Landau Injury Law

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the case of the disabled truck driver and the sworn testimony of the Federal Government’s hired professional witness.  Today, we look at the types of questions I use to cross examine these experts in order to successfully prove my client’s disability case.
At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we put on evidence that:
1. Our client is unable to perform his previous type of work,
2. Significant limitations impinge on any range of work and eliminate large numbers of occupations a person could otherwise perform,
3. Our client’s present impairments are disabling and have lasted in excess of 12 months,
4. The claimant’s impairments prevent him from engaging in substantial gainful employment, both the types of work he did before and other types of work,
5. This claimant must take unscheduled breaks and will miss  more than 4 days per month according to his own, treating health care providers,
6. The uncontroverted lay (non-expert) testimony shows that others do the: shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc.
7. Claimant does almost nothing around the home,
8. Multiple factors in preclude substantial gainful activity,
9. The judge must consider ALL of the claimant’s impairments in combination, including those that are not severe on their own, when determining whether the P has a severe impairment.  (Pursuant to SSR 85-28, an impairment is “not severe” only where the medical evidence clearly establishes that it has a minimal or non-serious effect on a P’s ability to perform work-related activities),
10. The medical evidence supports a finding of disability, as summarized by the claimant’s treating doctors

In a disability case tried in the District of Columbia, Doug Landau confronted the Federal Government’s Vocational Expert (”VE”), much to the displeasure of the Judge. While Landau did not dispute the expert witness’s credentials or experience, the Herndon Reston area disability and injury lawyer cross-examined the VE armed with the treating doctors’ findings and objective evidence.

This ABRAMS LANDAU client’s spine was injured in a truck accident. This middle-aged gentleman from Loudoun County had a catastrophic back injury when the truck he was driving broke. Unfortunately, he had another lawyer represent him in his workers comp claim, and that attorney would not spend the time, money or effort necessary to work up a potential product liability case. By the time he came to ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., on referral from the National Organization of Social Security Representatives, the time limit (”statute of limitations”) had run on his negligence case and he had settled his workers comp claim. (more…)

Doug Landau hates waste. Anyone who has seen him around the office knows that he enjoys “multi-tasking.” It makes the Herndon Reston brain injury lawyer nuts when clients waste their time, effort or money. However, there is one type of waste that it particularly grating.

As the former Chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Disability, Social Security and Health Law Section, Landau compared notes with lawyers from all over the country. The ABRAMS LANDAU trial lawyer saw that the interplay of Social Security and Workers Comp laws resulted in permanently disabled and unemployed clients not getting back the money they had paid into the Federal system. In other words, when an injured client is eligible for BOTH State Workers Comp wage loss benefits AND the Federal Social Security Disability Income (”SSDI”) benefits, the Federal Government, like many private Long Term Disability Insurance plans, takes a “set off” for the comp money. For example, if a client (more…)

‘Catch 22′: Price of doing well is more work elsewhere
By Peter Vieth”
from March 24, 2008 http://valawyersweekly.com/archive.cfm?recid=433388

Most Virginia Social Security disability claimants and their attorneys have avoided the long hearing delays that recently have plagued other areas of the country. Claimants in Northern Virginia, however, often wait a year or more for their hearings, and attorneys there are feeling the heat as the process slows down. (more…)

What kinds of expert medical opinions did Doug Landau have to get from the doctors in order to assist his client in her Social Security Disability claim ? The ABRAMS LANDAU team was able to request and receive the treating doctor’s opinions that his patient would be able to sit and/or stand for less than 2 hours in an 8-hour day.

.Doug Landau, a past Chairman of the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE Social Security, Disability and Health Law Section, is shown here with current Chair, Carolina Lawyer Eric Buchanon and another presenter after their Legal Education program at the national trial lawyers’ convention.

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Experienced Herndon, Virginia Social Security Disability Income lawyer Landau was able to elicit from the doctors many helpful opinions. Two physicians indicated that Landau’s client would need to take unscheduled breaks on an hourly basis lasting 10 minutes at a time and may need to lie down.

