Landau Injury Law

McLean injury lawyer Doug Landau advises that it's often best to let the lawyer who starts the case to see it through and "take it over the finish line"

Recently, Greenway McLean area injury lawyer Doug Landau has been contacted by injured people who already have a lawyer.  Some are dissatisfied with their current lawyer’s work. Others cannot reach their current legal counsel.  And still others are confused and do not understand the legal process or their present attorney’s instructions.  Just as you cannot have TWO drivers of the same truck (it will likely crash and burn !) you cannot have lawyers from different firms working at odds on the same case !

When A-V Rated attorney Doug Landau is contacted by a disabled worker or injured victim who is already represented by counsel, he and the ABRAMS LANDAU staff advise the caller to try to work things out with their present lawyer.  That lawyer presumably knows the case; has invested in the claim; and, will likely have a “lien” (an “IOU”) for attorney fees even if the case is taken over by another attorney or law firm.  Plus, switching counsel “mid-stream” sends a negative message to the insurance company.  It suggests that the client is impatient, may switch again, and that there will be dissonance on the plaintiff’s side of the case.  So, while the injury trial team at ABRAMS LANDAU wants to help everyone who calls, writes and e-mails, when there is already counsel retained, we decline representation unless the potential client has:

1. Genuinely tried to work things out with their original lawyer;
2. Settled up with their counsel, who may be owed money for costs and fees;
3. Put in writing that the lawyer is discharged; and
4. Have a copy of their file so that the next lawyer does not have to “reinvent the wheel” and duplicate expenses.

Cases the ABRAMS LANDAU injury trial team is currently working on that were started by other law firms include claims where the original lawyer has: retired, fallen ill, been disbarred, realized that they are not admitted to practice in the jurisdiction where the trial will be held and does not have the staff, resources or money to properly invest in the case.

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.

ABRAMS LANDAU negligence, liability, personal injury & jury trial paralegal Krisin Tanzi and her canine assistant

Another friendly, experienced and helpful voice ABRAMS LANDAU clients and their families have come to appreciate is that of Kristin Tanzi.  If a case involves negligence, liability and jury trial issues, Mrs. Tanzi will likely be interacting with you along with law clerk Shawn Shook and Landau Law Shop founding partner Doug Landau.

Recently, she helped Mr. Landau successfully conclude a dog bite case in New Jersey, prepare a trucking negligence case in Georgia and an airport cart crash case in Florida.  Legal assistant and paralegal Kristan Tanzi has experience working for law firms in New York and Texas before joining the Herndon Reston area law firm.  The Ashburn area paralegal’s responsibilities include:
•    Intermediary between attorney and clients, opposing counsel and justice system personnel
•    Drafting and filing of pleadings and correspondence (i.e., Interrogatories, Discovery Requests and Responses, Settlement Agreements)
•    Discovery preparation (i.e. correlation of client’s discovery responses)
•    Preparation of insurance claim forms for clients; Correspondence with insurance companies regarding clients claims
•    Trial preparation and attendance
•    Case file and client management
•    Scheduling appointments and court dates
•    Deposition coordination
•    Screening of potential clients
•    Docket control

The front page of the Washington Examiner screams, “A pothole ate my car.”  While this may seem like sensationalistic journalism, DC car crash and injury lawyer Doug Landau has actually won a case for driver injured by a pothole.

Doug Landau has helped motorists, bikers and athletes injured by potholes, snow, ice and roadway defects

In Landau’s client’s case, the motorist was driving under L’Enfant Plaza, when suddenly, and without any warning, her car was stopped dead.  When she came to, she got out of the car and saw that her front wheel was completely in a large pothole in the darkened underpass.  The pothole had filled with melting snow, and so there was no way for Landau’s client to see the dangerous hazard.  The case went to court in the Superior Court, where experienced  D.C. trial attorney Doug Landau was able to cross examine the District of Columbia’s roadway expert witness so effectively, that he was able to get concessions as to the ability of freezing water to break up concrete and create a dangerous driving hazard.

