Landau Injury Law

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 Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot reports that a Virginia House committee rejected a measure which “would have ensured that home-owners could file claims with their home insurance companies for property damage caused by Chinese-made drywall,” and one which “would have prevented home insurers from canceling policies or raising rates on properties because they were built with the drywall.” While lawmakers “agreed owners of homes built with Chinese drywall deserve relief, they weren’t sure that going through insurance companies was the best way for them to go about getting it.”  Herndon Reston area injury and disease lawyer Doug Landau believes that the Virginia legislature should assist homeowner injured or made ill due to the foreign made drywall.  The American Association for Justice (”AAJ”) information on foreign manufacturer accountability can be found here.

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.

According to homeowners who have retained my friend Ervin Gonzalez, Chinese-made drywall is ruining their homes.  Gonzalez has filed a class action lawsuit on their behalf.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (”CPSC”) officials are looking into claims that Chinese-made drywall installed in some Florida homes is emitting smelly, corrosive gases and ruining household systems such as air conditioners.  Furthermore, gas emitted from defective drywall corrodes copper wiring, turning it black, according to some Florida homeowners.
The Florida Health Department, which is investigating whether the drywall poses any health risks, said it has received more than 140 homeowner complaints. And class-action lawsuits allege defective drywall has caused problems in at least three states — Florida, Louisiana and Alabama — while some attorneys involved claim such drywall may have been used in tens of thousands of U.S. homes.  Homeowners’ lawsuits contend the drywall has caused them to suffer health problems such as headaches and sore throats and face huge repair expenses according to CNN news reports.

The drywall is alleged to have high levels of sulfur and, according to homeowners’ complaints, the sulfur-based gases smell of rotten eggs and corrode piping and wiring, causing electronics and appliances to fail.  “It’s economically devastating, and it’s emotionally devastating,” said Florida attorney Ervin Gonzalez,  who filed one of the lawsuits. It would cost a third of an affected home’s value to fix the dwelling, Gonzalez said.  “The interior has to be gutted, the homeowners have to continue paying mortgages, and they have to pay for a [temporary] place to live,” Gonzalez said.

The Florida complaints generally involve homes built or renovated in 2005 and 2006, when a building boom and post-hurricane reconstruction caused a U.S. drywall shortage that spurred builders to turn to imports.  The allegations come after a number of recent safety problems with other Chinese exports, ranging from toys to pet food.

Herndon and Sterling Virginia lawyer Douglas Landau notes that the Workers Compensation Commission requires consistent Marketing for light work by injured workers even in a "down economy."

According to Herndon and Sterling Virginia workers compensation lawyer Doug Landau, marketing residual physical abilities is critical to the receipt of benefits after a “light duty work” release.  However, many ABRAMS LANDAU clients suggest that this is an exercise in futility in light of recent economic trends.

The Herndon Connection newspaper article by Julia O’Donahue’s 12/15/2009 at p.11, noted Fairfax County’s unemployment rate reached 4.7 percent in September, approximately 1.8 percent higher than it was during the same month a year earlier.  During August, the number of jobs in Northern Virginia declined by 13,000, approximately 1 percent, overall. It was the region’s 10th straight month of job losses, though Northern Virginia still has the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth, at 4.9 percent overall. In September, Virginia, with the fifth lowest unemployment rate in the county, was 6.6 percent.  While Fairfax’s economy remains strong when compared to other parts of the country, the county’s jobless rate never exceeded four percent during its previous two economic downturns, according to budget documents. Fairfax County unemployment insurance claims also increased 116 percent from July 2008 to July 2009.

Lawyer Landau maintains that despite these dismal economic numbers, injured workers must still show regular, recorded efforts of marketing.  Failure to demonstrate consistent efforts to look for selective duty employment can result in a suspension or termination of weekly wage loss benefits.  If you or someone you know has been injured at work and has questions about marketing, light duty work obligations or their weekly wage loss benefits, e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

The oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin are the top-selling pharmaceutical line for Bayer HealthCare, largely as a result of marketing that presents them as much more than mere pregnancy prevention.  Yaz, in particular, the top-selling birth control pill in the United States, owes much of its popularity to multimillion-dollar ad campaigns that have promoted the drug as a quality-of-life treatment to combat acne and severe premenstrual depression.  Yaz, a newer sister drug to Yasmin, contains less estrogen. The franchise had worldwide sales of about $1.8 billion last year, based on Bayer’s successful positioning of Yasmin and Yaz as the go-to drug brands for women under 35.

But recently, according to a New York Times article, the Yaz line’s image has been clouded by concerns from some researchers, health advocates and plaintiffs’ lawyers. They say that the drugs put women at higher risk for blood clots, strokes and (more…)

With over 6 million people in the construction trades in the United States, it is a significant sector of our economy,  However, construction is also one of the most dangerous kind of work, with over 8,000 workers killed on construction sites each year and many thousands injured and maimed for life.  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we see first-hand some of the devastation caused by unsafe construction practices and lax inspection, regulation and enforcement by state, local and federal agencies.  We have tried cases were our clients have been injured or killed on construction sites.  Some of the  injuries were caused by:

• Falls from roofing,
• Loads dropped on a workers head,
• Failure of scaffolding causing falls from heights,
• Unsecured stairways, steps or ramps,
• Wood snapping, breaking or coming loose,
• Getting shot with a nail from a nail gun,Ladders twisting and falling,
• Explosions causing hearing loss,
• Asbestos dust particles causing lung damage,
• Combustible materials catching firing and causing burns,
• Construction vehicles hitting other trucks, cars and workers on the ground.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a construction site accident, e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 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.