Landau Injury Law

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…)

ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. successfully represented a golf professional injured when the golf cart in which he was a passenger rolled over. The number of people hurt in golf carts has more than doubled, researchers say. Part of the problem is that the carts are faster than they used to be. But they are also being used in ways they were not necessarily intended for and are carrying more and more people with the rising costs of gas and the spread of “cart friendly” retirement and other communities. Writing in the July issue of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the researchers said that from 1990 to 2006, the injury rate had doubled. The lead author was Daniel S. Watson of Ohio State University and the findings were picked up in the July issue of the Insurance Journal.

Over the period studied, the researchers counted injuries in almost 150,000 people ages two months to 96 years. The study found that many of the injuries were caused by falls, which can occur at speeds as low as 11 miles per hour when the cart turns. It was pointed out that newer carts can hit 25 mph. They often lack safety equipment, according to a co-author of the study, Tracy J. Mehan, a researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. For example, the majority of the carts in use do not have seat belts. A lack of front brakes makes the vehicles prone to fishtail, the study said. In addition to being injured by falling out, riders are hurt when the carts turn over, as was the case of our Virginia client, whose arm was fractured at a famous Maryland golf course. SEE The Athletes Lawyer site for more.

When Doug Landau goes to national, state and regional law meetings, he often does so in order to meet with his co-counsel, local counsel and referring counsel on cases and clients from all over the country and all over the world.  By pooling knowledge and resources, the Herndon Reston area injury lawyer looks to maximize efficiency and results.  One of the leading lawyers in networking nationally is long time friend Paul Rheingold.  Paul Rheingold is a co-author with Doug’s father, the late Norman J. Landau of the ground breaking books: “The Environmental Law Handbook” as well as “Toxic Torts.”  Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau has worked with Rheingold’s firm on PhenFen Diet drug product liability cases, taken depositions for a Reston, Virginia bicycle crash case in their Manhattan offices and taught on programs with various partners from the firm.

Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, Shkolnik & McCartney is a law firm based in New York City that handles cases nationally by networking with lawyers in other states. They investigate cases themselves and, if they find that suits should be brought in some other state, they, like ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., associate local counsel.  Some of the cases the Rheingold firm is currently exploring include: Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Implantable Cardiac Lead Failures, injuries caused by prescription drugs and babies who have suffered brain damage as the result of medical negligence.

No.  Not necessarily.  The manager on duty may simply be offering to pay you out of the store’s “MedPay” insurance, which pays regardless of fault.  It is usually limited in amount ($500, $1,000 or even $5,000). Premises Liability MedPay checks are not an indication of fault or negligence.  They do not prove anything, and would not normally come into evidence at trial.  They are great “P.R.” for the store, and stave off many potential lawsuits.  There are cases where the insurance company paid $50,000 in medpay benefits but denied liability (or fault) for causing the accident.  So, if you are injured in an accident, and you receive money from a medpay policy, do not be duped into believing that the insurance company has accepted full responsibility or is admitting fault for purposes of a lawsuit.  It is simply insurance coverage for medical bills, for injuries incurred on the premises, generally limited to those arising within the first year, up to the modest limit purchased by the property owner or operator.  There is usually no requirement that a landlord or owner have this coverage, nor is there a rule requiring a minimum amount.  

In order to gauge the likely value of a case, the ABRAMS LANDAU team looks at a number of things, whether the client is involved in a car wreck, bicycle crash, slip and fall, dog attack or are injured due to a defective product, dangerous premises or other negligent conduct.  One of the best indicators is looking at jury verdict, mediation, arbitration and settlement amounts from similar cases in the same or similar jurisdictions.  This often requires Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau use computer research.  Lauren Holtzman, shown here, utilizes the expensive Lexis-Nexus programs the firm pays for as well as other state, local and national sources.  We also look at our own, internal data in order to narrow the range of expected jury verdicts.  We also look at collectibility and assets in order to determine whether, once we win, we can economically collect compensation for our deserving clients.  

