2.3 “Injury by Accident,” “arising Out Of,” and “in the Course Of” Employment

• Library: Workers' Compensation Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2020 Ed.)

2.3 "INJURY BY ACCIDENT," "ARISING OUT OF," AND "IN THE COURSE OF" EMPLOYMENT

2.301 In General. Section 65.2-101 of the Virginia Code provides that "injury" means "only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment or occupational disease as defined in Chapter 4 of this title and does not include a disease in any form, except when it results naturally and unavoidably from either of the foregoing causes."

The only qualification or limitation under the Act, albeit a major one, is that the injury by accident must arise out of and in the course of the employment. Coverage extends to every risk of the employment that results in death or in a personal injury to the employee, as long as it is not a risk to which the common neighborhood is exposed. Leading cases discussing whether an injury by accident arises out of and in the course of employment

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include Badische Corp. v. Starks, ⁷⁶ Virginia Electric & Power Co. v. Cogbill, ⁷⁷ and Snead v. Harbaugh, ⁷⁸ and the cases cited therein. ⁷⁹

2.302 "Injury" Defined. In Burlington Mills Corp. v. Hagood, ⁸⁰ the word "injury" was defined to include, for purposes of the Act, any lesion or change in any part of the system that produces harm or pain or a lessened facility of the natural use of any bodily activity or capability. ⁸¹

In Snead v. Harbaugh, ⁸² a law professor sued the dean and faculty of his employer law school for defamation of character. The school asserted that this claim was barred by the exclusivity provisions of the Act. The court interpreted the term "injury" as applying to "either a mental or physical condition, affecting the employee's person." ⁸³ The court emphasized, however, that "[a] condition causing disability or pain will not be considered an 'injury' for purposes of the Act unless accompanied by a 'sudden obvious mechanical or structural change' in the body." ⁸⁴ The court found that injury to reputation is not the type of "injury" contemplated by the Act. Under...