an intermediate court of appeals in WV. Assuming that Governor Jim Justice signs the bill, and he is expected to do so, West Virginia will become the 46th state with an intermediate court of appeals, which will hear appeals from courts in civil matters and family court matters and from various administrative courts. This article, however, focuses on the ways in which the new court will impact workers’ compensation litigation in WV.

On February 3, 2021, the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner issued a bulletin regarding the terminology commonly used to refer to medical evaluations in workers’ compensation claims. Essentially, the commissioner is discouraging the use of the phrase “independent medical evaluation” for medical evaluations in West Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Instead, he seeks for employers, insurance carriers, and other claim administrators to use alternate language. Looking to existing language in WV workers’ compensation law is a great starting point for understanding the reason behind this bulletin.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

For the last several years in a row, there has been an effort to enact legislation creating an intermediate appellate court in West Virginia. Currently, West Virginia is one of only a handful of states in which cases go directly from the trial court or court of original jurisdiction to the state’s highest appellate court. Despite the many proposals that have been made, the West Virginia Legislature has thus far failed to enact any law creating a WV intermediate court of appeals.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every aspect of life across the globe. The pandemic’s impact on worker’s compensation claims remains to be seen. Chief Administrative Law Judge Bradley A. Crouser and Chairwoman Rita Hedrick-Helmick of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review recently featured in a teleconference with West Virginia workers’ compensation attorneys to discuss COVID-19’s effect on West Virginia workers’ compensation proceedings and the shifts being made as a result of the pandemic.

West Virginia is one of the few states without an intermediate court of appeals that sits between civil and criminal trial courts and the State Supreme Court. In the Mountain State, the Supreme Court hears appeals from all sources, including workers’ compensation matters. Unlike civil and criminal matters, there is an intermediate court, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, but West Virginia Senate Bill 275 (WV SB 275) proposed to create a new court of appeals, which would have had appellate jurisdiction over most matters, including Workers’ Compensation, and it came close to realization. Although the House of Delegates ultimately voted the bill down, the proposals in the bill can inform on future efforts along this vein.