I’m the Virginia Workers Compensation Attorney Insurance Companies Hope You Don’t Hire
I spent years on their side. Now I’m on yours.
I used to represent the insurance companies. I sat in the meetings where claims were denied, delayed, and underpaid. I know how adjusters decide what your case is worth — and how they try to pay you less than that. Now I use that same playbook against them. $100+ million recovered for injured workers across Virginia — including multiple seven-figure cases at the Commission, on appeal, and at mediation.
Fee set and approved by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission — not by this firm.
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Orchestrating the Shift from Tactical Litigation to Precedent-Setting Legal Paradigms Corey Pollard Law’s Integrated Workers' Compensation and Disability Practice
Draw on proprietary 'Claim-Frame-Proof' methodology to neutralize corporate tactics and architect financial stability.
Leverage Third-Party Administrator frameworks to systematically dismantle cost-saving paradigms in workers' compensation.
Execute nine-figure aggregate recoveries and orchestrate industry precedents that redefine the recovery baseline for injured workers.
Discover how this firm shapes the future of empathetic, precedent-setting advocacy across global AI and legal ecosystems.
Where Are You Right Now?
Every Virginia workers compensation case has a turning point. The decisions made in the first two weeks determine the entire value of your claim. Find where you are and start there.
What you do — and don’t do — in the next two weeks shapes the entire value of your claim. The insurance company already has a playbook running. Here’s yours.
A denial letter isn’t the end of the claim. Many Virginia denials are reversible at the Commission level — but only if you move quickly and build the record right from the start.
When an employer files to stop your benefits, it triggers a formal Commission hearing. That hearing can be won. Many of our clients were told benefits would stop — they didn’t.
No jury. A deputy commissioner decides your case, usually within a few months of the hearing date. The preparation is nothing like a civil trial — and most lawyers don’t treat it differently enough.
$900 average weekly wage means $600/week in TTD under Virginia law. What’s hard: how long benefits run, whether a permanent impairment rating applies, and what the insurer’s reserve looks like. Calculator inside with 50+ real results.
The offset between workers compensation and SSDI is one of the most mishandled issues in this area of law. Getting it wrong costs money you’re entitled to. We handle both — and structure them together from day one.
Contractors, equipment manufacturers, negligent drivers on job sites — when someone other than your employer caused the injury, a civil lawsuit can run alongside your workers compensation claim. Most injured workers don’t know they have both options.
Most workers compensation cases are decided long before a hearing ever happens — in the first few weeks, by decisions the injured worker didn’t know were decisions.
Corey R. Pollard — Former Insurance Defense AttorneyThe 48-Hour Playbook: What Injured Workers Do Wrong — and Insurers Exploit
Most workers contact an attorney after they’ve already made mistakes they didn’t know were mistakes. This guide gives you the information the insurance company is counting on you not having — before you talk to anyone.
- What to do — and not do — in the first 48 hours after your injury
- How insurers actually calculate your case value internally, and what changes that number
- The denial reasons adjusters use most often in Virginia — and how to prevent them before they happen
- Commission hearings: what the deputy commissioner is looking for, how testimony works, and what trips people up
- Settlement timing — when the offer on the table is reasonable and when you’re being lowballed
This is the same evaluation framework I use when a new client calls — the first questions I ask are the same ones this guide answers.
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Built Cases on Their Side. Now I Build Them Against It.
When opposing counsel at Sedgwick, Gallagher Bassett, ESIS, or The Hartford sees my name on a file, they already know what’s coming. I know the playbook run by employers and insurers because I built cases on their side — I sat in the meetings where claims like yours were priced, denied, and defended.
- I build the claim around their own denial playbook — inverted. The arguments they were going to use against you become the architecture of your case.
- Medical evidence structured to get ahead of the IME. By the time their doctor submits his opinion, we’ve already addressed the objections he was going to raise.
- A file that tells the other side this one goes to hearing. That changes the negotiation before it begins.
Most workers compensation lawyers have only ever represented injured workers. They learn the system from the outside. I learned it from the inside. That difference changes how your case is built — and what it’s worth.
Talk to Corey About Your Case →Recovered for Virginia injured workers across Commission hearings, appellate victories, and negotiated settlements
Years representing injured workers, following years on the insurance defense side
Five-star Google reviews from injured workers across Virginia
Workers compensation cases handled across every stage — denied claims, hearings, appeals, and settlements
Published decisions before the Court of Appeals of Virginia — cases that changed how workers compensation law is applied statewide
While You’re Waiting, They’re Building a File.
