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The Workers Compensation Hearing — The Importance of the Record

Today, I had two (2) prospective clients contact me. They both had the same problem. They had already had their hearings and had both lost. In both cases the problem was the record. In Case Number One the claimant had fallen down the stairs at VCU. She claimed the accident occurred because the stairs were steep and others had fallen down the stairs. But at the hearing she failed to enter evidence about the steepness of the stairs. Also, she failed to bring in other witnesses to testify about their falls.

In Case Number Two the woman had fallen off of a chair. She said she had evidence the casters on her chair were defective. She had other people who would testify they had fallen off of this particular chair. The problem was at the hearing her attorney did not introduce evidence about the defective nature of the casters. Also, her attorney did not bring the other witnesses to the hearing.

In summary, in both cases a “good record” had not been created. The women could appeal but they could not add evidence to the record. Regretfully, I had to tell both I could not take their appeals. Unfortunately, the “bad record” meant the women had no hope on the appeal.  The saddest part was that both cases could have been won if the right evidence had been submitted at the hearing. One only gets one bite at the apple.

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