Landau Injury Law

The NEUROMODULATION THERAPY ACCESS COALITION “POSITION STATEMENT ON  SPINAL CORD NEUROSTIMULATION” recognizes  spinal cord stimulation (SCS) as an established treatment for chronic neuropathic pain.  This kind of pain can arise after nerve or nervous system injury, such as Doug Landau has seen after a car crash or fall from a construction site.  Abrams Landau. Ltd. represented one client from Connecticut who was able to return to school and get his Masters Degree from Yale University after being struck by an 18-wheel truck because of the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator.  The Herndon Reston area spine injury lawyer was able to win BOTH this client’s Social Security Disability claim AND his motor vehicle negligence case when hee was hit by a drunk driver.  SCS is minimally invasive, non-destructive, and reversible.  Pain specialists can conduct a temporary screening trial with an external pulse generator to assess whether a patient should proceed to implantation of the entire system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes SCS as an aid in the management of chronic intractable pain of the trunk, arms and legs.  This includes unilateral or bilateral pain associated with so-called “failed back surgery syndrome,” which is generally defined as pain continuing or resuming despite an operative procedure undertaken to correct the cause of the pain.  Herndon Reston area back, spine and brain injury lawyer Doug Landau has seen numerous instances of “failed back syndrome.”  Not every patient is ideally suited for SCS, but there are clients who have gotten relief through TENS units, SCS and other medical treatment modalities short of, or other than, neurological surgery.   The reversibility of SCS is one of its most important features; unlike other surgical procedures that are commonly performed to relieve pain, SCS does not ablate pain pathways or change a patient’s spinal anatomy.

Based on peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of SCS in relieving chronic pain while improving quality of life and functional outcomes, SCS is covered by virtually all governmental and private payers in the U.S.

In personal injury cases, if the car crash, dog attack or injury residuals results in your being unable to perform your job, your second job, your seasonal work or even your weekend job, these losses can all be combined in the claim for compensation and jury trial.  There is no requirement that they be similar kinds of work or that they be done in the weeks leading up to the accidental injury.

In Social Security Disability Income cases, the Federal government adds up your earnings from ALL sources, regardless of their similarity, or even their having been performed close in time to the date of onset of the disabling medical condition.

Lastly, in workplace injury cases, the Virginia Workers Compensation law provides that the wages from “similar employment” can be combined.  The Virginia Court of Appeals has stated that, “When an injured employee is disabled from performing his employment duties, the employee’s earnings include the earnings from two or more jobs that are substantially similar.”  In determining whether two employments are substantially similar, the Commission considers each job’s particular duties and general nature.  In addition to determining whether the jobs involve the overlapping of specific duties and skills, the Workers Compensation Commission also looks to the primary mission of both employments.  Shown here with injury lawyer Doug Landau is an ABRAMS LANDAU client at our Herndon, Virginia office building, with her settlement check, which included her wage loss from both the job where she injured her cervical spine AND her SECOND JOB as well.

There are multiple types of brain injury from a car or truck crash. Rapid acceleration and rotational forces can send the brain bouncing around inside the skull.  There can be impact with the front windshield or side windows.  There can even be impact with an exploding airbag.   These forces can twist or tear axons. Axons are the long, thin fibers that connect nerve cells. This tearing, or shearing, can cause bleeding and swelling in the brain. This swelling and bleeding can cause further injury. In animal studies, there are signs of neurodegeneration. Neural fibers break down, triggering cell death.

About half of the victims of concussions recover quickly. In the other fifty percent, the the symptoms can linger indefinitely. Approximately 10% of the people who suffer concussions have problems severe enough to interfere with their activities of daily living (”ADLs”) and work. If you or someone you know, has sustained a concussion or traumatic brain injury from a car crash, explosion, fall or other impact of the skull, seek medical attention. If your head has been subjected to rapid acceleration or deceleration forces, and you have: severe headaches, difficulty sleeping, problems with memory and concentration, lapses in balance and coordination and changes in personality, seek neurological help at once. Reinjuring the brain while it is still in a vulnerable state can lead to serious, lifetime injury. Subtler damage may accumulate, leading to depression and cognitive decline, such that previously simple mental tasks become major challenges. If these symptoms are due to a crash or other accident caused by someone else’s negligence or carelessness, please call our office so that we may help. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we have the resources to help victims of brain injury and their families.

This was the question posed by a damaged disc injury victim before retaining experienced leesburg lawyer Doug Landau. While it is a good idea to get the property damage and car repairs taken care of right away, the injuries from a car crash or dog attack can take months to heal.

Nevertheless, retaining a lawyer to protect your interests is important, and the earlier, the better. In many cases, an experienced lawyer can make sure the liability investigation is performed in a timely fashion, records are preserved and evidence is not destroyed. Trial lawyers can help with coordination of benefits and collection of medical and other records of losses such that insurance reserves can be adequately set. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. we protect our clients from inquisitive adjusters and investigators, and being taken advantage of by the insurance companies. Plus, insurance representatives can stall so that the injured victim’s are bamboozled and their claim is time-barred. Our law office educates clients as to their rights, monitors their claims and medical care, and helps them conclude their injury claims in a timely fashion. In fact, we will often decline to represent injured persons who come to us long after their car crash, dog attack or other accidental injury because many prejudicial actions may have already taken place. Just as a master builder prefers to build their own sturdy foundation, our law firm prefers to start the case at the beginning, not at the end. No matter how good a lawyer may be or how much time, effort and personnel they commit to a case, if the case’s was not properly begun and its foundation is”shaky,” then the end result may not meet with the client’s expectations.

