Landau Injury Law

In light of grosing evidence of susceptibility to increased brain injury after initial head trauma, the Pentagon is instituting new protocols for soldiers who may have suffered from traumatic brain injury (”TBI”).  Troops caught near a roadside blast or in related vehicle crashes will be pulled out of combat for 24 hours and checked for a mild traumatic brain injury.  This will be the case even if the soldiers appear unhurt or say they are fine, according to a treatment policy the Pentagon is planning to release.  Because the brain is at greater risk for permanent injury right after such head trauma, giving thee soldiers time to recover, heal and get help is a smart move according to Herndon and Reston brain injury lawyer Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.

“The sooner you’re able to treat somebody and get it right, the higher the probability you’ll reduce the long-term impacts (of brain injury). So speed is really important here,” according to Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who pushed hard for the policy change.  The policy change stems from growing concerns that troops suffer mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in combat – or more than one – and they go undetected, Mullen told USA TODAY. “We need to treat … more quickly and then we need to keep track of people,” he said.  The new policy is a major expansion of battlefield medicine because it treats troops based on what happened to them, not just visible wounds, said Air Force Col. Jaffee, director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.  For the rest of the USA Today story.

Slip and fall and trip and fall cases are not limited to injuries on dry land according to Alexandria, Fairfax and Leesburg injury lawyer Doug Landau.  In a recent case out of South Florida, the injured plaintiff was on a cruise ship at the time of the fall.   The plaintiff fitness instructor  alleged he was injured when he slipped and fell on a wet floor at a cruise ship spa

According to the premises liability lawsuit, the 42-year-old fitness instructor who worked for Miami-based Steiner Transocean, sustained a back injury and became incontinent and impotent as a result of the fall in 2006.  The case was tried in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.  Plaintiff’s counsel told the newspaper that the verdict included damages for economic losses, medical expenses and past and future pain and suffering. The South Florida jury awarded $9.5 million.  The defendant Steiner Transocean, which operated the spa on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Crown, filed papers seeking a new trial or a reduction of the jury award.  Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line previously settled out of court.  There are special rules and time deadlines for bringing claims on cruise ships and for injuries that occur on “the high seas.” If you or someone you know has been injured on a cruise ship or other ocean going vessel, please seek legal counsel at once.

Having represented workers who have had limbs mangled in industrial mixers and families of those who have lost their lives in giant food vats, Ashburn and Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau has seen first and the devastation these gigantic machines can cause innocent victims.  In one case, the Herndon based ABRAMS LANDAU law firm was able to secure compensation for a food service worker at Reagan National Airport whose hand and arm was mangled in the blades of a frozen yogurt machine.  In another case, the Landau Law Shop was called upon by the family of a worker who died in an industrial meat grinding machine.  In both cases, when the workers became entrapped in the food processing equipment, there was no way for them to shut off the machinery.

Recently, Herndon disability and injury lawyer Doug Landau was apprised of two companies that were fined after a worker died in a vat of chocolate.  Landau, who is licensed in New Jersey, came across the Insurance Journal report of two chocolate processing companies in Camden, New Jersey that had been fined for safety violations following the death of an employee who fell into a giant vat of chocolate in July.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Lyons & Sons Inc. and Cocoa Services LP with a total of 12 serious citations.

One worker died in July after he was hit by a paddle used to mix chocolate.  OSHA said there were improper safety precautions at the facility and that a first-aid program was not in place.  Fines for the two companies total more than $39,000.  A city judge had already levied a fine for operating a business without a license.  Safety precautions Doug Landau has advocated for in the past include “kill switches” that turn off food processing machines and other industrial equipment when the operator is in trouble.  Likewise, dangerous machines need to be designed so that they automatically shut down when the operator is not depressing the power button.  Lastly, machines should not be designed so that the employer can override the safety precautions or remove safety guards.

Carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel and cumulative trauma lawyer Doug Landau notes the difficulties in these cases

Cumulative injury cases and Carpal Tunnel claims present difficulties in court because there is usually no sudden, identifiable accident that trial counsel can show the finder of fact.  While the firm has been successful with repetitive trauma claims and carpal tunnel cases, Culpeper injury lawyer Doug Landau has also helped those disabled from sudden injury that results in carpal tunnel syndrome.

In one case, a landscaping worker was struck when a sapling snapped back from a chipper and struck the ABRAMS LANDAU client in the forearm, and carpal tunnel developed.  In another Virginia Workers Compensation claim, a driver’s wrists were hyperextended, resulting in this disabling condition and surgical repair.  In the Landau Law Shop’s negligence and liability cases, hand injuries in car crashes can result in carpal tunnel and compensation for this painful upper extremity diagnosis.  Review of the medical history is very important in these kinds of cases, whether the permanent wrist or forearm injury is from a slip and fall or other traumatic event.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a workplace or car crash where a sudden impact or trauma has resulted in carpal tunnel syndrome or similar diagnosis, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Herndon Virginia Mediation, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Lawyer Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU with his latest TRIAL Magazine article

While the ABRAMS LANDAU team prepares every case for trial, our success in Mediation, Arbitration and other forms of “Alternative Dispute Resolution” has resulted in Herndon disability and injury lawyer Doug Landau being asked to write, speak and teach for the State and National trial lawyer associations.  Landau teaches for the “non-profit” organizations committed to helping innocent victims and disabled persons and their families.  Landau is not paid for teaching, writing or lecturing for these groups.  This was his second major article in 2009 for TRIAL magazine, a peer-reviewed journal sent to judges, lawyers and schools around the world.  Herndon’s injury and disability lawyer has been contributing articles to TRIAL since the 1980s.

In addition, Landau was also a presenter at the American Association for Justice’s (AAJ) 2010 winter convention.  The topics discussed at the “Litigation at Sunrise” session, included:

• *Birth Defects Suffered by Children Whose Parents Are Exposed to Chemicals Used in “Clean Rooms” — Frank Verderame, AZ
• Pool Safety: Drain Entrapment — Dennis M. Lynch, IL
• How I Learned to Relax and Love Mediation — Douglas K.W. Landau, VA

If you have questions about Mediation, Arbitration and other forms of “Alternative Dispute Resolution,” please contact us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., 703-796-9555

The death of a young Luge athlete from Georgia  and a U.S. snowboarder suffering a serious brain injury on the halfpipe during a December practice remind us of the risks inherent in Winter Olympic sports.  While Ashburn accident lawyer Doug Landau notes that while winter sport injuries can  be permanent, athletes do not normally have legal claims since they are presumed to have “assumed the risk of harm.”  The winter triathlete lawyer points out that if an injured sportsman tried to bring a claim for his injuries in Virginia, a judge would instruct a jury that:

• “If you find by the greater weight of the evidence that the injured athlete fully understood the nature and extent of a known danger and if the disabled sportsman voluntarily exposed himself to it, the competitor assumed the risk of injuring himself from that danger.  The injured plaintiff CANNOT recover for injuries that resulted from assuming the risk of a known danger.” [from Virginia Model Jury Instruction 6.100]

This rule applies in Virginia and some other states no matter how serious or disabling the injuries.  Even if the sled or skiing crash or snowboarding fall results in death, this very strict common law rule applies in this jurisdiction.  According to a report in today’s USA Today there have been other serious winter sport injuries, including short-track speed skater J.R. Celski gashing his leg in a crash at the U.S. Olympic trials and several Alpine skiers injuring themselves on icy slopes.  Sports writer Vicki Michaelis notes that, “this season has brought a series of reminders of the perilous nature of many ratings-grabbing winter events.”  Lawyer Landau hopes that the remainder of the Winter Olympic Games are safe, injury-free and wonderful to watch.

Disability lawyer Doug Landau is often asked about the facilities used by the Federal Government for Social Security Disability (”SSDI”) Hearings before the Administrative Law Judges (”ALJs”).  Herndon and Reston lawyer Landau was recently asked, “What is a Social Security Disability Hearing “Witness Room” and what happens inside ?”

