What happened: A Tennessee court denied workers' comp benefits to a worker who filed twice in Virginia before trying to switch states
Who's involved: Pollard Management (employer), Builders Insurance Company (carrier)
What's at stake: Medical and temporary disability benefits for an April 2025 back injury requiring surgery
Why it matters: The ruling reinforces that early filing choices in multi-state claims can permanently lock in jurisdiction
Where it stands: Expedited hearing order issued September 30, 2026; status hearing set for November 30, 2026
An injured worker filed twice in Virginia, claimed heavy sedation made him do it, then tried Tennessee. Builders Insurance was not having it.
A Tennessee workers' compensation judge has denied the worker's bid for benefits, ruling he locked in Virginia as his forum when he filed there twice before ever trying Tennessee. The expedited hearing order, issued September 30, 2026, came down to one question: did the worker choose Virginia? The court said he did.
The worker, a Virginia resident employed by Tennessee-based Pollard Management, alleged he hurt his back stepping off a walk board at a Virginia jobsite on April 1, 2025. He went to hospital that night but told his employer only that he had thrown out his back - not that it happened at work.
Six days later, doctors said he needed surgery. That same day - still before telling Pollard the injury was work-related - he filed with the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. Surgery followed on April 8. In a recorded statement the next day, he told the Builders Insurance adjuster his back had been "messing with him" and confirmed he intended to file in Virginia.
Then he filed there again. On April 26 he submitted a second Virginia claim for continuing benefits.
The pivot came after Pollard denied the Virginia claim, citing late reporting and inconsistent accounts. Only then did the worker hire Tennessee counsel, who asked Virginia to withdraw the case - arguing his client was under heavy sedation when he first filed - and simultaneously lodged a Tennessee petition. Virginia dismissed without prejudice.
At the September 21 expedited hearing, the worker pressed the sedation argument himself, his Tennessee attorney having since withdrawn. The court was unpersuaded. The first filing contained all the correct information, the judge noted. More to the point, the worker confirmed his choice to the adjuster and refiled in Virginia on April 26 - well after any sedation.
Applying the election-of-remedies doctrine, the court held that a worker who actively pursues a claim in a state with jurisdiction is barred from later filing in Tennessee.
The order is interlocutory. A status hearing is set for November 30, 2026, and the appeal window is open.
For multi-state claims teams, the takeaway is practical: an early filing choice - even one a claimant regrets - can lock in jurisdiction permanently.
The ruling is an expedited hearing order, not a final compensation order, and may be appealed.
