Landau Injury Law

This Thanksgiving holiday, we at Abrams Landau, Ltd. are thankful to be able to help our clients from all over the world.

The smiles, thanks and hugs make it all worth while.

We hope that every one of our clients has a happy Thanksgiving holiday, and that each one of us takes a moment to consider what we are thankful for in our lives.

One thing about Herndon Reston area disability lawyer Doug Landau - he is inquisitive ! He is always curious to see the places and meet the people that the ABRAMS LANDAU law firm interacts with on a regular basis. Doug goes to Courts, insurance companies, opposing law firms, and hospitals in order to better understand what his clients are confronted with after becoming disabled.

Seeing that the NOSSCR Main Office is located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Doug made it his business to meet with Nancy Shor, the Executive Director and Barbara Silverstone, Staff Attorney. NOSSCR also has a Government Affairs Office, located at: 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 709, Washington, DC 20036, where Ethel Zelenske is the Director.

ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. helps disabled workers referred by NOSSCR, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, by investigating their claims, filing their paperwork and presenting their cases to the Administrative Law Judges.  Doug Landau has been on the NOSSCR Referral panel for several years, representing disabled people before the Federal Social Security Administration.  When ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. wins a Social Security case on referral from NOSSCR, we send a portion of the fee to NOSSCR so that they can continue to do the excellent work on behalf of people who are no longer able to work.  NOSSCR also lobbies in favor of laws to help Social Security claimants, and the people who are trying to help them, as they often have no other “voice” in the halls of Congress.

Established in 1979, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (”NOSSCR“) is an association of over 3,900 attorneys and other advocates “representatives”) who represent Social Security and Supplemental Security Income claimants. Members are committed to providing high quality representation for claimants, to maintaining a system of full and fair adjudication for every claimant, and to advocating for beneficial change in the disability determination and adjudication process.

Doug Landau had the opportunity to meet with Deputy Commissioner Tabb a fortnight ago in Richmond. Judge Tabb hears cases throughout the Commonwealth, and has issued opinions in ABRAMS LANDAU clients’ cases in Manassas, Fairfax and Stafford. At the Advanced Workers Comp Retreat, Deputy Commissioner Tabb, of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission advised claimant’s lawyers:

Marketing is NOT a defense; it’s part of the proof necessary for the claim. Defense counsel does not have to raise it.

That is why the staff at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. educates clients as to the requirements for marketing under the Workers Compensation Act and then tries to follow up and make sure that accurate, written records are kept of the injured worker’s daily marketing efforts. Any lapse in this effort by an injured worker who has been released to light duty, part-time or restricted work, can be fatal to the claim. It is one of the reasons the Herndon Reston injury and disability law firm files Supplemental Marketing information in answer to the Employer and Insurance Company Interrogatories and Requests for Production. If such information and documents are not sent as a timely response to Discovery, but appear for the first time at or just before the Hearing, they can be excluded and the case denied all or in part. In a much longer post, Dianna Meredith will share the Commission’s new Guidelines for what constitutes “reasonable Marketing efforts.”

Doug Landau had heard that Richmond attorney Roger Williams had been confirmed as a Commissioner of the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (”VWCC”), but he had not seen him since this confirmation.  The three Full Commissioners sit and decide “Reviews,” which are the appeals from a Deputy Commissioner’s Hearing opinion.  In other words, the Full Commission decides whether the trial court (the Deputy Commissioner’s evidentiary Hearing) made a mistake as to the law or procedure.  They are the first appeal of a Virginia Workers Compensation claim.  They do not accept new evidence, there is no further testimony, and they rarely allow oral argument.  The good news is that appeals (”requests for Review”) to the Full Commission do not require any special filing fees and the decisions are returned, in writing, relatively quickly.

Like Commissioner Dudley, Commissioner Williams had been an insurance defense lawyer before his elevation to the VWC.  The third member of the triumvirate is Commissioner Virginia Diamond, who is ostensibly the “labor representative” of the trio.  While Herndon Reston area injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau had tried cases against Roger Williams and his partners at Williams & Lynch, he is optimistic that the latest addition will be fair-minded and objective in his decision making.  Here is Doug Landau visiting Commissioner Williams’ chambers at the Richmond Headquarters of the VWCC.

An ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., client was a guest at one of the hotels in the Colonial Williamsburg area.
He went into bathroom in his hotel room and turned on the heatlamp.  This was the original unit that was installed in the hotel in 1983.  He sat down on the toilet.  The hotel heat lamp heated to a critical point, broke and began to drip molten plastic and metal fragments onto his back.  These heated elements ignited his shirt and he was immediately engulfed in flames. The flames and smoke set off the room’s smoke alarm system.  Mr. Landau’s client sustained 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 15-20% of his body.  He was treated at the local Hospital and later with the Director of the Burn Center and other surgeons. His injuries, scarring and sun sensitivity are permanent.  While he missed little time from work at a major law firm, his medical bills were $25,000 in this premises liability claim.

One of the interesting aspects of his negligence case was the fact that the skin on his back could not be exposed to the sun due to the ease with which it would burn.  Scar tissue reacts differently than normal, healthy tissue.  One piece of evidence submitted by Herndon Reston area injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau on behalf of this client was the costs of SPF clothing.  One company that supplies such specialized sun protective clothing is “Sun Precautions“.  Their Solumbra line, at 30+ SPF, is considered a medical device.  The American Academy of Dermatology has recognized this company for their work in skin cancer prevention.  If you, or someone you know, has skin sensitivity or needs extra sun protection due to an accident, injury or disease, check out the Solumbra line, which blocks more than 97% of UVA and UVB.

If you had acne in the 90’s, you may be familiar with a drug called Accutane. While the drug had a warning label that noted it is “associated with” chronic bowel problems, the Plaintiff’s argued that Roche (the company which manufactures Accutane) did not accurately warn users of the risk of Chronic Bowel Disorder. Roch was ordered to pay $13 million to the three Plaintiffs.

Three patients claimed they developed a chronic bowel disorder as a result of using this drug: one will have to have his colon surgically removed and the other two will require long-term drug therapy.

The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (”VWCC”) has been pouring major resources into its electronic filing initiative and eliminating the Ombudsman’s Office.  There is now a “Customer Assistance Department,” and training underway for personnel in Alternative Dispute Resolution (”ADR”).  Doug Landau visited this new department in November on order to familiarize himself with the new lineup and procedures.  While most lawyers simply play “catch up” and read about the changes that significantly affect their clients’ rights, at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. we actually go and see the changes afoot and meet with those charged with implementing the Commission’s new policies.

At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we are often asked how long an injured victim has to bring their car crash or bike crash lawsuit. Most personal injury cases in Virginia have a 2 year time limit. Wrongful death and intentional tort cases may have a shorter time limit (”statute of limitations” - after which the case may forever be “time barred”).

Children may have a longer time to file their cases, since they are considered “incompetent” to bring a legal action. They generally get until their 18th birthday before the time begins to run on their claim. Others deemed “incompetent” may have a longer time period, as may those who sustain a severe brain injury, latent injury or one not susceptible to “discovery” until many years later. An example of this would be asbestos disease, like mesothelioma or asbestosis. Norman Landau tried many of these cases decades after the last injurious exposure to this toxic substance. It is important to examine the specific time limit with a competent lawyer in the jurisdiction where the claim is to be brought to determine the correct “Statute of Limitations.”

As clients of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. know, there are potentially 5 steps to a Social Security Disability (”SSDI”) claim after the Initial Application.  While most people get a “rejection” letter at the first and second stages, it is at the third stage where Herndon Reston area disability and injury lawyer Doug Landau finds client have the greatest chance of getting the funds that were taken out of their pay checks for many years by the Federal Government.  While Landau has successfully represented claimants in the Federal Courts, the third stage, where the case is presented to a live, Administrative Law Judge, is where they seem to get their best opportunity to present their case.  The five steps of appeal after the Initial Application (www.ssa.gov/disability/appeals) are:

1. Reconsideration,
2. ALJ Hearing,
3. Appeals Council Review,
4. Appeal to the Federal District Court,
5. Appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals