Landau Injury Law

The plaintiff, a college student, alleged that the tractor-trailer driver violated federal motor carrier safety rules by failing to take the required off-duty time after working a 24-hour shift as a county firefighter.  The case is Lymon v. Bohn.  The 19 year old (college student) was driving through an intersection and was struck by a Transport truck driver. Her injuries included brain damage that resulted in a minor speech disorder, bowel and bladder incontinence, cognitive defects, a single fracture, and seizures. The injured plaintiff now requires speech and physical therapy, 24 – hour care for the remainder of her life, and is unable to work. The college student and her mother sued the driver as well as his company.

The plaintiff’s mother alleged that the trucking company did not provide any training in safety or defensive driving and did not properly enforce safety rules pertaining to hours and rest periods. The plaintiff alleged that the truck driver began his shift without properly preparing in taking the mandatory 10 hours of off – duty time after working a 24 – hour shift as a battalion chief at the county firehouse. The defendants proposed that even though the truck driver had been off duty at the fire station, no fire emergencies took place therefore he received the proper amount of rest, ruling out fatigue as a factor in the crash. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and the defendants have appealed this ruling.

Doug Landau has tried cases involving drivers who drove more than the allowable number of hours without the proper rest periods or breaks.  There are even jury instructions for how many hours a motorist is allowed to drive at one time.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a car, truck or bike crash with an exhausted, unsafe or impaired truck driver, e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Center Street, looking up at W&OD Trail bridge, Herndon Fortnightly Library (drawing by Urban Design Associates)

Herndon lawyer Doug Landau took part in the Charette commissioned by the Town of Herndon in 2000. At that time, the consultants from California told the Town Council to the surprise of no one (and the amusement of those in attendance) that, “Herndon does not have a “slow growth policy; it has a no growth policy.” Other than the Nachman Genreal Store rehabilitation, there had been NO NEW CONSTRUCTION in the Herndon Downtown Historic District since the last Charette in 1990. While there have been several new buildings constructed since, Herndon lawyer Doug Landau and other downtown business owners are a bit sanguine about the Town’s plans to actually do anything significant this time around to help existing business owners and move the Town forward on such issues as permanent performance space for the Industrial Strength Theater, a hotel on Eldon Street, parking, a bike shop on Lynn Street to capitalize on the W&OD Trail, bathrooms in the caboose, etc.

Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau inspects drawings of plans for Herndon's new and vibrant downtown

Doug Landau and other from ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., went and viewed the drawings and plans for the Town of Herndon Downtown Master Plan. Urban Design Associates’ personnel have done a wonderful job. Their drawings, computer models and meetings with local citizens, business owners and workers has captured important data about where the Town of Herndon is today and where people would like to see it in the future. The Town of Herndon has once again brought in these consultants and experts in order to see what can be done to make the best use of space, population density, existing businesses and needs of the community. As to whether the Town Council has the courage to spend the money to actually take action on the town’s consultants’ recommendations remains to be seen.  There is a Community Meeting tonight at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers, 765 Lynn Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170 to discuss Community Development and draft plans for downtown Herndon.  For more information, call (703)-787-7380.

ABRAMS LANDAU received its first shipment of Doug Landau’s new book, “Ten Mistakes That Can Derail Your Bicycle Injury Case.”  Drawing upon over 25 years’ experience helping injured cyclists, disabled riders and their families, Herndon and Reston bike crash lawyer Landau compiled a book that cyclists have been requesting online since this summer’s court cases in Loudoun County.

In addition to common sense tips and actual cases, Landau provides extensive forms, explanations and details that many so-called personal injury lawyers neglect to share with their clients.  The easy to read book talks about defective bicycle products, car crashes, cyclists attacked by dogs and head injuries.  There are pictures of cracked helmets from Landau’s head and brain injury cases, as well as discussion of the investigation of these sports injury cases.  The Landau Law Shop is regularly contacted by injured bikers, and this new book is also intended to be a helpful resource for those cases and injured cyclists that we cannot help.  If you or someone you know would like to get a copy, please e-mail ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. or call (703)796-9555.