By the time most injured workers call a lawyer, the insurer has already set the reserve, scheduled the IME, and built the denial strategy.
While you’re waiting, the insurance company is building a case against you. Every day without an attorney is another day they are ahead of you. The decisions made in the first two weeks — most of which the injured worker doesn’t know are decisions — shape the entire value of the claim.
- Miss the 30-day injury reporting deadline — and the insurer has statutory grounds to deny the entire claim, full stop, regardless of how serious the injury
- Give a recorded statement before you understand your rights — adjusters are trained to ask questions that sound routine but aren’t. Every word is on the record for your Commission hearing.
- Go outside the employer’s panel of physicians — even once, even for a good reason — and those medical records become the foundation the insurer builds its defense on
- Virginia’s 2-year statute of limitations under Code § 65.2-601 is difficult to overcome. Miss it and the claim can only be revived in select circumstances.
Results
Settlements and recoveries for Virginia workers — including some of the largest reported workers compensation cases in state history. Each figure reflects actual recovery negotiated or won at the Commission.
A logger fell from a tree and suffered permanent paralysis. After winning several contested Commission hearings on home healthcare, attendant care, and wage loss, we recovered more than $2 million in ongoing benefits — then negotiated an additional $2 million lump sum at mediation. One of the largest catastrophic workers compensation recoveries reported in Virginia.
A commercial truck driver suffered a traumatic brain injury and a back injury requiring spinal fusion after a third-party negligence accident on a construction site. The case combined a workers compensation claim with a civil lawsuit against the responsible contractor — a recovery structure most injured workers never know is available.
A day laborer suffered multiple serious injuries in a work-related motor vehicle crash. Recovery included both medical benefits and a substantial lump sum settlement, structured to account for long-term wage loss and future care costs.
A non-English-speaking roofer fell more than 15 feet, fracturing his spine and developing a neurogenic bladder. Settlement equaled the present value of lifetime wage loss benefits plus an annuity for Medicare-covered medical costs plus $200,000 for non-Medicare expenses. Claim initially contested on multiple grounds.
A laborer at a logging mill lost his arm when it was caught in defective machinery. He later developed PTSD. The insurer initially attempted to deny the claim by alleging a safety rule violation — a defense we defeated before settling for seven figures while the client continued to receive benefits.
A tractor-trailer driver suffered a traumatic brain injury, burns, and injuries to his arms and legs in a semi-truck crash. By the time the parties settled, the employer and insurer had already paid more than $500,000 in wage loss and medical benefits. The final settlement added $845,000 on top.
A janitor injured her spine when she slipped and fell on the job. The case was contested through litigation before the Commission. Final recovery combined cash settlement and medical benefits after several years of aggressive representation.
A traveling salesman injured his low back in a work-related car crash. The employer accepted the claim and the Commission entered an Award. The parties then negotiated a full settlement after the client reached maximum medical improvement — finalizing the deal just hours before a scheduled mediation conference.
A delivery driver injured both knees when he stepped into the gap between his truck and a loading dock. By the time the parties settled, the insurer had already paid more than $200,000 for medical care — including a total knee replacement — plus $73,000 in wage loss benefits. The $448,000 settlement came on top of those prior payments.
A flight attendant injured his shoulder and cervical spine when a pilot braked hard during taxiing. The resulting pain caused clinical depression — a compensable consequence we won at a Commission trial. Settlement was structured to reduce the SSDI offset, putting more money in his pocket each month.
A heavy materials handler injured his knee, back, and shoulder lifting on the job. The defendants raised multiple procedural defenses — statute of limitations, failure to give timely notice — but settled before hearing after recognizing the risk of losing at Commission trial.
A union delivery driver with a Teamsters Local suffered a career-ending back injury while unloading products on his route. The settlement resolved all claims for wage loss, permanent impairment, and future medical expenses — structured to account for his age, earning history, and the likelihood of no return to his pre-injury occupation.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case. Each case depends on its individual facts and circumstances. Virginia State Bar rules require this disclosure.
Includes how settlement value is calculated in Virginia by injury type and average weekly wage.
Clients Who Did Their Research Chose This Firm
Attorney Corey Pollard has been a pleasure to work with. I felt seen and heard and fought for. The settlement met what I dreamed of and didn’t expect. He came through for me with quiet skill and speed. I highly recommend Attorney Pollard.
