Landau Injury Law

Ever the “Road Warrior,” Doug Landau, together with Appellate Counsel Roger Creager, filed an appeal in the Federal Circuit Court in Richmond. The “traveling trial lawyer” is bringing this appeal on behalf of a brain injured motorcycle rider. The innocent plaintiff sustained shattered bones, traumatic brain injury (”TBI”) and was in a comatose state at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. The cyclist’s treatment was transferred to a European facility, where she emerged from her coma and now can talk and walk with assistance. The driver of the motorcycle, however, is unable to communicate due to the severity of the damage to his brain. While the District Court in Alexandria recognized the profound permanent orthopedic and brain injuries sustained by the two cyclists, a ruling letting the Defendant driver’s employer out of the case, despite his being “in the course and scope of his work” at the time of the car vs. bike crash, is being appealed

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals from the Federal District Courts from several states. The only court above the Federal Circuit Courts is the United States Supreme Court. Doug Landau is a member of the Circuit Courts covering the East Coast, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. This means he is not only able to try cases in the Federal District Courts, but also pursue appeals in the Circuit Courts.

A client who has been disabled for over 2 years with a head injury came, with his wife, to court yesterday in order to observe Mr. Landau “in action.” Many lawyers have to advertise in order to get new clients, and many pretend that they go to court and try cases. Not ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.

Because we help a select group of permanently injured clients and those with long term disabilities, we can take the time to “walk the walk” WITH THEM. Doug Landau introduced this family to several of the judges and bailiffs, showed them all of the courtrooms where their case may take place, and let them ask questions of the client whose trial they had just observed. We know of no other lawyer or law firm that does all of these things for their injured and disabled clients and their families.

This Reston, Virginia family saw, firsthand, Mr. Landau’s “Court Credibility.” Doug Landau met with them and the client whose case was to be tried in Fairfax in the conference room. The Herndon Reston area injury lawyer then got everyone back together after the case was over. And, in order to help this disabled head injury victim better understand what was going on in his own case, Landau made copies from the government’s OFFICIAL file on the case then and there for him to take home and read over and put in his own file. This injured worker had never seen such important documents as: the official mandatory “FIRST REPORT OF ACCIDENT,” the audit report (showing an underpayment), and the “Attending Physicians Report.” Mr. Landau was also able to point out the items that were missing and that needed to be filed in order to fully protect his rights.

“Court Cred” means that you can talk about going to court AND actually do it. Come see us “in action” soon. Other lawyers from other firms do in order to learn from our successes. Call today, as Mr. Landau’s Court calendar and teaching schedule is an “open book”

The Workers’ Compensation Act (§ 65.2-603) provides that, if medically necessary, the employer may be required to furnish durable medical equipment and modification of the employee’s home for handicap accessibility up to $25,000.

A former employee of DRS-DDS (the Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Department of Disability Services) sustained an injury to her lumbar spine. This injury to her back caused her to lose the use of her legs. Doug Landau won her case in Court and she has been receiving disability checks. She was finally provided pull bars for the bathrooms in her home, a lift chair, a power wheelchair, portable ramps for handicap accessibility to her home and vehicle and there is a pending Order from the Commission for a hydraulic wheelchair lift for her SUV after a decade of litigation in her comp claim. The letter to the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission indicating the benefits Mr. Landau won for this client most recently is attached.

In another case being handled by the Herndon Reston area injury firm of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., the Workers Compensaion Insurance Company paid for home modifications for a young man residing with his mother in Orange County, VA. This client had sustained a traumatic brain injury and multiple broken bones as the result of a fall from a bridge construction project in Fauquier County. As the result of Doug Landau and Dianna Meredith’s unremitting efforts over the last 14 years, the insurance company paid a contractor to widen the doorways, install an entrance ramp, shower chair, handrails for the shower and commode, handicap commode, and a handicap accessible shower stall.

Although the plaintiff walked away from a fender-bender automobile accident with relatively minor injuries and no apparent head trauma, his family knew in the months following the crash that something was wrong. When the family’s attorneys took what they thought was a relatively simple case and started talking to doctors, they discovered the matter was more complicated: They would have to show that David suffered brain trauma even though it was a minor collision with no loss of consciousness or direct head injuries. Relying on the family’s truthfulness, the attorneys were able to (more…)

Having grown up riding a bike, commuting to school and jobs on 2-wheels and racing in bike road races and time trials, I have seen some of the very best (and worst) of cycling. While most riders observe safety and common sense precautions, other riders and members of the peloton seem to want to increase their chances for crashing, broken bones and brain injury. My “Top 10″ list of things to do if you WANT to crash your bike and break some bones includes:

1. Talk on your cell phone, preferably with one or both hands off the handlebars. I rarely ride without my right hand firmly on the bar; I don’t know how to ride with “no hands.”