Virginia bike and car crash lawyer Doug Landau getting a "jump on his day" at the Herndon Community Center

There have been posts about Herndon disability, car crash and dog bite lawyer Doug Landau doing good things in Court. However, in addition to volunteering his time and donating time, money, clothing, books and other items to charity, Herndon lawyer Landau tries to do other “good deeds” each day. Today was no exception. On his way to work, Landau was asked by a stranded mother and her several small children if he could get her car started. Landau usually carries first aid kits, extra clothes, blankets and jumper cables in his infamous bright yellow xTerra. The Herndon car crash and motorcycle accident attorney was able to eventually get this woman and her kids on their way, and unblock other vehicles trapped near the Herndon Community Center after rush hour. While lawyer Landau feels more “at home” in Court or on the race course, when he can help someone in need, he tries to do so, and make someone’s day a little better.

W&OD Trail in Herndon, Virginia

Two trucks and a motorcycle narrowly missed hitting cyclists near the Herndon Post Office and lumber yard because the drivers were distracted by the construction vehicles and signs.  While the speed limit is only 25 mph in the vicinity of the 7-11 and the W&OD Trail, cars and trucks coming from Eldon Street are confronted with signs on both sides of the street, a new light configuration and heavy construction equipment at the lumber yard building project.  Small bikes and riders coming from Reston are not easily seen as they head West.  And, with the noise, dust and confusion, motorists are surprised when a cyclist comes across their path.  If you are riding or training on your bike in the area of the W&OD Trail, be careful.  Distracted cars, trucks and motorcyclists are confronted by new traffic patterns, vehicles turning into the Post Office and out of the 7-11 gas station and bank.  It is a busy and dangerous area next to the trail used by bikers, joggers, walkers, roller bladers and skate boarders.  If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident on or near the W&OD Trail, e-mail or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.

Trial Lawyers Doug Landau & Greg Harbison after the Richmond races

While anyone who knows Doug Landau knows that this Herndon, Chantilly and Centreville injury lawyer finds races all over the country (and the world) when he travels for cases and to meet clients, there are also other Virginia Trial Lawyers who run, and run well !  At this past weekend’s Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon and HCA 8km (5 miler), a number of Herndon injury lawyer Landau’s VTLA friends were competing.  In the HCA 8km race, Richmond lawyer Dan Lynch posted a strong time as did Virginia Beach’s Kevin Martingayle.  Both TriathlonTrialLawyer Landau and Martingayle finished in the top 100, ad both won age group awards.  In the longer events, Richmond trial lawyer Greg Harbison (shown with Landau after they returned to the VTLA Advanced Workers Compensation program) finished the half marathon.  In what is billed as “America’s friendliest Marathon,” the Allen firm’s Chris Meyer paced other participants in the full SunTrust Richmond marathon.  For full results, go to the Richmond SportsBackers site.

Lawyers who do NOT represent insurance companies and who devote a substantial amount of their time, effort and resources toward helping injured workers and their families met again today in Richmond at the “VTLA Advanced Workers Compensation Retreat.” Doug Landau has remarked, “I always learn about unreported cases, strategies and new ways of helping disabled workers who come to me for help. It is one of the best Continuing Legal Education programs of the year. And the learning does not stop outside of the lecture hall – I sometimes learn more in between and after the official presentations by bouncing ideas off of other attendees from all over the Commonwealth as well as the speakers, judges and medical professionals who are in attendance”

By invitation only, this event is attended by trial lawyers who represent injured workers and their families. Attendees cannot represent insurance companies and there were only three dozen experienced attorneys from all over the Commonwealth who gathered to learn from noted speakers from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission as well as the legal and medical professions. Shown here are a quarter of the group out for supper in Richmond’s West End.

Herndon work injury lawyer Doug Landau and Deputy Commissioner Courtney Mercer

While Herndon job injury lawyer Doug Landau advises clients that settling comp claims take time and effort, there are still many questions about the settlements of workers compensation cases.  The Virginia Code provides (65.2-701) that compromise settlements of workplace accident, occupational disease or job fatality cases, “may be approved only when the Commission…is clearly of the opinion that the best interests of the employee or his dependents will be served thereby.”  Rule 1.7 sets forth the requirements for a compromise settlement package.  Unlike the resolution of a car crash or dog attack case, a workers comp case requires a number of documents (and signatures !).