With those words, I was told by the Supreme Court of Virginia that they would not award benefits for my client, who was dying of berylliosis. He had worked on rocket propellent experiments in Alexandria for much of his 38 year career with Atlantic Research, and of the 20 other men who did this kind of work, he was the only one still alive.

This disabled man came to ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. when he lost feeling in his extremities and became short of breath, and we filed the workers compensation claim less than 6 months after the diagnosis from the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, Colorado was received. However, as it had been more than 7 years since his last exposure to the dangerous material, the Virginia Workers Compensation judge dismissed the claim. This Deputy Commissioner sadly told us (more…)

Social Security claimants who retain me are surprised to find out that even though the live in “Northern Virginia,” their Hearing may be held in Richmond Richmond or the District of Columbia. While I have tried such cases successfully in Washington, Richmond and Charlottesville, there is no facility for an Administrative Law Judge (”ALJ”) Hearing “inside the Beltway” in Virginia. That means, for most of our clients, they will be required to travel.
A visit to the Hearing site BEFORE their “day in Court” is a terrific idea. No one wants to be panic-stricken, lost, looking for a place to park and not knowing where to go on the “big day.” This scenario is only made worse by the fact that our clients are disabled, and getting around is already fraught with challenges. Our Herndon Reston area injury and disability law firm advises clients and their families to visit the hearing site after they get the ALJ Hearing notice. Even if you are not a client of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., please visit the Hearing site BEFORE your “day in Court.” By taking this “scouting trip,” you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary stress and be better able to focus on what you need to tell the ALJ; why you are disabled for substantial gainful employment.

The top Virginia plaintiffs’ brain injury attorneys were invited to compare notes, learn the latest medical testing and treatment techniques and participate in this sold out continuing legal education program. Herndon Reston area brain injury lawyer Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. attended this conference with his friends, co-counsel and physicians in Richmond. Doug Landau is shown here with Fairfax trial lawyer Peter Everett of Blankenship & Keith during a break between medical lectures.

In addition to the brain injury retreat, Doug Landau was also invited to the Advanced Motor Vehicle crash retreat in Charlottesville, and the Advanced Workers Compensation retreat in November. Attendding all 3 advenaced “retreats” will enable Doug Landau to better “attack” the unsupportable defenses and “junk science” used by the insurance companies on behalf of ABRAMS LANDAU clients with head trauma, brain injury and permanent disabilities and their families.

I try to review a client’s official file at the VWC early on in the case. I do that because at ABRAMS LANDAU, we want to build a strong foundation to the claim. Too many lawyers make the mistake of assuming they know what the judge is looking at or looking for - a BIG MISTAKE ! I take the time to actually examine the file the judge will be looking at, well before the trial, so that I know (and can explain to the client) what evidence is available and what is still needed. Here I am with one of the helpful clerks at the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission headquarters in Richmond. I was reviewing our injured and disabled clients’ files and making copies of important documents, such as the Accident Report, the Wage Chart and the Attending Physician’s Report. When I return to Herndon, the staff at the ABRAMS LANDAU injury law firm knows to send copies to our disabled clients and their families so that they can see what the judge is actually looking at, and give us prompt information about errors in the official accident reports, earnings records and other important documents.

Why is this important ? One reason I like to look at the official file is to learn things that my clients may not have told me, because of the severity of their brain injuries; because it is a fatal accident claim; because there may have been a loss of consciousness; long term memory loss and short term memory loss, which is not unusual after head trauma. Because we are all human and we all make mistakes, sometimes the material we field with the VWC is put in the wrong file. Also, I have seen other injured workers’ papers accidentally put in my clients’ files. My review of the official workers comp files has also revealed surveillance tapes and reports by private investigators who were hired by the insurance companies or their lawyers to follow and film my disabled clients. By actually looking at the official file, I am able to see if the VWC staff has tabbed, hi-lighted or flagged those items that the ABRAMS LANDAU Team has brought to their attention as needing immediate action. So, the next time my staff advises you that I am “on the road” and visiting the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission headquarters to review files, I am doing so to lay a sturdy foundation for the disabled clients of our Herndon Reston area injury law firm.

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.

In a word, “NO.”  According to Herndon Reston area injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau, just because you are getting state workers compensation benefits does not mean you are automatically entitled to federal Social Security Disability benefits.  One government program has no influence over the other when it comes to determinations of eligibility.  At Abrams Landau, Ltd., in Herndon, Virginia, clients are instructed that STATE workers comp cases are generally decided in favor of workers who cannot do the job they did when they got injured.

Federal Social Security disability income claims not only require that the wage earner be unable to perform the kinds of jobs they did in their work life, but that they are also disabled from all jobs that are generally found in the national economy given their present physical and mental impairments.  It is because of the difference between the two government systems that it is important to have counsel who is experienced in BOTH Social Security Disability AND Workers Compensation in cases involving permanent injury, long term work impairment, brain injury and/or severe psychiatric illness.  An experienced workers comp and Social Security disability lawyer will know how best to use the medical evidence to help in BOTH cases, saving valuable time and expense.