Landau Injury Law

A recent NY Times article began:

“Note to victims of accidents, medical malpractice, broken contracts and the like: When you sue, make a deal.”

That is the clear lesson of a soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits that has found that most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer.

“The lesson for plaintiffs is, in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant’s offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more,” said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at DecisionSet, a consulting firm that advises clients on litigation decisions.

Defendants made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24% of cases, according to the study; plaintiffs were wrong in 61%of cases. In just 15% of cases, both sides were right to go to trial — meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered.” While each case is unique and there are many factors that go into evaluating cases for trial and settlement, an experienced trial lawyer can help navigate the decision-making process. For the entire article, go to: www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/business/08law.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Clients of ABRAMS LANDAU know that Doug Landau frequently videotapes depositions, both in his office, at other offices, and even at the scene of the accident. He is shown here with noted Connecticut Trial Lawyer Robert Reardon, and the videographer and court reporter from Casamo Court Reporting Company before a taped deposition at the Landau Law Shop.

Recent examples of videotaped oral examinations under oath include: a fatal trash truck accident where a worker was run over and crushed to death; a bicycle crash where the cyclist’s ankle was fractured; and, a dog attack where a police officer was bitten on her shooting arm. While his investment of time, money and effort in doing this is unique among trial lawyers, a recent ruling from the Garden State adds ammunition to Landau’s arguments when defense lawyers object to their clients and witnesses being filmed.

In the recent case of LaMarche v. Hackensack University Medical Center, the judge ruled that a plaintiff can (more…)

A 21-year-old college student who dreamed of becoming a teacher was in an  accident with the Defendants’ truck.  She claimed $2,400,000 in medical expenses and lost wages as well as traumatic brain injury. But pictures on her MySpace page showing her at parties after the accident told a different story to the jury.  Her MySpace page told of her partying, dancing, going to school and applying for jobs.  Defense counsel simply did some Internet investigation and found valuable evidence on this younger litigant from the “confetti generation.”   The general view of the defense bar is that once you put this information out on the Web, you are disseminating it for public viewing (AND use in court).  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we have used the Internet to do our own investigation on a Defendant, and have seen shocking examples of Defendants’ putting on the Internet information about themselves that they would never want coming out in Court.

As Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau likes to point out, “Anything you say, publish (in print or on the Web) can and WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU.”  Social networking sites can be a quick and easy way to keep “in touch,” but what is put on the Web does not always stay on the web.  Many law firms conduct extensive Internet investigation of all plaintiffs, their families and doctors, but their other witnesses as well.  Defense lawyers will seek information to challenge the credibility of the plaintiffs and their witnesses in traumatic brain injury or other permanent injury cases.  If the defense can successfully question the plaintiff’s witnesses’ credibility, they can counteract the sympathy that jurors often have for the victims of catastrophic head injuries.  Lawyers USA, p.11, Verdicts & Settlements, July 28, 2008

            Even if the claimant’s doctor has not released him/her to go back to work, Doug Landau counsels his clients to put effort into job searching that may fit their current restrictions.   If they do not find employment, there is at least a written record of their efforts as evidence that the injured worker is not malingering, but would seriously like to work.  Waiting for the employer to accept the claimant back to work is not necessarily the best result for the claimant.  ABRAMS LANDAU clients who have sustained permanent arm, leg or head injuries may not ever be able to go back to their old jobs.  BUT, there are other, easier, “light duty jobs,” that they can do.  The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission sometimes calls these jobs “selective duty positions.”  Whether the injured worker has had a broken leg or a brain injury, the Commission will often look to see what efforts they have made to look for light work that they CAN do.  Failure to even look can serve as the basis for an insurance company terminating benefits.

            The recent case of  John Quinn Inc. v. Barry   is an example of what is expected and the law in Virginia.  At the time of his accident, an injured employee was working two jobs, one of which was a part-time job at Home Depot.   The claimant could not return to his pre-injury work with his primary employer or any with any manufacturing or construction position.  The claimant accepted a full-time position with Home Depot where his work activities were limited as a result of his injury.  The Virginia Court of Appeals overturned the Commission Award of TPD because the Court was not convinced that the claimant’s acceptance of the full-time position with Home Depot constituted adequate marketing of his residual capacity.  The Court determined that the claimant failed to meet his burden of proof. 

See: John Quinn Inc. v. Barry (Frank, J.)Virginia Court of Appeals No. 2229-07-2, July 15, 2008, Virginia Lawyers Weekly 008-7-333(UP),9pp 

Yes, possibly.  The first step in any workers compensation claim is to determine if you were injured “in the course and scope of employment.”  If you were injured on the job, the next step is to figure out how much your employer paid you every week.  Because many undocumented workers are paid “under the table,” or on a cash basis, proving how much your employer paid you every week may be difficult.  This is important because many of your compensation benefits depend on how much you were making before you got injured.   Your “average weekly wage” rate affects how much you get for lost wages, permanent injury to your body and the size of your settlement or Court Award.

Proving what your employer paid you in cash might be a difficult task, but with the help of the ABRAMS LANDAU team, the process can be smoother.  In order to prove how much employers have paid undocumented workers in the past, the ABRAMS LANDAU law firm in Herndon, Virginia has used a variety of successful techniques like examining bank deposit statements, receipts from remittances, eye witness accounts, and receipts from other money transfer services.  It is best to have is a “paper trail” of the payments you received.    

Additionally, the ABRAMS LANDAU team will help you factor whether you were provided uniforms, meals, lodging or transportation.  This usually increases the amount of money Herndon attorney Doug Landau gets for his clients.  Proving exactly how much the employer paid you every week will determine how much money you receive while you are not working-money that will help you and your family survive while you are recovering from your injuries.  