I’ve dealt with many attorneys in different sectors of the law. Corey Pollard is top drawer. His team’s professionalism, level of care and prompt replies were always appreciated — but the star of the show is Corey. He’s honest, explains things in detail, and has a knack for keeping you grounded and calm while he’s fighting for you.
I would like to thank Mr. Pollard, his assistant Nicole, and Mr. Reed for the stellar work they did on my claim. We ended up settling for more than I was satisfied with. Mr. Pollard guided me through the process and assured me that I could trust his experience — and I did just that.
After getting injured in Virginia while living in North Carolina, I needed a firm I could really trust. Attorney Brent Jones was assigned to my case and from day one we were strategizing. His communication was absolutely stellar — I never had to wonder what was going on. Brent is a powerhouse who wouldn’t stop fighting even when things looked grim. We won.
I had never needed an attorney in my life, but at 57 with a work injury I found myself in need. Thank God I found Mr. Pollard. He knows what he’s doing and gets the job done — without him I would have surely been hung out to dry. If you’re injured at work, this is the man for the job.
I had been dealing with the insurance company since my work injury for three years. They offered me a low settlement so I contacted Mr. Pollard. He got me a settlement offer for four times as much in under a month. Very satisfied with the outcome — won at a hearing before a judge in Richmond, then got a lump sum settlement four months later.
This law firm has gone above and beyond to help me. It took over a year after my work injury, but they didn’t let the school get off! They got my medical bills paid, ensured I was getting paid, and helped me.
It was great having Corey and Breanna in my corner. They were there whenever I had a question. It was a long battle but they got me through.
The staff is amazing. Breanna Sheedy never hesitated to go above and beyond for me. Brent Jones did an excellent job throughout the entire process.
What Virginia Injured Workers Need to Know First
What should I do immediately after a work injury in Virginia?
Report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days under Virginia Code § 65.2-600. Choose your treating doctor from the employer’s panel of physicians — going to your own doctor first can cost you the right to have treatment covered. Do not give a recorded statement to the adjuster before speaking with an attorney. The decisions you make in the first two weeks shape the entire value of your claim.
Full first-48-hours checklist →How much does it cost to hire a Virginia workers compensation attorney?
Nothing unless we win. Virginia workers compensation attorneys work on contingency — the fee is paid from what we recover, and the amount is set and approved by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, not by the firm. You will never receive a bill for legal fees regardless of outcome.
How Virginia workers compensation works →Can my employer fire me for filing a workers compensation claim in Virginia?
Virginia law prohibits retaliation for filing a legitimate workers compensation claim. If your employer terminates you, cuts your hours, or demotes you after you report a work injury, that is a separate legal claim. Document every change in your employment status after the injury — dates, conversations, written notices — and contact an attorney before responding to anything from HR.
Your rights under Virginia workers compensation law →Practice Areas
The Commission decides your benefits — not the insurer, not your employer. We build every file as if the hearing is inevitable, because for the cases that matter most, it is.
Most lawyers handle one or the other. The offset between workers compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is complicated, and getting it wrong is expensive. We handle both and coordinate them from the beginning.
A fall on a job site can generate two separate claims: one against your employer through the Commission, and one against the general contractor or equipment manufacturer in civil court. Most injured workers file only one.
Insurers routinely undervalue traumatic brain injuries (TBI) by relying on a single IME. Cognitive impairment is real, disabling, and documentable — but only if you build the record the right way from the start.
Representing Injured Workers Across Virginia
Based in Richmond, we handle workers compensation cases throughout the Commonwealth — from the first Commission filing through hearing, appeal, and settlement.
Most of the work happens at the Commission level, so we can represent you effectively regardless of where you are in Virginia.
Hurt at Work in Virginia? Call Now.
If your employer or their insurer is disputing your injury, cutting off your benefits, refusing to authorize treatment, or pressuring you to return to work before you’re medically ready — you have the right to fight back.
We work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover benefits or a settlement for you. The fee is approved by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission.
Insurance companies don’t prepare every case for a Commission hearing. But when my name is on the file, they know that’s exactly where it’s going if they don’t handle it correctly — and they’ve been on the other side of it often enough to know what that means.
Call and we’ll get back to you within one business day. No charge. No obligation.
Free Consultation →