Landau Injury Law

The homeowners insurance company for the parents who hosted a teen sleepover party has settled a wrongful death claim brought by the family of a 14-year-old girl who died in a car crash.  The $1.75-million settlement in the controversial case  was approved by a Henrico County judge.  The money comes from the homeowners’ insurance for the parents of the victim’s friend who were hosting a sleepover visit.  They allowed the two girls to ride with a teenage boy who then crashed his car, killing the plaintiff’s daughter.

In his lawsuit, the deceased girl’s father alleged he told the host parents, “No boys with cars.”  Despite her agreement to that request, the friend’s mother allegedly permitted her daughter to ride with the boy, which left the victim no choice but to go along.

The case produced an opinion from the Supreme Court of Virginia that a parent who agrees to supervise and care for a child has a common law duty to do so with reasonable care.  The court’s ruling sent the case back to Henrico County Circuit Court for trial. According to the stories in Lawyers Weekly, trial had been scheduled for July, 2010. The plaintiff’s family hopes the case will bring attention to the responsibility that adults have towards children in their care and the risks of teenagers driving with multiple teenage passengers.

Bottom line according to car crash and wrongful death attorney Doug Landau: if you agree to take responsibility for someone else’s kids, you had better do so responsibly.  And if the rule is “No driving with boys,” then, as the supervising parent or adult, you allow no driving.

While 95% of the ABRAMS LANDAU law firm is devoted to representing injured victims in their injury, workers compensation and Social Security Disability cases, Herndon Reston trial lawyer Doug Landau has been successful in defending and helping small companies, doctors, medical practices, and individuals whose insurance companies have left them “high and dry.”

In a recent in jury case where a workers cut a finger in a saw accident, a small Sterling Virginia area employer came to ABRAMS LANDAU because it did not have workers compensation insurance because it had less than 3 full time, regular employees.  The claimant alleged otherwise, and had the Loudoun County employer lost the case, they stood to lose many thousands of dollars and face fines and other penalties from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission.  Landau agreed to represent this employer on an hourly basis, with an advance Retainer (more…)

Mold and sick building claims require substantial time and expense.  Firms with which we have worked invest heavily in building mold claims.  We have seen first-hand that they are very complicated and difficult to prosecute successfully. They almost always require multiple scientific and medical experts to establish what kind of mold you’re dealing with, causation and the extent of any injury (with inevitable wide disparity in the opinions of knowledgeable experts). There are very few generally accepted, objective criteria by which even honest experts can evaluate claims and almost every day sees another scientific paper published either supporting or denying the possibility of serious permanent injury from exposure to mold.

Basically, a victim with pretty severe symptoms (typically, someone with a pre-existing, compromised immune system or hypersensitivity to mold) who has been exposed to a large quantity of “bad mold” (like stachybotros) over a sufficiently long period of time that they have suffered some type(s) of permanent injury (i.e., it won’t get better simply by eradicating the mold or removing the victim from the moldy environment) may have a chance of getting fair restitution and payment for what has been taken from them and their families.  If you or your family or friends have questions about mold or sick building illness, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555).

"Carry a copy of your Award or Court Order when you travel or in case of a need for emergency medical care," advises workers comp lawyer Doug Landau

“Medical care for injured workers in emergency situations works well in most instances where they are under the protection of an Award, “according to Herndon, Reston and Ashburn area worker comp lawyer Doug Landau.  For their regular medical care, the disabled worker simply goes for medical treatment, to the hospital, clinic, physical therapy, doctor’s appointment, in short, any of their treating health care providers who are by referral for necessary medical attention.  When an emergency situation arises, or the injured worker is far from home, then they cannot see their authorized treating doctor or make an appointment.  In these situations, there is usually no requirement for authorization for emergency care.

Adds the ABRAMS LANDAU workers lawyer, “in most instances, the injured or disabled claimant may seek medical treatment from a provider of their choice.  She does not need to wait for employer to send her for treatment when it is an emergency or they are traveling far from from their home.  That is why we advise ABRAMS LANDAU clients to carry EXTRA copies of the Awards we have won for them in their glove compartments, pocket books, wallets, etc., so that they will have proof of comp claim coverage wherever they may be.”

That is one of the reasons the ABRAMS LANDAU staff make multiple copies of Awards and other important Comp Commission Orders for the Landau Law Shop’s injured clients and their families.  If you or someone you know has been injured in an on the job accident  or become disabled as the result of an occupational disease or illness, Please e-mail or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.

