The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently ruled on a case in which the workers’ compensation commission originally denied a worker benefits after he was stabbed at work by a former co-worker. The Court acknowledged that his claim might still prevail if he was able to show that his injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment and said the Commission had failed to consider all the possibilities in their decision.

George King worked for DTH Contract Services as an overnight attendant at a rest area, he was the only employee overnight. He was stabbed in the face by a former co-worker and blinded as a result. The co-worker committed suicide that day so his motives for the stabbing were never revealed. King sought workers’ compensation benefits which were denied by a Workers’ Compensation Commission. They reasoned that since he knew the assailant the attack was not random and since the motive was unknown, he had failed to prove that his injury arose out of a risk of employment.

He appealed, saying the assault and his subsequent injuries did arise out of his employment. He was required to lock himself in the office when not cleaning or making his rounds to check out the rest area, and he was stabbed when he was returning to the office after making a check. He claimed his employment placed him at greater risk of assault than the general public, something that he argued the Commission did not consider. He claimed that a person may suffer a random attack from someone they know, and a random attack is compensable if the employment generates a risk of assault to the worker and there is no evidence that suggests the attack was personally motivated. The Court of Appeals reversed the Commission’s denial and remanded it to them to consider his argument that his job placed him at greater risk.

Read the case here.