Landau Injury Law

Iowa representative bruce Braley Herndon Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau VTLA convention

Having met Congressman Bruce Braley several times and heard the courageous legislator speak, Herndon, Reston & McLean trial lawyer Doug Landau was so impressed that he has sent support, even though he cannot vote for the Representative from Iowa. Landau had met and heard Braley speak in several states over the years, and had a chance to chat with the inspirational legislator in Williamsburg this Spring and at the American Association for Justice and Trial Lawyers of D.C. meetings this winter. When asked about why ABRAMS LANDAU was so keen on this member of the House or Representatives, Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William County lawyer Landau explained, (more…)

Doug Landau attending a client's recent medical exam in a contested spinal injury workers compensation case, where his clieint's back surgeon has indicated a lumbar spine operation is needed and the insurance company has denied authorization for the operative procedure

“While the multi-million dollar lawsuits get all the headlines, whether or not they are ultimately successful, it is workers comp claim that touch the lives of so many injured workers and their families that are never reported,” according to Herndon Reston area claimants’ comp attorney Doug Landau.  “Because these cases usually do not involve lawsuits, jury trials or millions of dollars, it seems as though the press is not interested and the plight of disabled workers and their families is largely unknown,” adds the ABRAMS LANDAU trial lawyer.  As Landau actually represents clients and has tried cases in Florida, he is familiar with Judge Mills’ statement on this subject:

• “Workers’ compensation is a very important field of the law, if not the most important.  It touches more lives than any other field of the law. It involves the payments of huge sums of money.  The welfare of human beings, the success of business, and the pocketbooks of consumers are affected daily by it.”  Judge E. R. Mills, Singletary v. Mangham Construction, 418 So.2d 1138 (Fla.1st DCA, 1982)

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.

Trying cases for injured workers in small towns against the major employer requires experience, staffing and resources

Having tried cases for injured mine workers and travelled to the mining areas of West Virginia, occupational injury lawyer Doug Landau has been following the news reports of the recent mine explosion that took over two dozen miner’s lives. A Washington Post article about the recent mining explosion in West Virginia that killed 25 people stated that the mining industry wields major political clout in Washington thanks to hefty campaign contributions to GOP lawmakers and expensive lobbying efforts aimed at blunting the impact of environment- and safety-related legislation. The industry is currently finding itself under massive scrutiny after the WV disaster.

As the major employer in some rural small towns, it is very difficult for the injured workers to find a competent, experienced workers comp lawyer, let alone bring a claim against the major (and best paying) employer in the region.  Doug Landau has tried cases in Lebanon and Covington, Virginia as well as Bluefield, Princeton and Charleston, West Virginia for disabled and injured workers and their families.  ABRAMS LANDAU has successfully won workers compensation claims, Social Security Disability cases and negligence lawsuits for Virginia and West Virginia clients.  If you or someone you know has been injured or become disabled as the result of a mine collapse, explosion or other accident, please e-mail or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.

As you travel around Northern Virginia, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that highway work zones are some of the most dangerous places for drivers and workers; especially if you are talking on a cell phone.  The width of the travel lanes are often reduced in work zones, and construction equipment, trucks and personnel are all in close proximity to driver who may be “driving under the influence” of electronic distractions such as cell phones, GPS and test messages.  April 19-23 is National Work Zone Awareness Week.

• Did you know that 4 out of 5 people killed in work zone crashes are drivers ?
• Did you know that there were more than 2,000 crashes in Virginia work zones resulting in 7 deaths
• and 1,000 injuries in 2008 ?

With construction on the Beltway and Metrorail, please pay close attention when driving in these areas.  My own recent trips from our Herndon Reston area law shop to the Courts in Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church and Fairfax have enabled me to experience the large number of roadway construction projects in Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a highway work zone accident, email or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.

Last month, the job injury, Social Security Disability and car crash law firm of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. hosted a luncheon in Herndon for top local lawyers.  Doug Landau provided a free lunch, speakers and advice to the attendees, many of whom are not able to afford to get away from their busy practices and attend the state or national trial lawyer conventions.  Attorneys from Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties as well as Alexandria, Virginia and Rockville, Maryland attended this latest meeting at the Zeferrelli Restaurant in the “downtown historic district” of Herndon.  Job accident lawyer Doug Landau has previously hosted such lunch and breakfast meetings throughout Northern Virginia.

