City of Norfolk v. Lassiter

The sole question on appeal is whether the Industrial Commission erred in assessing an attorney’s fee against an employer, pursuant to Code § 65.1-101.1

Arnold R. Lassiter, a Norfolk fire fighter, sustained a back injury on November 1, 1982, after returning from the scene of a fire. He and his deputy fire chief promptly filed reports which stated that Lassiter had felt a sharp pain in the lower back while stepping down from the cab of the fire truck to the running board. An agent for the employer’s Safety Officer testified that Lassiter told him, on January 17, 1983, that he had experienced…