Supreme Court Clarifies Standard to Determine if Worker Suffered Injury by Accident

The Virginia Supreme Court clarified that a worker cannot suffer a compensable injury to her shoulder unless she has a structural or mechanical change to her body. Case: Alexandria City Public Schools v. Handel, No. 190957, 10/15/2020, published. Facts: Kerri Handel worked as a math teacher at T.C. Williams High School. She slipped on a puddle on her classroom floor and fell on to her right side. Handel consulted an orthopedist within a week of the fall, complaining of shoulder pain. The orthopedist opined that Handel’s shoulder pain was nerve-related, and he referred her to another o...