Adapted from Virginia Employment Law Letter, written by attorneys at the law firm LeClair Ryan

An employee starts a fight on the job, gets injured, and files for workers' comp benefits. Outrageous, you say! But what if fighting is part of his job and his boss told him to do it? Welcome to the wild world of professional hockey.

Face-off Time

Ty Jones played hockey for the Norfolk Admirals. Any fan of the sport knows about "enforcers," who are responsible for taking the fight to the opposing team, and Jones was an enforcer.

On March 29, 2002, his coach ordered him to instigate a fight against an aggressive opponent, and he did so. In the fight, he suffered an injury that required extensive medical treatment, including the surgical insertion of six screws, and seven months of rehabilitation.

Workers' comp is intended to cover an injury by accident that arises out of and in the course of employment. The lawyer for the employer's insurance company argued that Jones intended to get into the fight and that because intentional actions aren't accidental, they can't be compensated under the statute.

The employer also argued that the enforcer's instigation of the fight was willful misconduct, which bars compensation. (Do you get the sense that when an insurance company's lawyer is arguing for the employer, it may not really be the employer's view that gets expressed?)

The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission concluded that fighting is an integral part of hockey and that Jones was performing a task that he was hired to perform when he was injured. The evidence was that he was doing just what he was paid to do and that his coach had directed him to "go get" the opponent. The commission awarded benefits to him, and the Virginia Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision. Norfolk Admirals and Federal Ins. Co. v. Ty A. Jones, No. 0050054 (Virginia Ct. App.).

Bottom Line

OK, so you don't coach a hockey team, and you'd never tell an employee to pick a fight with someone. At least this case shows us that workers' comp can work in ways we never imagined.

Copyright © 2006 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. This article is an excerpt from VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER. Virginia Employment Law Letter is a monthly publication provided as an educational service only to assist lay persons in recognizing potential problems in their labor and employment matters. It is not meant to be construed as legal advice. Readers in need of legal assistance should retain the services of competent counsel.