The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission does not approve every single settlement that is submitted to it.  The VWCC is not a “rubber stamp” and settlement documents are carefully reviewed.  Deputy Commissioner Courtney Mercer manages the Compromise Settlement Department, with a claims examiner who supervises the department and who is assisted by a claims technician and two senior judicial secretaries.  Deputy Commissioner Mercer, shown here with workplace accident and fatality lawyer Doug Landau, shared his thoughts with a select group of injured workers’ attorneys today in Richmond.  If you or someone you know, has questions about their workers compensation case or settlement, please contact ABRAMS LANDAU or call us today.

Loudoun Fairfax construction accident lawyer Doug Landau is often asked about safety violations on the work site.  If the employer is in violation of safety standards, are they automatically found liable for the disabled worker’s injuries ?  And if the injured employee is found to be in violation of a safety rule, can they still collect workers comp benefits ?

Unfortunately, it is not good for the injured worker in Virginia.  Even if the employer is found to be in violation of a safety statute or fined by OSHA, that does not mean that the employee automatically gets their workers compensation benefits.  The ABRAMS LANDAU injury trial team has won cases where the employers were found guilty of homicide in criminal court, and Virginia law still did not allow them to be sued for negligence !  So, the employer’s negligence or recklessness is not reviewed by the workers compensation judges.

However, the employee’s failure to follow a known and enforced safety rule, can and will preclude an award of workers compensation benefits. In one case that Loudoun Fairfax and Leesburg construction injury lawyer Doug Landau won, the employee had “unhooked” his safety belt right before he slipped and fell from a roof, fracturing both ankles.  The employer’s insurance company lawyers alleged “wilfull violation of a safety rule,” and comp benefits were denied.  Landau won the case by showing that ALL the employees, and the supervisors all “unhooked” in order to put the top pieces of roofing in place.  Furthermore, the injured worker had never been disciplined for this practice, written up or docked pay, so it was not an “enforced rule.”  If you or someone you know has been injured in a construction site accident or other workplace accident, e-mail ABRAMS LANDAU or call (703-796-9555) today.  Just because the insurance company denies the claim, does not mean that the case cannot be won in court.

Depositions are where lawyers ask witnesses or parties to a lawsuit questions, under oath, for use in pre-trial discovery or for later use at trial. They are important to get the injured plaintiff’s story, so they cannot change it later, or make the negligent defendant driver explain why he did not follow the rules and the harm his actions caused.

While many of the television lawyer shows and movies have depositions, few portray “video depositions.” Doug Landau and the ABRAMS LANDAU trial team make frequent use of videotaped depositions. While these “examinations before trial” (called “EBTs” in New York) are under oath and can be used later in court to impeach a witness, Landau finds that by taking the extra time, effort and money to have them videotaped results in more effective advocacy for his clients.

By investing in the cases early, experienced Herndon injury lawyer Landau has found that he avoids the problems that so many other so-called “personal injury specialists” seem to run into. If a witness disappears or becomes unavailable for trial, instead of simply reading the deposition to the jury, which is boring, ineffective and soon forgotten, Landau likes to play portions of the video that have “preserved” the witness’s testimony. If an dog bite, burn victim or bike crash plaintiff’s treating doctor cannot come to court, then videotaping her deposition can save the physician’s time, the client’s money and help the judge and jury with scheduling the trial (because you know exactly how long the tape is so it can be fit in without inconveniencing anyone !).

Most plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers do not videotape depositions because they: are afraid of how they sound on any recorded medium; are not well enough prepared to risk looking foolish when the tape is played back; do not want their own clients or their families to see how poorly they conduct discovery, and/or they are too cheap to do so. At ABRAMS LANDAU, ltd., we routinely videotape depositions all over the country. Shown here is the video operator (not the court stenographer, who makes the official written recordation of the proceedings and later types them up in a transcript) from a video deposition Mr. Landau conducted of a Miami International Airport employee in Florida for a case pending in the Alexandria Circuit Court. This way, Mr. Landau was able to bring the witness to court via videotape for the judge and jury to “see” as well as “hear.” As Sportscaster Warner Wolf used to say, “Let’s go to the videotape !”