With prolonged sitting, she should elevate her legs to chair level approximately 50% of the time during an 8-hr. day. As for lifting, the claimant’s doctor opined that she can rarely lift 10 lbs. and never lift 20–50 lbs. Herndon Reston area Social Security Disability lawyer Doug Landau was able to elicit from this doctor statements that his client could NEVER squat, climb ladders or stairs. This experienced disability law practitioner was also able to present the Federal Judge with doctor’s opinions that his client had significant limitations with reaching, handling or fingering. These symptoms, along with the arthritis pain (more…)

When clients have obvious loss of function, injuries resulting in amputation or other obvious deformities, the Administrative Law Judges who hear Social Security claims have objective signs supporting disability. But when there is no outward sign of injury or disability, such as with cases of brain injury, spinal cord trauma, closed head injury, or internal organ disease, they often have a difficult time discerning legitimate claims from unsupported cases. When Herndon lawyer Doug Landau presents claims for clients who do not have obvious signs of injury or disease, he and the ABRAMS LANDAU trial team works hard to make sure the medical records and evidence support our clients’ legitimate claims.

In a recent case brought in Washington, D.C., Doug Landau brought a Social Security claim for a client who suffers from multiple medical conditions, including arthritis and continued abdominal pain including symptoms associated with diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome. The Herndon/Reston Virginia disability lawyer thoroughly reviewed this woman’s medical history. The medical record and exhibit revealed that she suffered constant pain (more…)

WFVA AM 1230 Fredericksburg was the scene of injury lawyer Doug Landau’s latest public speaking engagement.  Invited by host (and experienced personal injury lawyer John “Jack” Harris of HARRIS & HARRIS), Landau talked about Virginia Workers Compensation law, claims, mistakes, time limits, as well as Social Security Disability and Negligence lawsuits.The DJ also asked the ABRAMS LANDAU trial attorney about some of his newsworthy paraplegia, brain injury, fatal accident, permanent disability, head trauma and multiple fracture and amputation cases.  The question that threw the loquacious Landau for a loop was, “What was your funniest case ?”  The Herndon-Reston area lawyer has had so many interesting, sad and sometimes funny cases, that it was hard to come up with one in the waning minutes of this wonderful show.  Next time Landau promises to be ready with some humorous vignettes to temper the tragic stories that are frequently handled by the ABRAMS LANDAU trial team

Instead of taking longer, some states are trying to reduce the number of workers compensation claims waiting for settlement. Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau received a copy of the Star Ledger article stating that, “The backlog of injured New Jerseyans whose workers compensation insurance settlements are hung up in a government review process has dropped by more than 1,000 since October, state Labor Department officials announced, crediting changes in state and federal procedures.” Since October, when 3,686 workers compensation case settlements were suspended pending a review by the federal agency that oversees Medicare, the number of suspended settlements has plunged to 2,677 this month, according to the director and chief judge of the state’s Division of Workers Compensation.

Thousands of injured workers, generally those over age 65, have been forced to wait a year or more for their workers compensation insurance settlements because the federal government has demanded the right to review the pending settlements. The federal government’s goal is to ensure that the recipients had not billed Medicare for medical treatment that should have been covered by their workers comp insurance. In other words, according to Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., the “feds don’t want to be left holding the bag.” (more…)

Fredericksburg Virginia Radio station WFVA (1230 AM) will feature Herndon Injury Lawyer Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. on its morning “Peoples Law School” program Monday, March 17th at 9:00 AM.  The affable Triathlon Trial Lawyer will answer questions from callers as well as from the host, fellow Virginia Trial Lawyer John Harris.   So, if you have any questions about all kinds of injury claims, workers compensation, dog attacks, occupational diseases, defective products, sports accidents, children’s cases, brain injury, Social Security Disability or other related topics, please call in !  The number is 540-371-5756.

A new law on the books introduced in the Senate on Dec. 18, 2007 and signed by the President on December 29, 2007 is going to have significant impact on how the workers’ compensation system operates in the future concerning Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) issues.

As reported by National Workers Comp expert and fellow WILG member John Gelman in the workers compensation blogspot (http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/2008/01/cms-hammers-work-comp-carriers-with.html), “for years it has been a dirty little secret in the Workers’ Compensation Industry that the insurance carriers were shifting the medical liability from themselves to Medicare. (more…)