ABRAMS LANDAU Social Security Disability client and witness in an SSDI conference room

Landau flew from Dulles Airport, conveniently located just minutes from the Landau Law Shop, to try several cases this winter in North Carolina.  Shown on the left is a happy client (and also a witness in another ABRAMS LANDAU SSDI Hearing). There is a desk, some chairs and a computer in many of the Witness Rooms.   There is room for wheelchairs, and with little in the way of other furnishings, Landau’s paralyzed, brain injured and impaired client little in the way of other distractions.  The computer enables Landau to review the official Federal Government computer file, as he is usually given a CD with all of the evidentiary exhibits on it the morning of the ALJ Hearing.  The CD given to Landau that morning is usually more up to date than the disc sent to ABRAMS LANDAU beforehand, so it is important to review it, with the disabled claimant and their witnesses and family members before entering the Hearing room.  As the saying goes, “The best surprise is NO surprise !”  These rooms give clients, witnesses and counsel to talk in private just prior to going on the record and giving testimony under oath.

Doug Landau's friend and mentor, Maui lawyer Jim Krueger, and "Sheffield"

Whenever Franklin Farms injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau travels to teach and learn at state, national and international trial lawyers meetings, he makes it a point to meet with top lawyers from all over the world to exchange ideas on how to help injured and disabled clients.  One of the best is Landau’s friend, mentor and Masters swimming champion Jim Krueger of Maui.  Krueger’s firm

has successfully handled cases involving Ocean, Boats and Pools that have caused death, spinal and other serious injuries resulting from (more…)

Fairfax, Loudoun and Leesburg injury lawyer Doug Landau’s speech, “How I learned to relax and love mediation,” for the American Association for Justice (”AAJ”) was well received, as was his article in TRIAL Magazine.  In his presentation, Herndon’s Lawyer Landau discussed how to use Mediation in brain injury, slip and fall, dog attack, car crash, and premises liability cases.  One review of his article in the peer-reviewed trial lawyer publication reads as follows:
DOUGLAS LANDAU, p.40    TRIAL Magazine.
Mediation can be a blessing in disguise. In fact, depending on your jurisdiction, the results can be better than what you might get at trial. An experienced trial lawyer describes three cases where mediation led to unexpected benefits and exceeded everyone’s expectations—especially his own.

The following safety checklist from the Rocky Rural Electrification Association (”RREA”) came across electrical injury lawyer Doug Landau’s desk recently.  The RREA provides complete Power Distribution services to its members. Their Safety Checklist includes the following considerations:

1. Are all trees in the yard free and clear from overhead power lines?
2. Are your farmyard buildings located the following recommended distances away from power lines: Barns-at least 30 feet(9 metres), House-at least 50 feet (15 metres), Bale and haystacks-at least 30 feet (9 metres), Granaries-at least 30 feet (9 metres)
3. Are your propane and fuel tanks located at least 30 feet (9 metres) away from the power lines?
4. Are worn or frayed extension cords thrown away?
5. When you work outdoors do you locate ladders so they will never contact utility wires?
6. Are overhead wires in the farmyard area and those neat field entrances high enough to adequately clear machinery?
7. Do you always lower grain augers and cultivator wings before going under power lines?
8. Have you had overhead lines relocated underground to avoid contact with high vehicles in the farmyard?
9. Are outside outlets weatherproof and installed with ground fault circuit interrupters?
10. Are all electrical appliances and power tools used around the farm CSA approved?
11. Do you unplug tools and equipment that are not being used?
12. Do all outlets have three pronged receptacles to provide proper grounding of electrical tools and appliances?
13. Are fuses and switches labeled properly to prevent confusion in an emergency?
14. Do family members and all hired farm workers know where and how to disconnect power in case of an electrical emergency?
15. Do family members and all hired farm workers know first aid for electrical shock and burns?

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in an electrical system or on the job electrification accident, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555)