2. Eliminate your ability to hear people passing or shouting warnings by being completely “tuned out” via (more…)

More than half of all fall-related deaths by the elderly are caused by brain injuries.  .This is according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (”CDC”) in a first-of-its-kind study.  According to the CDC investigation, the severity of brain injuries resulting from falls may not be patently obvious, even to healthcare professionals..In other words, there may not be bleeding, swelling of the skull, bruising or other indicia of brain trauma or injury according to Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau, shown here with his membership certificate, demonstrating his over 25 years of commitment to PUBLIC JUSTICE, from this public interest law firm’s very inception..Data for the study were gathered from records of 16,000 deaths in which unintentional falls were determined to be an underlying cause of death.  For the rest of the article, see Mike Stobbe’s 6/24/08 piece in The Washington Post.

A 21-year-old college student who dreamed of becoming a teacher was in an  accident with the Defendants’ truck.  She claimed $2,400,000 in medical expenses and lost wages as well as traumatic brain injury. But pictures on her MySpace page showing her at parties after the accident told a different story to the jury.  Her MySpace page told of her partying, dancing, going to school and applying for jobs.  Defense counsel simply did some Internet investigation and found valuable evidence on this younger litigant from the “confetti generation.”   The general view of the defense bar is that once you put this information out on the Web, you are disseminating it for public viewing (AND use in court).  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we have used the Internet to do our own investigation on a Defendant, and have seen shocking examples of Defendants’ putting on the Internet information about themselves that they would never want coming out in Court.

As Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau likes to point out, “Anything you say, publish (in print or on the Web) can and WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU.”  Social networking sites can be a quick and easy way to keep “in touch,” but what is put on the Web does not always stay on the web.  Many law firms conduct extensive Internet investigation of all plaintiffs, their families and doctors, but their other witnesses as well.  Defense lawyers will seek information to challenge the credibility of the plaintiffs and their witnesses in traumatic brain injury or other permanent injury cases.  If the defense can successfully question the plaintiff’s witnesses’ credibility, they can counteract the sympathy that jurors often have for the victims of catastrophic head injuries.  Lawyers USA, p.11, Verdicts & Settlements, July 28, 2008

 Here’s a first.  A closed head auto injury case client represented by another member of AAJ was once incarcerated in Connecticut.  He was a former inmate of the Conn Department of Corrections and was involved in an accident in Florida.  The State of Connecticut now asserts a “lien” (like an “I.O.U.”) for all costs of his incarceration pursuant to Section 18-85a & b, Conn. General Statutes.  While Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau has represented clients who are in jail while their personal injury and workers comp claims are pending, he has never heard of such a State Government “lien” before.  Please note that Child Support can also be taken out of Workers Comp checks, unlike nearly any other kind of lien, garnishment, debt or judgement.  The Moral of this Post:  Tell Yer Lawyer About ALL your debts, crimes, injuries, claims and court history. Tell your story, and THE WHOLE STORY, to the man on the couch !  Doug Landau will listen, but you have got to tell him ALL the facts that may affect your case ! 

Doug Landau and Michigan trial lawyer Jules Olsman teamed up to help a father and a daughter whose lives were devastated by a multi-vehicle crash caused by a teenaged driver in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Herndon Reston area injury lawyer was able to effect a settlement for the father, who suffered a broken leg and hip. However, his daughter, who had not yet begun pre-school was crushed in the wreckage. She sustained multiple orthopedic injuries and traumatic brain injury. The doctors in Richmond were able to fix many of her broken bones, lacerations and bleeding. But the damage to this young girl’s brain was permanent.

Doug Landau and the team at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. eventually got a court approved settlement for this brain injured child. They were even able to get a subsequent recovery for the father. While the $1.5 million dollars paid is not nearly enough to compensate for what has been taken from this hard-working family, it was hard work, investigation and research that uncovered the additional $500,000 that the insurance company had in additional coverage. Half a million dollars can provide additional benefits to this young girl, who is now walking with assistance and who rides on a tandem bike with her father. He has recovered extensively from his injuries due to his fantastic pre-crash fitness. His daughter, however, will be struggling with deficits due to the head trauma and brain injury for the rest of her life.

Olsman and Landau have worked on other cases together, and taught on the Health and Disability Law programs for ATLA (now the American Association for Justice). Jules has served as Michigan Trial Lawyers president and he practices with the firm of Olsman, Mueller & James P.C., (OlsmanLaw) in Berkley, Michigan, in the areas of medical malpractice and nursing home negligence.

I have been working with Tampa attorney Tom Young on cases of mutual interest. He has also helped to found InjuryBoard, which is a network of lawyers committed to combating tort reform and those who would take away the rights of individuals to get a fair trial in this country.

InjuryBoard is a growing community of attorneys, media professionals, safety industry experts, and local activists, committed to making a difference by helping families stay safe and avoid injury, and helping those who are injured get the assistance they need to move on with their lives after an accident.

InjuryBoard has “Help Centers” that are an online collection of the best information, professional opinion, and practical advice to help you and your family stay safe and avoid accidents. If you or a loved one are injured, the Help Centers will help (more…)