The trial team at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. get calls from all over the country from victims of negligence, assaults and permanent injuries.  We are often asked (or told) “there’s a formula to these cases, isn’t there ?”When a brain-injured client’s parent tells me, “My neighbor’s friend’s dentist said that you just multiply the medical bills times three and that’s what you get for settlement” it is hard to explain that this has no basis in reality.  If this was true, then the woman I represented who slipped, fell and then lost her ability to have children would not have been able to seek more than just her Emergency Room bills.  If there was a formula of “three times specials,” then my younger clients, who miss time from school, would not get fair compensation.   A homemaker or person who could not get medical care (i.e., no CT Scans, x-rays, heavy pain medications) because they are pregnant, would be treated unfairly.  And those people who seek out unethical lawyers and over treat or go to unscrupulous doctors, would be unjustly enriched.  So, there is no “magic formula.”  It would not work in the majority of our cases, and we do not apply it in setting our demands, amounts sought in court or accepted in settlement.  At our Herndon injury law shop, we try to help people with all kinds of injuries, losses and cases.  Every case is unique and special.   See tomorrow’s post for more information on how Doug Landau and the ABRAMS LANDAU team evaluates injury, disease and disability cases.

In an earlier entry, I wrote about how we settled a case for a Radford area client after filing suit in his premises liability case in the Loudoun Circuit Court.   In this entry, you’re never going to believe it, but I brought a check for over $25,000 to the workers comp defense counsel. That’s right, in a workers comp claim where there is a third party negligence case, the employer’s insurance company has an “IOU” against any settlement, verdict or other monetary recovery.  In other words, if you are hurt on the job, and you sue someone who DOES NOT WORK FOR YOUR EMPLOYER for their negligence, or because of a defective product, or because their premises was dangerous, or their dog attacked you, the insurance company for your employer will look to get their money back.  Sometimes, BOTH cases can be settled at the same time. (more…)

Despite the workers comp insurance company’s delay, Doug Landau was able to successfully settle a Radford area client’s slip and fall case for $117,300 after filing suit in the Loudoun County Circuit Court.

FACTS: The Plaintiff had finished his morning’s work. He headed to the men’s bathroom before going on to lunch. He had no warning that the floor was wet, and, as he stepped into the bathroom he slipped and crashed down onto the wet floor, twisting his right knee and causing a contusion to his right shoulder.

There was a cautionary “Wet Floor“ sign (more…)

Here are some reasons Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau or ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. may advise a client that it is in their interests to enter a compromise settlement rather than risk a jury trial: 1. Time - you get compensation faster,2. Cost - you save on the expenses of trial,3. Emotional cost - you eliminate the uncertainty of trial,4. Patient-Physician relationship not subject to cross-examination, in public, causing your doctor to have doubts or unpleasantness,5. Privacy - “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” but what comes out in discovery or Court, does not always “stay put,”6. A jury may award you less,7. A jury may award you nothing,8. A judge may take away the jury’s verdict,9. The Defense may appeal the verdict, causing more time loss, expense and stress,10.  If the defendant or insurance company goes into bankruptcy, the proceedings are stayed and there is often more delay.

On the evening of December 4, 2006, after working overtime, our client pulled into the dimly lit parking lot of the Defendant’s grocery store in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. A pothole (at least a foot-and-a-half wide) was between the space in which she parked and the handicap parking space next to it, near the sidewalk at front of the store. Hidden in the darkness, it caught her foot and threw her into the car parked next to her.  Herndon - Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau took pictures and measurements with the claimant and co-counsel Tom Curcio of Alexandria shortly after this accident occurred. [Shown here: ABRAMS LANDAU’s Lauren Holtzman & Beatriz Vargas with a gift basket from the happy client.]

Early investigation is critical to building the liability case. There were no signs or warnings to alert customers of this latent hazard. Most importantly, the pothole was located (more…)