Paul Lesti & Doug Landau in the ABRAMS LANDAU law library during the economics & structured settlement expert's recent DC visit

Herndon, Ashburn and Sterling Park injury and workers compensation lawyer Doug Landau often counsels his disabled clients and their families as to the availability of “structured settlements.”  In other words, instead of a lump sum payment, clients and their families may be better served by monthly, yearly and even “balloon payments” in the future.  There are many kinds of annuity payments and structures.  In some permanent injury cases, the ABRAMS LANDAU trial team, working with experts, economists and annuitants, have fashioned periodic payments:

• that pay the claimant monthly for a set number of years
• that pay the client yearly for life
• that pay the injured child annually, on her birthday, with a lump sum payment for college when turns 18
• that pay the disabled worker every month for the rest of his wife’s life
• that pay a small monthly amount, with 4 large payments during the “college years”
• that pay monthly at one rate, then go to a higher rate at age 62 (retirement)

The best lawyers believe that the long-term welfare of their clients is of the utmost importance.  Many injured plaintiffs do not have financial advisors or other experts to help them plan for their future financial needs. Structuring a large workers compensation or personal  injury settlement or Mediation Award can reduce anxiety, tax consequences and avoid early dissipation of these important funds.  That is why the Landau Law Shop will retain a structured settlement expert, even when there already is an annuitant on the case for the insurance company or their agent.  By having this “second opinion,” the Herndon injury, disability and wrongful death law firm can have a second set of eyes make sure that their clients are getting fair rates, good returns and financial protection.

One such expert is Paul Lesti, with whom Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax County injury and workers comp lawyer Doug Landau and his father have worked for over 2 decades.  Mr. Lesti came to visit the “Law Shop” while attending a conference in Washington, D.C.  He has been an invaluable resource in analyzing structured settlement offers, placing annuities, evaluating the “present value” of workers compensation Awards, and negotiating with the insurance companies.  If you or someone you know has been permanently disabled due to an on the job injury or other accident, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.

Richmond Virginia defense lawyer and Mediator Michael Harmon & Herndon Reston area plaintiff's personal injury lawyer Doug Landau after their CLE presentation today

Everyone who knows Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau knows he likes to talk !  After success at the American Association for Justice meeting of the National Trial Lawyers in February and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention in March, Landau is “taking it out on the road,” by teaching and giving presentations in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk and Fairfax during the month of May.  The lawyers who pay hundreds of dollars to attend these Continuing Legal Education programs, get required legal education and ethics credits and learn the latest development in the laws and personal injury trial practice.  The written materials that went with Landau’s speech were made available electronically, just as was the case at the National Trial Lawyers meeting this winter.

The ABRAMS LANDAU injury lawyer’s presentations will enable participants to hear from plaintiff and defense attorneys on

1. Creative, professional demand packages
2. Settlement conferences/mediation/arbitration
3. High/low agreements
4. Tips for low cost use of technology in demand and settlement
5. When high tech is worth the cost

While Douglas Landau, of Abrams Landau Ltd., Herndon, will be speaking at all four locations, as he has actually tried cases in all corners of the Commonwealth of Virginia, he is paired with a different experienced defense lawyer at each venue.  The top defense attorneys Landau has been teamed with include:

• Michael Harman of Harman, Claytor, Corrigan & Wellman, Richmond (Richmond)
• David Carson of Johnson, Ayers & Matthews, Roanoke (Roanoke),
• Robert Rigney of Protogyrou & Rigney, Norfolk (Norfolk),
• Stephen Crum of Robey Teumer & Drash, (Nationwide Staff Counsel, Fairfax/Northern Virginia).

All clients know that they can call the Landau Law Shop to find out when and where Doug Landau will next be trying cases, speaking, taking depositions, teaching or racing.  This “open book” policy has enabled many ABRAMS LANDAU clients and their friends and families to meet with Doug Landau “close to home” and members of the Law Shop Trial Team without having to travel to the Herndon Reston area, or battle the infamous “Beltway.”

When insurance companies wrongfully deny claims because of additional injury after a car crash or later diagnosed harm, the remedy is to take them to court

A jury awarded $51,000 to a woman who claimed a motor vehicle accident ruptured her breast implants. In 2007, the plaintiff was rear-ended by an uninsured motorist while stopped at a traffic light. The plaintiff initially claimed soft-tissue back injuries.  As sometimes happens in personal injury litigation, she was later diagnosed another medical condition.  In this case, the injured plaintiff was diagnosed as having ruptured breast implants, which will require surgical replacement. Following the accident, the plaintiff filed a claim with her insurance carrier, seeking uninsured motorist coverage.
The plaintiff’s insurance company denied the claim.  The injured woman’s insurance company asserted that the accident was not the proximate cause of the implant rupture.  According to car crash chest and torso injury lawyer Doug Landau, “the insurance company probably did not want to pay for these additional special damages.”  Furthermore, “at the Landau Law Shop, we have seen insurers fight claims for cosmetic surgery, dermabrasion and scar remediation despite their own insured’s fault and even aggravated liability.”  Not giving up or taking the insurance company’s word for it, the resolute plaintiff then filed a lawsuit against the insurance company.  The jury ultimately determined that the rear-ender caused her injuries.   The case is Miller v. AAA Texas County Mutual Insurance Co.  If you or someone you know has been harmed by a car crash, or learns of a new diagnosis after an accident, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call us at (703)-796-9555, as pursing claims for damages and injuries after the insurance company has denied the claim and concluded its investigation can be difficult and expensive.

