Landau Injury Law

First, just like Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau, Life Care Planners have to read the medical records.  This is not easy.  Not only do some doctors have handwriting that would be impossible for an FBI expert to decipher, but in a traumatic brain injury case, spinal cord injury or paralysis claim, these records are often many hundreds of pages long !  And you cannot just “skim” or “speed read” them, because important information for the life care planner is often found in the details, the nurses’ notes and the abbreviations and test results.

The Life Care Planner uses a standard process to identify the recommendations, including those made by the treating physicians, regarding the medical equipment, services, and treatment required by the patient to promote good health, prevent deterioration and encourage independence. This is not simply a chart to provide minimal assistance, but a flow chart to prevent atrophy from disuse, deterioration and the patient from becoming decrepit.  Through this process the Life Care Planner also identifies the cost, frequency and purpose of the treatments, examinations, therapy modalities and equipment upkeep and replacement. Vendors assist to determine the yearly cost of the item, and a projected life expectancy is utilized to provide costs in today’s dollar amount. The Virginia Code has a Life Expectancy chart (found at Va. Code 8.01-419), and major insurance carriers likewise have charts showing expected duration of life at different given ages.  At ABRAMS LANDAU we will then bring in an economist to evaluate and give us a range of figures for the plan with cost of living variables.

Doug Landau does not believe in “cookie cutter” life care plans.  The Herndon Reston area injury lawyer has hired nurse case consultants and certified life care planners for long-term disability cases for customized review, assistance and testimony.  It is a significant expense, but without this important evidence, it is often impossible to present testimony as to future needs and costs of care.

Each life care plan is individualized to the client’s medical situation and may include; home care/facility care, projected therapeutic modalities, diagnostic testing, durable medical equipment (DME) wheelchair needs, wheelchair accessories and maintenance, orthopedic equipment needs, orthotics/prosthetics, aids for independent function, home furnishings and accessories, improvements to the home, safety equipment, drug and supply needs, future medical care, transportation, architectural complications, therapy, leisure or recreational equipment, and vocational/educational plan.  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. we know that clients with multiple orthopedic injuries, neurological losses, mental deficits and paralysis need more than just money for doctors’ visits, they need a wide range of services and products to ensure adequate protection of their health.

Life care plans can be developed by a variety of health care professionals.  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we will engage the services of experts with medical backgrounds, especially in the long term care of patients with permanent disability, brain injury, mental handicap, spinal cord injury and paralysis.

Registered nurses, legal nurse consultants and certified vocational counselors are the most common professionals who seek certification as life care planners.  Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau has had teams work up a Life Care Plan, and often, after the medical experts reach a consensus, he will hire an economics expert to calculate present value and income stream needs.  In other words, the treating health care providers records and input will be carefully studied.  Then, the certified life care planner will put together the information from the treating sources together with predicted needs, costs and frequencies.  The economics expert will then take these figures and extrapolate lifetime costs, present value and the income necessary to provide for these lifetime medical expenditures.  One of the reasons that trials in traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and permanent disability cases takes so long is that each of these experts must be qualified to the satisfaction of the court, then given an opportunity to explain the foundations for their work, and then and only then, can they give their opinions “to within a reasonable degree of certainty.”

A life care plan is an organized, researched plan that estimates an injured or disabled person’s lifelong future medical needs and the associated future costs of those medical needs. At ABRAMS, LANDAU, Ltd. we generally get a grid showing all of the things our client will need from the doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, therapists, etc.  Doug Landau has seen life care plans for brain injured clients that are 20 pages and even longer !  These are much more in depth than the typical doctor’s report or therapist’s plan.
The life care plan expert looks at the injuries, types of treatment in the past and the doctors’ future recommendations.  A life care plan reduces the potential for complications by identifying treatment recommendations to ensure quality of care. Effects of aging, unrelated health problems and impairment are taken into consideration as well as support systems in place.  Support systems can include family members who are trained/untrained caregivers, and whether there are necessary medical facilities nearby.  If transportation is needed, because the client cannot drive, then that cost is also factored in to the life care plan.  Durable medical goods (wheelchairs, canes, braces, grab bars, etc.), prescriptions and non-perscription medications can also be a part of the plan, as well as regular, periodic and even infrequent medical treatment, examination and equipment replacement needs.

