Virginia Code 65.2-600: Notice of accident
A. Every injured employee or his representative shall immediately on the occurrence of an accident or as soon thereafter as practicable, give or cause to be given to the employer a written notice of the accident. If notice of accident is not given to any statutory employer, such statutory employer may be held responsible for initial and additional awards of compensation rendered by the Commission if (i) he shall have had at least sixty days’ notice of the hearing to ascertain compensability of the accident, and (ii) the statutory employer was not prejudiced by lack of notice of the accident.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 65.2-600
- Commission: means the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission as well as its former designation as the Virginia Industrial Commission. See Virginia Code 65.2-101
- Employer: includes (i) any person, the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and any individual, firm, association or corporation, or the receiver or trustee of the same, or the legal representative of a deceased employer, using the service of another for pay and (ii) any volunteer fire company or volunteer emergency medical services agency electing to be included and maintaining coverage as an employer under this title. See Virginia Code 65.2-101
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Injury: means only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment or occupational disease as defined in Chapter 4 (§ 65. See Virginia Code 65.2-101
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The notice shall state the name and address of the employee, the time and place of the accident, and the nature and cause of the accident and the injury.
C. The employee shall not be entitled to physician’s fees nor to any compensation which may have accrued under the terms of this title prior to the giving of such notice, unless it can be shown that the employer, his agent or representative had knowledge of the accident or that the party required to give notice had been prevented from giving notice by reason of physical or mental incapacity or the fraud or deceit of some third person.
D. No compensation or medical benefit shall be payable unless such written notice is given within thirty days after the occurrence of the accident or death, unless reasonable excuse is made to the satisfaction of the Commission for not giving such notice and the Commission is satisfied that the employer has not been prejudiced thereby.
E. No defect or inaccuracy in the notice shall be a bar to compensation unless the employer shall prove that his interest was prejudiced thereby and then only to such extent as the prejudice.
Code 1950, §§ 65-82, 65-83; 1968, c. 660, §§ 65.1-85, 65.1-86; 1991, c. 355; 1997, c. 288.