Corey Pollard | Virginia Workers’ Compensation Trial Lawyer | $100M+ Recovered

I am Corey Pollard – a Virginia workers’ compensation trial lawyer, managing partner of Corey Pollard Law within Jenkins Block & Associates, P.C., and the attorney who has recovered more than $100 million for injured workers and disabled Virginians. My practice covers Virginia workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, and serious injury cases including construction accidents and traumatic brain injuries – often involving workers’ compensation and third-party civil claims simultaneously within the same case. Before I represented injured workers, I defended employers and carriers. That background is why the other side knows my name – and why it matters to you. This page covers my background, methodology, results, and trial and appellate record. If you want to read about the firm, visit the Corey Pollard Law firm page.

 

If you have been hurt at work and want to speak with me directly: call (804) 251-1620, text the same number, or email corey@coreypollard.com. I respond to every inquiry personally.

 

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Known For

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Why the Other Side Knows My Name

 

Before I represented injured workers, I worked for a local insurance defense firm – the kind your employer and its insurance carrier probably hired after your accident. I sat in the meetings where adjusters decide whether to deny claims. I watched how reserve figures get set to minimize payouts. I learned the internal strategies that carriers use to classify a case as low-value, delay resolution, and reduce their exposure.

 

I left that work because I wanted to use what I knew for people who needed it. Not against them.

 

That background changes the math on your case in ways that are hard to explain quickly. When I’m building your claim, I already know what Sedgwick or Gallagher Bassett is looking for when they evaluate your file. I know which arguments they are trained to absorb and which ones actually move them. And I know that the defense attorney on the other side has billing targets, reporting requirements, and a claims handler who grades their performance – none of which has anything to do with the merits of your case.

 

When opposing counsel sees my name on a claim, they know I understand the playbook. They know I will not accept a lowball offer. And they know I will take the case to trial if they do not treat my client fairly.

 

I left defense work because on that side, when a case ended, it ended. You closed the file and moved on. On this side, the outcome follows my client home for the rest of their life. There is no closing the file. That’s the difference. That’s why I switched.

 

How I Approach Your Case

 

The insurance company that denied your claim or offered you an inadequate settlement has access to data from tens of thousands of similar cases. They know the average cost of your injury type. They know what percentage of claimants accept the first offer. They know how long most people will wait before settling for less than they deserve. My job is to close that information gap.

 

That means doing the analysis the carrier hopes your attorney will skip: reviewing all medical records before the first demand goes out, calculating the present value of future wage loss under multiple cost-of-living assumptions, identifying whether a third-party civil lawsuit runs alongside your workers’ comp claim, and knowing which deputy commissioners and mediators have particular tendencies on the contested issues in your case. In a serious permanent injury case, those details are often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

It also means being willing to go to trial when settlement is not fair. Not every case settles. Not every settlement offer deserves a counteroffer. Some cases need to be tried, and I have tried enough of them — and won enough of them — that the carriers who assign experienced defense attorneys to oppose my clients know this is not a bluff.

 

Results

 

The full list of reported results is here. Two cases that define the ceiling of what this work requires:

 

 

Cases That Changed Virginia Law

 

Some of the most important work I do does not appear in a settlement figure. It appears in a published opinion that raises the floor for every injured worker who comes after my client.

 

At the Court of Appeals of Virginia:

 

• • Henrico County Public Schools v. Mack – held the insurer must pay for the permanent impairment evaluation and rating because it constitutes medical treatment
  • Village Avenue Management, LLC v. Schofield
  • City of Richmond v. Tucker
  • Magic City Ford Lincoln Isuzu Trucks and VADA Group Self-Insurance Association v. Kerr

 

At the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission:

 

• • Perryman v. Target Corporation
  • Tokhi v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.
  • Harris v. Ross Stores, Inc.
  • Sainvil-Thompson v. Sentara Healthcare
  • Gripper v. MCC
  • Santora v. Inova Alexandria Hospital

 

One of these cases expanded PTSD coverage for first responders under Virginia workers’ compensation law. Another closed a gap that carriers had routinely exploited to avoid paying permanent partial disability benefits. These wins do not disappear when the case closes – they protect every injured worker in every claim that follows.