After over 25 years in practice, Landau is asked why he spends the time, effort and money helping other lawyers who also handle workers compensation, disability and accident cases when they might be competitors.  Landau responds that with his licenser in Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. and the Federal Courts along the East Coast, there are no other firms that can do all that ABRAMS LANDAU can do where they can do it.  Secondly, there are subspecialties within the injury and occupational disease practice that Landau does not handle.  In just the last week, he was able to successfully recommend a Federal workers compensation lawyer to several callers and those who e-mailed ABRAMS LANDAU.  Just like a family doctor who might refer a patient to a specialist, Landau will often give callers several names of lawyers experienced in the area of law in which assistance is needed.  So, if you have a legal question or potential claim, email or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.  If we cannot answer the question, we probably know someone with experience who can !

Incoming VTLA President Matt Murray gives a memorable closing banquest speech highlighting remarkable cases won by Virginia Trial Lawyers on behalf of their injured and disabled clients

Incoming Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (”VTLA“) president Matthew Murray of Charlottesville did an unusual thing at the Annual VTLA Convention closing banquet.  Instead of speaking from the dais, he walked around the hall and singled out several cases for special mention.  Murray recounted, without notes, cases where VTLA lawyers had gone “above and beyond” on behalf of their disabled and permanently injured clients.  It was one of the most memorable and unique acceptance speeches the members had ever heard and it bodes well for Murray’s presidency.

The ABRAMS LANDAU case Murray raised was the case of Ralph Dean, a life long employee of Atlantic Research in Alexandria, Virginia.  Mr. Dean developed berylliosis, a rare disease that only comes from exposure to beryllium, which was being used by his employer in furtherance of he government’s “Star Wars Rocket Program.”  The disease affected Mr. Dean’s ability to breath, much like asbestos disease, but also caused “peripheral neuropathy” which meant that he could not feel with his extremities, and had to go in to a hot shower backwards, as his hands and feet could not tell if the water was scalding.  Workplace injury and disease lawyer Doug Landau filed Dean’s case immediately, as most all of the worthier workers had already died.  The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission denied the case at every single level, and Landau appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Virginia.  There the job injury lawyer was told by one of the justices that, “it was a matter for the legislature” in denying the case once again.

With little time left in this clients life, Landau filed for Federal disability benefits after the state compensation claim was dismissed on the basis that he did not bring his case within 7 years of his last exposure, even though there was no injury and no disability at that time.  Berylliosis is an insidious, latent disease, like asbestosis or mesothelioma, that does not manifest itself for many years, and even decades.  In the Federal system, the case was again denied until Landau tried the case on remand before an award-winning Federal judge in Tampa, Florida.  There, the ABRAMS LANDAU team not only won the case for full benefice for Mr. Dean, but they also were awarded attorney fees under the “Equal Access to Justice Act.”  The hugs from Mr. & Mrs. Dean were some of the highlights of Landau’s career, and President Murray wanted to share this hard fought victory with the members of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.

Virginia work injury lawyer Doug Landau, his client AND a piece of candy after a winning Fairfax Workers Comp Hearing

Workers compensation claims are becoming harder and more complicated as insurance companies are resisting claims with big medical bills and medication expenses.  Not only has McLean, Greenway and Foxcroft injury lawyer Doug Landau noticed this disturbing trend, he also understands that injured workers and their families find it hard to wait for the judges’ decisions to come in the mail weeks and months after the case is heard.  After being put through the unpleasantness of the “litigation process” as insurance defense lawyers like to call it, some claimants leave the Hearing site with a bad taste in their mouths.  One nice touch in the VWCC Fairfax Northern Virginia Regional Office is the candy dish in the foyer.  Lawyer Landau tells his clients that if they are good, they may get a piece of candy.  Landau appreciates the VWCC staff for this small gesture.  If you or someone you know has a workers comp Hearing, and needs an experienced lawyer, e-mail or call us (703-796-9555) at ABRAMS LANDAU today.

