County of Chesterfield v. Calvin L. Johnson

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the Court of Appeals and entered final judgment for the employer, holding that Calvin Johnson's knee injury did not 'arise out of' his employment under the Worker's Compensation Act. The court reaffirmed that 'arising out of' and 'in the course of' are separate and distinct requirements — the former concerns the origin or cause of the injury, the latter the time, place, and circumstances — and that being on the employer's mission and being injured at work satisfy only the 'in the course of' prong. Because Johnson was hurt by the mere act of turning on an undefective, well-lighted stair, with nothing in the work environment contributing to his injury, he failed the 'actual risk' test Virginia applies, which requires a causal connection between the injury and the conditions under which the employer requires the work to be performed.