 

Have a denied claim or a case you think was undervalued? Call or text (804) 251-1620 for a free consultation. I’ll tell you honestly what it’s worth and what I’d do differently.

 

Recognition

 

Peer-reviewed awards carry weight because they reflect how other attorneys – many of whom have opposed me – assess the quality of the work.

 

• • Best Lawyers in America – Workers’ Compensation Law (Claimants), 2020 through 2026
  • Best Lawyers in America – Personal Injury Litigation (Plaintiffs), 2025
  • Best Law Firms in America – Workers’ Compensation Law for Claimants, 2024
  • Super Lawyers – 2025
  • Super Lawyers Rising Star – 2016 through 2024
  • National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40
  • Top 100 High Stakes Litigators in America

 

Professional Memberships

 

• • Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA)
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) – relevant to cases where a work injury leads to an SSDI or SSI claim
  • American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Virginia Bar Association (VBA)

 

Admissions & Credentials

 

Bar Admissions

 

• • All state courts in Virginia
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia

 

Education

 

• • J.D. with Honors – University of Richmond School of Law (2009)
  • B.A. with Honors – College of William & Mary (2006)

 

Licensed Since

 

• • Virginia State Bar — 2009

 

Background

 

I grew up in Newport News, Virginia. My father started as a union electrician and built his own general contracting and welding company. Watching him do that – take skills he had developed working for someone else and build something of his own – is part of what pushed me toward building my own practice rather than spending a career inside someone else’s firm.

 

Growing up around that world, I also saw what large employers and insurers can do to workers who depend on their jobs and their health to support a family. The power imbalance is real. A national insurance carrier has lawyers, adjusters, medical consultants, and decades of claims data working in their favor from the moment an injury happens. The injured worker has a phone number and a stack of medical bills. That gap is what I have spent my career closing.

 

I attended the College of William & Mary, where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors, competed on the men’s swimming team, and joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity. Before college, I was a Virginia High School League State Champion in swimming at Menchville High School, a member of a national age-group record-holding relay, and I raced against Michael Phelps. He won. What competitive athletics taught me was not just how to prepare – it was that preparation done right reduces stress and creates room for the ability to think clearly when it matters most. That habit transferred directly to how I litigate catastrophic injury cases.

 

I earned my law degree with honors from the University of Richmond School of Law, where I competed on the Client Counseling and Negotiation Board and was selected to represent the school at an international arbitration competition in Europe. My first job was with an insurance defense firm. That choice was deliberate. I wanted to understand how the other side thinks before I decided which side to be on. What I did not expect was this: on the defense side, when a case ended, it ended. You closed the file. On this side, the outcome follows my client home for the rest of their life. That is why I switched, and that is why it matters to you that I did.

 

Outside the Office

 

My wife Leigh is a Human Resources Business Partner, which means I have a built-in resource when employment law issues come up alongside a workers’ compensation claim – a more common overlap than most people realize.

 

We have two kids, Knox and Rivers, who between them keep us at athletic events most weekends. I coach youth basketball through the Chesterfield Basketball League and the Bon Air Summer League. Coaching has reinforced something I already believed: smaller, less-experienced teams beat better-resourced opponents when they are more prepared and more disciplined. I work with kids who are routinely outmatched by bigger, faster, stronger opponents. The answer is never to hope the other side goes easy on you. The answer is to have a better system, know their tendencies, and execute when the moment arrives. That is also how you take on Sedgwick or Gallagher Bassett when they have assigned their most experienced defense attorney to your case.

 

The attorneys who are most creative under pressure tend to be the most organized ones. Chaos does not produce insight – a good system does. I train seriously for the same reason. When the fundamentals are handled and the plan is built, your mind is free to work on what actually matters: the case theory the carrier has not anticipated, the argument that changes how a deputy commissioner sees the facts.

 

I remain loyal to the Washington Commanders, which has required a kind of long-term commitment to an uncertain outcome that has served me reasonably well in litigation.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

My claim was denied. Does that mean my case is over?

No. And this is where my background becomes directly useful to you.

 

Before I represented injured workers, I worked for the firms that carriers hire to defend these claims. I know which denial arguments the adjuster expects you to accept – and which ones fall apart under real scrutiny. A denial issued by Travelers, The Hartford, Sedgwick, or Gallagher Bassett is not a legal determination. It is a business decision made under time pressure by someone whose job it is to reduce the carrier’s exposure. Most of my clients came to me after a denial or a lowball offer. That is often where the most important work begins.