A Northern Virginia Regional Office Workers Compensation Hearing room, where comp claims are heard in Fairfax County

Herndon, Reston and Dulles work injury lawyer Doug Landau has tried workers comp claims all over Virginia.  The Hearing rooms are not all the same, with some cases being heard in City Council Chambers, others in libraries and still others in Unemployment Offices and court rooms.  One of the busiest locations for deciding Virginia Workers Compensation claims is the Fairfax Office.  The Northern Virginia Regional Office has two dedicated Hearing rooms, and in addition to the judges who have offices in Fairfax County, other judges routinely come up from the headquarters in Richmond to decide workplace injury, occupational disease and job fatality claims.  All the Hearing rooms make use of microphones and tape recording equipment so that a transcript can be typed up later of the judge to review and in case there are any appeals taken by the parties.  That is why lawyer Landau recommends, regardless of the acoustics of the Hearing room, that you keep your voice up, look at the judge and enunciate.  If you or someone you know, has a workers comp Hearing coming up and wold benefit from representation from competent, experienced legal counsel, e-mail or call us (703-796-9555) at ABRAMS LANDAU today.

workers comp & workplace injury lawyer Doug Landau enjoys the comfortable foyer chairs at the Farifax Northern Vrginia regional hearing office at Prosperity Plaza

“If you can watch another Hearing, do so,” counsels Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau, “but if the court rooms are locked, then wait in the foyer, shown in the picture to the left.”  When clients have cases that are being heard in the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (”VWCC“), the ABRAMS LANDAU workplace injury team always recommends watching other cases whenever possible, preferably well before the date of your own Hearing.  On the day of your Hearing, you may meet Mr. Landau in the foyer of the Northern Virginia Regional Office in Fairfax.  Prosperity Plaza does not look like a court house because it is not a court building.  It is an office building and the VWCC is on the ground floor, accessible from the inside of the building as well as the outside.  There are chairs and friendly VWCC staffers as you come in, and as long as you do not discuss the merits of your case where lawyers for the Insurance Company, Third Party Administrator (”TPA”) or employer can overhear your conversation, you can wait comfortably until the court rooms are open and/or your lawyer arrives.  In tomorrow’s post, Lawyer Landau will show you a Northern Virginia Regional Office Hearing room in the Prosperity Plaza office buiding in Fairfax.

Abrams Landau clients came to watch Doug Landau "in action" as he tried a Fairfax nurse's workers comp case

Several ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. clients did their “homework” and came to watch Doug Landau try a case in Fairfax on behalf of an injured Fairfax nurse.  This wonderful woman had devoted almost her entire work life to helping others in the hospital nursing field.  She was a nurse with the INOVA system for over 3 decades !  Yet, when she injured herself several years ago and tried to pursue a claim on her own, the hospital denied her workers comp benefits, hired lawyers to defeat her claim and she lost in front of one of the judges in Fairfax.  She then returned to work, taking care of pregnant mothers and newborn babies in one of the busiest hospitals in the state of Virginia.  She was tripped up in a fetal monitor’s wires and thrown down to the ground.  She was injured and faced long term disability and physical therapy.  The hospital again denied her claim and hired a law firm to win the case in court.

This time the nurse called ABRAMS LANDAU, albeit “at the 24th hour” – right before her deposition and less than 2 weeks before her Hearing before the judge !  Bristow, Bradley Farms and Lake Anna injury lawyer Doug Landau was able to help the nurse prepare for her “day in court” and get this mistreated woman under the protection of an Award.  The clients who came and watched learned where to sit, park and what occurs in contested workplace injury cases.  These injured workers also got so see lawyer Landau “in action,” which is enormously important in eliminating a lot anxiety and “unknowns.”  As the only law firm that routinely invites clients, their families, friends, neighbors and witnesses to come and watch “real” cases (as opposed to those  on television), please e-mail or call ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) to see when next we are trying cases in your area.   Learn by watching “the real thing.”  You and your family will be glad you did.