Landau Injury Law

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…)

Doug Landau once again attended the VTLA Advanced Auto Practice Retreat at The Boar’s Head Inn, Charlottesville, Virginia.  Landau has previously attended and been a presenter at this “by invitation only” program.  Topic covered have included: the use of nurse consultants, demonstrative exhibits, Traumatic Brain Injury, Permanent Scarring, Pain and Suffering, Life Care Planning and Chronic Pain, Proof of Pain at Trial (by Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau !), Chronic Pain Management, Hematoma Impact on Nerves, Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy (”RSD”) otherwise known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Burns and Wounds, Ostomy/Ileostomy Pain, Severe Fracture Pain, Working with Adjusters, Getting fairer results for the Property Damage claims and computer programming for presentation of evidence at mediation, arbitration and trial.  Doug Landau came away from the weekend meeting with a number of “golden nuggets” as some of the top trial lawyers in Virginia were able to put their heads together, away from their offices, and focus on trends and tactics that can help injured and disabled clients and their families.  A long-time VTLA member, Landau is shown here with Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen Charlottesville Office managing partner and friend Matt Murray.

In addition to comparing notes with attorneys from all over the world, Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau gets to meet up with counsel closer to home. Shown here at the Exhibition Hall of the Annual American Association for Justice Meeting are Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., Steve Garver of Reston and Barbara Williams of Leesburg. These are excellent lawyers, lecturers and friends. Garver sometimes sits as a substitute Judge in Leesburg and Fairfax Counties. He also sponsors the annual running race at the Virginia Trial Lawyers Meeting each Spring.  Garver is counsel in the companion case presently up on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals where his client got a Judgment of $15,000,000 and Landau’s client received $21,000,000, against a negligent driver with limited insurance.

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.

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.