I hope not. And they certainly do not in my case. After all, I have represented a number of doctors, therapists and nurses in my career and they still call on me for assistance and legal advice. They also refer their own patients and family members to our office for help.

I have served as counsel for Virginia Physicians Managed Care, Inc., which was comprised of many of the top OB/GYNs in Northern Virginia, and have taught “Orthopedics for Lawyers” with top spine surgeon Tom Schuler of the Virginia Spine Institute. My record representing physicians speaks for itself, and my medical training has helped me to understand and work with those in the health professions. Here is my wife with my long time friend Dr. Susan Rheingold at a recent trial lawyers gathering. She is a doctor and she seems to put up with us just fine. Yes, there are doctors who do not respect lawyers, just as there are lawyers who do not respect doctors. I am not one of those people. I try to abide by the following when working with Health Care Providers:

1. Respond to questions promptly,

2. Keep the patient (and client) “in the loop,

3. Try to ensure that the doctor has all of the relevant medical recrods,

4. Provide the treating specialist with prior medical records from the family doctor,

5. Demand complete candor from the client and their family with regard to health and medical histories,

6. Make it easy for busy physicians to respond to important questions by the use of SHORT letters, straightforward inquiries and forms, where appropriate,

7. Accomodate busy surgeons’ schedules and give as much advance notice as to the need for testimony at trial as possible,

8. Invest in professionally done medical illustrations, enlargements of pictures and positives of x-rays so that the doctor’s testimony is more easily understood by the jury, judge, mediator and/or arbitrator.

The better question might be, “Do you really want a lawyer sitting at his/her desk 24/7 ?”

It means that they do not try cases (and many lawyers NEVER GO TO COURT !).

It means they are never in mediation or arbitration in “closed door” sessions with a retired judge.

It means they never get out of the office to investigate their cases, interview witnesses or take depositions at the Defendants’ place of business or “scene of the crime.”

It means that they do no volunteer work, putting in time for the community.

It means that they have no life.

Is that really the trial lawyer you want for your case ?

At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we encourage clients to fax, e-mail, write and call.  Doug Landau responds as quickly as he can, but as he is often in Court, and cell phones are not permitted, able staff can frequently assist and get prompt answers.

Doug Landau once again attended the VTLA Advanced Auto Practice Retreat at The Boar’s Head Inn, Charlottesville, Virginia.  Landau has previously attended and been a presenter at this “by invitation only” program.  Topic covered have included: the use of nurse consultants, demonstrative exhibits, Traumatic Brain Injury, Permanent Scarring, Pain and Suffering, Life Care Planning and Chronic Pain, Proof of Pain at Trial (by Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau !), Chronic Pain Management, Hematoma Impact on Nerves, Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy (”RSD”) otherwise known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Burns and Wounds, Ostomy/Ileostomy Pain, Severe Fracture Pain, Working with Adjusters, Getting fairer results for the Property Damage claims and computer programming for presentation of evidence at mediation, arbitration and trial.  Doug Landau came away from the weekend meeting with a number of “golden nuggets” as some of the top trial lawyers in Virginia were able to put their heads together, away from their offices, and focus on trends and tactics that can help injured and disabled clients and their families.  A long-time VTLA member, Landau is shown here with Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen Charlottesville Office managing partner and friend Matt Murray.

You may have heard me remind clients and staff alike to “keep their eye on the big picture.”  Too often, plaintiffs and plaintiffs lawyers get tied up in the minutiae of the cases, losing sight of the “big picture.”  It is important to remain focused on the ultimate goal of the case, and to marshal energy, resources and time to accomplish this goal.  This takes self discipline and deep concentration.  As you can see in the photo, Melissa is concentrating deeply on making her shot, eliminating distractions, and planting a steady hand.  Likewise, when we take on a case for an injured client, we will schedule time to think deeply and plan strategy, eliminate distractions and establish a solid foundation of evidence, exhibits and legal research.  Like a good billiards shot, cases on behalf of disabled workers, brain injured clients, workplace fatalities and the victims of dog attacks and bites cannot be rushed if they are to be done right.  AND, like a pool shot  in a high stakes match, you do not get a second chance or “do over.”  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. law shop in Herndon, Virginia, we do it the old fashioned way, through hard work, thorough preparation and involvement of our clients from beginning to end.

 At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we use common sense and proven system to solve the “Top Practice & Client Problems.”  “Problems” #8 and #9 and the ABRAMS LANDAU solutions are:

•8. Keeping track of billable time spent on client matters

Let’s face facts, most of my injured clients cannot possibly advance thousands of dollars for an hourly retainer like the doctors, businesses and lawyers who hire me.  That is why 95% of our work is with a contingency fee contract where I am not paid for my time and effort unless I am successful in the case.  That is also why my staff and I generally do not waste time keeping time records and billing clients. While I have won cases where the court has asked for a time computation, our thorough note taking, computerization and documentation has enabled the Courts to make significant fee awards in a number of our cases.

•9. Interruptions from clients

In addition to the strategies outlined in #3, above, we also discourage “walk ins” other than to drop off documents, evidence or to get pictures taken.  Your neurosurgeon probably does not see “drop ins” and neither do I.  It is not fair to long-time clients who have made appointments in advance. And nobody likes to be kept waiting, especially by someone else who has “cut in line.”  So, while I do like my clients, I cannot possibly be effective if I am interrupted while in the midst of major case projects, depositions, conference calls or strategy sessions.

See tomorrow’s post for another of our strategies for solving these “law practice problems.”