Post-exam Virginia Tech "Beer Pong" game leads to fight, skull surgeries, head injury lawsuit and this month's Virginia Supreme Court decision

After finishing final exams at Virginia Tech, Adam Copp was celebrating and playing beer pong with one of his roommates at a Blacksburg apartment.  Two strangers joined the game and one of them, Carson Dugger, said something to offend Copp.  The young men then got into a shouting match that turned physical when Dugger’s friends came on the scene.  Copp found himself with four or five people between him and Dugger.  Copp swung his arm and struck one of Dugger’s friends, Gregory Jacobson.  Copp said he was just trying to get free from the group.  Jacobson accused Copp of throwing punches and hitting him intentionally.  Jacobson, the plaintiff in this case, was badly injured. Two surgeries were required to repair his fractured skull.  Jacobson brought a lawsuit as the result of his severe and permanent head injuries against Copp for assault and battery, alleging intentional injury.

The Supreme Court of Virginia has just handed down a decision ruling that an insurance company owes a defense for the Virginia Tech student who was sued over injuries he caused in this fight.  Nationwide Insurance had a duty to defend (more…)

The Maryland Senate passed House Bill 825, which for the first time raises minimum automobile insurance requirements in Maryland. The measure previously passed the House with broad bipartisan support. Based on past public statements, Governor O’Malley is expected to sign the bill into law.  This vote follows a growing trend among states to increase minimum insurance requirements to recognize the effect of inflation on medical bills for innocent people injured by negligent drivers.

The purpose of minimum liability insurance is to ensure people have money to pay their medical bills and recover their lost wages if hit by a negligent driver. Maryland, DC and Virginia car crash injury lawyer Doug Landau maintains this requirement of “financial responsibility” is one of the critical elements to restitution for innocent victims, along with “legal responsibility” and “damages.”  In other words, Landau points out that even if you have a case where the crash is clearly the Defendant’s fault and the injuries are easily understood and proven, if the Defendant has no insurance (or minimal courage), then the innocent victim goes uncompensated for their lost wages, medical bills, permanent injury and future losses.

Maryland first enacted mandatory minimum insurance (more…)

Virginia and DC Workers Compensation lawyer Doug Landau suggests disabled workers and their families: get counsel, get the claim filed and get under the protection of an Award, even if they are getting comp benefits already

Virginia workers comp lawyer Doug Landau is often asked this question.  The short answer is, “NO.”  Comp insurance companies may voluntarily pay for medical care or lost wages, and it seems as though they do so for commendable reasons.  However, Warrenton, Bristow and Vint Hill workers compensation lawyer Landau has seen too many cases where the insurance company cut off benefits after getting a taped statement; a favorable medical report; a nurse’s suggestion; a private investigator’s report; videotape; or word from their lawyers that the time limit has run out against the injured worker’s claim.  Filing an accident report with the employer or insurer is not sufficient; the claim MUST be timely filed with the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (”VWCC”).

This is why it is so important to the ABRAMS LANDAU workers comp trial team to get the claim properly filed and an AWARD entered in Virginia.  An AWARD is a Court Order, from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission that sets forth the “who, what, where, etc.” and calls for the payments of wage loss and other kinds of compensation benefits, including medical care.  It does not matter if the worker has sustained a brain injury, a herniated disc in their spine that paralyzes them or has been killed.  The “clock” starts running immediately.  Even those job accidents that involve car or truck crashes or other potential “third party liability” claims, the disabled worker must still file with the VWCC.  When there is no AWARD, there is no requirement that the Insurance company or the employer do anything for the disabled worker or a deceased employee’s grieving family and dependents.  That is one reason why, in work accident cases where there is lengthy disability from work, surgery, permanent injury and/or death, experienced legal counsel should be retained immediately.  The Insurance Company has lawyers on retainer and present at every Hearing; so should you!  Just because you may have received some of wage loss money or gotten some medical bills paid, you should still retain an experienced workers comp lawyer to help you.  You cannot rely on the insurance company, employer or their agents to protect you.  They are in the business of making money (or saving their money), not being “Mr. Nice Guy.”

If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in an on the job accident, even if they are getting some workers comp benefits, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.