At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we will engage the services of experts to put together a “Life Care Plan.”  This special report helps us to understand the future needs (and costs) of clients with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord paralysis and other catastrophic injuries and permanent disability.  In the next several posts, we will look at commonly asked questions about life care plans.  Because cases must be brought within the time limits set by law, the Courts often require expert testimony as to those things that will occur AFTER the Trial or Hearing is over.  A life care plan gives a Judge, jury or workers compensation commissioner concrete evidence concerning future medical needs and their anticipated costs.  See tomorrow’s post for more on this important evidence in serious injury cases…

When one thinks of filing appeal briefs, the image of piles of paper comes to mind.  However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is now moving towards electronic filings and documents.  Lauren Holtzman and I have received “electronic case filing” (”ECF”) training at the United States District  Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria.  With the new changes going into effect this month, we are learning along with everyone else who appears before this Federal Court which hears appeals from Virginia and the other courts located within its “circuit.”   Unlike the trial of this catastrophic brain injury and paralysis case, several judges will decide the appeal.  These specially trained and experienced appeals judges will not hear from live witnesses to this devastating car and cycle crash, nor would they learn from the live testimony of the various medical, economics and life care planning experts.  The judges of the Fourth Circuit will review the briefs of the parties and then decide whether to affirm the trial judge’s rulings, reverse or remand for further proceedings.

I can tell you this, it’s not because I like to read insurance policies !The reason I ask for copies of MY OWN CLIENT’S Insurance policies is so that I can see what coverage is available in case the driver who crashed into them has no insurance (or very low limits of liability coverage).  The insurance policies on other cars and vehicles in my client’s household are also important.  There may be additional insurance protection from a spouse, parent or other relative’s insurance.  In those cases where the Defendant driver has no car insurance, the insurance my clients and their families may have is critical.  It may enable my clients to get full or more complete compensation.  The insurance company pays the judgement and then can pursue the negligent defendant for their money in what is known as a “subrogation claim.”  So, that is why I ask to look at ALL the insurance policies to see what coverages may be available to help pay for what has been broken, repair what needs to be fixed and provide resources for healing and care.

Driving down to Fredericksburg, past the Courthouse where many serious injury cases have been won, Doug Landau could not help but notice the temperature rising to record levels.  Nevertheless, the Triathlon Trial Lawyer performs well in high heat and humidity.  He was confident, having won the Biathlon (Swim-Run) at the Spotsylvania YMCA 2 years ago.  And the Reston Herndon injury lawyer was excited to be biking on Route 1, Jefferson Davis Highway.  After a slow pool swim, Landau picked off competitors and arrived with a screeching transition for the run through the woods and bog.  Doug was able to finish first in the Masters category, second among the men and third overall. Landau noted that the 2 competitors ahead of him had a combined age of less than his 47 years !  He enjoyed biking past the Spotsylvania Circuit Court house, where he has tried personal injury and workers compensation cases over the last 25 years.  .More exciting than collecting his awards, Landau enjoyed helping 7-year-old “Racin’ Mason” Allen to race in her first triathlon.  This wonderful Fredericksburg girl had just had her first swim practice this week.  Her father, Edward Allen of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, purchased her pink bicycle the day before the race !  Mason swam with a smile, and finished in style.  

No.  Not necessarily.  The manager on duty may simply be offering to pay you out of the store’s “MedPay” insurance, which pays regardless of fault.  It is usually limited in amount ($500, $1,000 or even $5,000). Premises Liability MedPay checks are not an indication of fault or negligence.  They do not prove anything, and would not normally come into evidence at trial.  They are great “P.R.” for the store, and stave off many potential lawsuits.  There are cases where the insurance company paid $50,000 in medpay benefits but denied liability (or fault) for causing the accident.  So, if you are injured in an accident, and you receive money from a medpay policy, do not be duped into believing that the insurance company has accepted full responsibility or is admitting fault for purposes of a lawsuit.  It is simply insurance coverage for medical bills, for injuries incurred on the premises, generally limited to those arising within the first year, up to the modest limit purchased by the property owner or operator.  There is usually no requirement that a landlord or owner have this coverage, nor is there a rule requiring a minimum amount.  

Injured clients ask why there are microphones at comp hearings.  The rooms are generally small, and everyone can hear each other just fine.  The mikes are not to amplify the voices.  Rather, the microphones are for recording the trial so that if later one party or the other wants to appeal, they can have a transcript typed up so that the Commission (and perhaps the VIrginia Court of Appeals or even the Supreme Court of Virginia) can see what everybody said on the record.  There are no “live” court reporters at Virginia comp hearings, like there are at jury trials Doug Landau has presented.  However, recent cases involving fractured legs, arms, hands, concussions and brain injury that we have won for injured workers have been appealed, and that means that the Full Commission must have the tape recorded proceedings typed up and each side must pay for a copy.   Shown here is a witness about to testify in front of the microphone at a Virginia Workers Compensation Commission hearing that arose as the result of a traffic accident fatality in Fairfax County.