[1/2] A memorial is seen in the parking lot after a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. November 23, 2022.
A system meant to help workers get compensated for workplace injuries could make it difficult for the lawsuit to succeed.
But while many of those shootings occur in the workplace, employers are rarely held responsible.
That is in part because nearly all U.S. states, including Virginia, require employers to buy workers compensation insurance to pay workers for medical expenses and lost wages stemming from workplace injuries.
Workers' compensation is "a tough defense to overcome," said Jeffrey Harris, a Georgia-based plaintiffs' attorney who has handled numerous workplace injury cases.