Reporting potholes so that they will get fixed and other will not get injured or have their cars, trucks or bikes “eaten”:

• Arlington: 703-228-6570
• Prince George’s County: 301-952-0555 or 301-776-7619 (upper county)
• Fairfax: 703-383-8368
• Montgomery: 240-777-6000 »  District: 311
• Maryland State Highway Administration: 800-323-6742

Doug Landau has lost hubcaps due to potholes in Virginia, and has driven disabled clients to their Social Security hearings in the District when the roads are unsafe or there is ice and (more…)

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.

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.

A buck totals a Mercedes Benz limousine on its way back to Clarke County, Virginia.  Winchester injury and animal accident attorney Doug Landau recovered for his client, the limo driver, after careful examination of the evidence necessary to prove the case.  As stated yesterday, Northern Virginia crash injury lawyer Doug Landau advises that in many cases the facts are such that negligence, fault (or “failure to exercise ordinary care under the circumstances”) can not be established after a crash with a deer or other animal in the road.

However, there are two areas to examine: the speed of the striking vehicle and avoidance. Here are examples of how Robson Forensic , an engineering firm that has been retained by ABRAMS LANDAU in past cases, has helped to establish liability in these areas:

1. The front of a car hit a deer. The deer then hit the windshield or roof line of the striking car, vaulted over the roof and came down on the top of a passing pickup, injuring the pickup driver. The roof of the pickup was collapsed down and the columns supporting the roof were buckled. To do that damage to the pickup the deer had to have fallen a few feet onto the pickup roof, and thus was lofted into the air by the striking car. The speed limit was 30 mph. The car had to have been greatly exceeding the speed limit to have lofted the deer into the air. The car exceeding the speed limit caused the injury to the pickup driver.
2. A car hit a deer and the passenger was injured. The point of impact was established by the driver and police at the site. In his deposition, the driver said “I came over the hill crest and saw the deer…” We went to the site, determined the sight distance from the hill crest to the point of impact with the deer. The driver had far more than enough time to have controlled the situation. The driver’s failure to control his approach speed caused the injury to his passenger.

The Crash Reconstruction Practice Group at Robson Forensic is well equipped to investigate all varieties of crashes (Crash Practice Group Leader, Peter Leiss, direct 800.813.6736). Our experts include Vehicle Engineers for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and recreational vehicles. Robson Forensic also has experts in highway engineering, human factors, biomechanics, and many other related disciplines and has assisted ABRAMS LANDAU in cases involving scalding burns, premises liability, hotel, motel and resort negligence.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a crash or car accident caused all, or in part, by a deer or other animal, please contact us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., 703-796-9555

“While there are caps on damages that a disabled victim can receive in many jurisdictions, there are no limits to how much money an expert witness can make,” according to Loudoun and Fairfax injury lawyer Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.  In today’s Washington Post there is an interesting article about what, caused a 4-month-old’s brain hemorrhage.  According to the Post, the debate over whether “shaken baby syndrome” exists has erupted into a national battle of the experts. According to the newspaper, in the story “Shaken baby syndrome itself is put on trial in Fairfax court:”

Georgetown University neurosurgeon Ronald Uscinski said brain scans showed that the infant’s bleeding continued long after he had been hospitalized, when no trauma was occurring, and “this condition was not caused by shaking.”   Uscinski said he had testified more than 100 times in shaken baby cases, always for the defense. “I’ve never been contacted by the prosecution,” he said. Last year, he estimated he made about $200,000 in testifying and consulting fees. He said there were numerous explanations for bleeding in an infant’s brain that were unrelated to shaking, especially with no marks or trauma on a child’s neck, arms or body.

This money is in addition to his practice at Georgetown, and any earnings he may have for lecturing, writing, teaching, etc.  There are other doctors in the DC metro area who make six-figure income just from their court testimony and preparation.  So, “if you do not think this is an important part of a physician’s income, you are sorely mistaken,” adds experienced personal injury and workers compensation lawyer Doug Landau.