 

Call (804) 251-1620 for a free consultation. I’ll tell you honestly whether your denial is worth fighting – and if it is, exactly how I’d approach it. You can also read more about how the Virginia workers’ compensation claims process works.

 

How long does a Virginia workers’ compensation case take?

It depends on the injury and how hard the carrier fights it. A straightforward claim where liability is accepted and the injury stabilizes within six months can settle in under a year. A catastrophic injury case – spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation – may take several years to resolve correctly.

 

The reason is not delay. It is valuation. The full value of a permanent injury cannot be established until the medical picture is clear and future care costs can be projected with reasonable accuracy. Life expectancy assumptions, present-value discount rates, the cost of home healthcare versus facility care – these numbers are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in a serious case, and they take time to develop correctly.

 

The attorneys who settle catastrophic cases quickly are not doing their clients a favor. They are settling before the claim is worth what it will eventually be. I would rather take the time to value your case correctly than close it fast at a number that leaves you short for the rest of your life.

 

How do you charge for your services?

Contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless I recover benefits or a settlement for you. In workers’ compensation cases, attorney’s fees are subject to approval by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the approved rate is generally 20% of benefits awarded.

 

I evaluate whether my fee request is appropriate to the client’s situation. In one catastrophic case involving a permanently paralyzed client who would need every dollar recovered for decades of care, I reduced my fee from the contracted 20% to 16.5% and waived my fee entirely on the Medicare Set-Aside component. That is not standard practice in this field. I mention it because you should know how I think about the relationship between what I earn and what my client keeps.

 

What if I’ve already accepted a settlement – is it too late?

It depends on what you signed and when. In Virginia workers’ compensation, most settlements require Commission approval, and once approved they are generally final on the issues they cover. But there are exceptions: claims where approval was improperly obtained, settlements that did not address all available benefits, and situations where a third-party civil lawsuit was never pursued alongside the workers’ comp claim.

 

That last point matters more than most people realize. Workers’ compensation limits your recovery to wage replacement and medical benefits — it does not compensate pain and suffering, full lost wages, or loss of earning capacity. But if your injury involved a negligent third party – a defective piece of equipment, another contractor on a construction site, a negligent driver – you may have a separate civil lawsuit that your workers’ comp settlement did not close. If you settled your workers’ comp claim and no one ever told you this, call me. I cannot undo a properly approved settlement, but I can tell you whether anything was left on the table.

 

Why should I hire you instead of another workers’ compensation attorney?

 

Most workers’ compensation attorneys practice only from the claimant side. They know what to file and when to file it, but they have never been in the room where carriers make decisions about claims – because they have never worked defense. I have. I know how adjusters set reserves, how defense attorneys are instructed to handle specific injury types, and which arguments tend to actually move a carrier versus which ones they are trained to absorb without adjusting their offer.

 

Beyond that: I try cases. Not every attorney in this practice area does, and the carriers know which ones will and which ones eventually take what is offered. That reputation affects settlement offers before a single negotiation conversation begins. I also write and argue trial and appellate briefs. My firm handles every aspect of an occupational injury or disease case.

 

If you want to know whether another attorney would be a better fit for your specific case, call me. I will tell you honestly. I would rather you hire the right attorney than hire me for the wrong reasons.

 

Speak Directly With Corey Pollard

 

Call or text (804) 251-1620, or email corey@coreypollard.com. I respond personally to every inquiry, usually within a few hours during the business day.

 

Primary office: 10800 Midlothian Turnpike, Suite 242, Richmond, Virginia. Appointments also available at my Newport News office at 611 Industrial Park Drive, Suite D. I represent injured workers across Virginia – from the Tidewater region and Northern Virginia to the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Workers’ compensation cases are heard at regional Commission offices, and I am familiar with the deputy commissioners and procedural dynamics at each location.

 

Not ready to call? My complete guide to the Virginia workers’ compensation process walks you through every stage of a claim – from reporting a work injury through final resolution – with no form to fill out and no obligation. Read the guide: How Virginia Workers’ Compensation Works.