The employee is entitled to hire an attorney to represent his worker’s compensation cases. Our firm strongly suggests every claimant have qualified Virginia legal Workers Compensation counsel. The Guidelines from the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Commission directly address the role of the employee’s attorney as follows:
The employee’s lawyer is allowed to be at the first meeting between the employee and the vocational rehabilitation counselor. The lawyer cannot delay the meeting for more than two weeks. The employee’s lawyer also cannot restrict contact between the employee and the vocational rehabilitation counselor.
The employee/worker can consult with his lawyer at any time. “Actions of the attorney will be imputed to the employee for the purposes of considering whether the employee is cooperating.”
Our firm will review the relationship and requirements between the employee and the vocational rehabilitation counselor before the first meeting. We also encourage our clients to keep in constant contact with us, especially if any problems arise such as inability to meet with the counselor or a potential employer. We often attend the first meetings with the counselor and make sure that the VCR knows that we are watching them and that shenanigans will not be tolerated.
