Virginia and DC Workers Compensation lawyer Doug Landau suggests disabled workers and their families: get counsel, get the claim filed and get under the protection of an Award, even if they are getting comp benefits already

Virginia workers comp lawyer Doug Landau is often asked this question.  The short answer is, “NO.”  Comp insurance companies may voluntarily pay for medical care or lost wages, and it seems as though they do so for commendable reasons.  However, Warrenton, Bristow and Vint Hill workers compensation lawyer Landau has seen too many cases where the insurance company cut off benefits after getting a taped statement; a favorable medical report; a nurse’s suggestion; a private investigator’s report; videotape; or word from their lawyers that the time limit has run out against the injured worker’s claim.  Filing an accident report with the employer or insurer is not sufficient; the claim MUST be timely filed with the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (”VWCC”).

This is why it is so important to the ABRAMS LANDAU workers comp trial team to get the claim properly filed and an AWARD entered in Virginia.  An AWARD is a Court Order, from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission that sets forth the “who, what, where, etc.” and calls for the payments of wage loss and other kinds of compensation benefits, including medical care.  It does not matter if the worker has sustained a brain injury, a herniated disc in their spine that paralyzes them or has been killed.  The “clock” starts running immediately.  Even those job accidents that involve car or truck crashes or other potential “third party liability” claims, the disabled worker must still file with the VWCC.  When there is no AWARD, there is no requirement that the Insurance company or the employer do anything for the disabled worker or a deceased employee’s grieving family and dependents.  That is one reason why, in work accident cases where there is lengthy disability from work, surgery, permanent injury and/or death, experienced legal counsel should be retained immediately.  The Insurance Company has lawyers on retainer and present at every Hearing; so should you!  Just because you may have received some of wage loss money or gotten some medical bills paid, you should still retain an experienced workers comp lawyer to help you.  You cannot rely on the insurance company, employer or their agents to protect you.  They are in the business of making money (or saving their money), not being “Mr. Nice Guy.”

If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in an on the job accident, even if they are getting some workers comp benefits, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Warrenton and Fauquier County dog attack injury lawyer Doug Landau has recently been consulted in a case involving precisely this type of damage.  A Warrenton Virginia area client was attacked by dogs when he arrived at a residence to do repair work.  The trained attack dogs came at him without provocation, and he was bitten in his dominant hand.  The would became septic, and the injured worker was admitted to the Fauquier Hospital for treatment and IV antibiotic therapy.  The infection was treated, but when the PICC line was removed, he had tingling, weakness and pain in his upper extremity on the non-dominant side.    This has left the client with bouts of pain, loss of feeling at different points and an inability to get a full night’s restful sleep.  He also cannot make a tight grip or oppose fingers as he had been accustomed prior to the attack and he workers compensation insurance company is withholding benefits and authorization for further medical care.

Any person suffering similar symptoms should immediately contact a doctor.  They should also document all of their symptoms and communicate these to their doctor and other health care providers.  The longer a patient waits to address these symptoms the greater the risk of permanent injury.  If you or someone you know has been injured in an on the job accident or dog attack and would like our assistance, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

According to news accounts, this whale had been associated with two prior fatal attacks.  In this latest attack, the orca dragged the trainer to her death underwater in front of horrified spectators.  Sea World workers described to the press how the killer whale dragged the aquarium trainer by her hair with his massive jaws and teeth and would not let go.  The frenzy of the fatal attack shocked onlookers and begs the question, “If this animal had been involved in two prior fatalities, what additional safety measures were taken to protect the Sea World employees ?”

“The sooner you’re able to treat somebody and get it right, the higher the probability you’ll reduce the long-term impacts (of brain injury). So speed is really important here,” according to Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who pushed hard for the policy change.  The policy change stems from growing concerns that troops suffer mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in combat – or more than one – and they go undetected, Mullen told USA TODAY. “We need to treat … more quickly and then we need to keep track of people,” he said.  The new policy is a major expansion of battlefield medicine because it treats troops based on what happened to them, not just visible wounds, said Air Force Col. Jaffee, director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.  For the rest of the USA Today story.

Teen brain injury lawyer Doug Landau reminisces with a High School buddy about things they did "without thinking"

As a parent who has survived 4 teenagers, Chantilly and Centreville area lawyer Doug Landau has seen first hand what neuroscientists are discovering about teenagers’ brains.  It’s not, as comedian Bill Cosby asserts, that “they have brain damage !’  Rather, a crucial part of the brain — the frontal lobes — are not fully connected.

According to a recent NPR report, it’s not that teens don’t have a frontal lobe. They do.  And they can use it. But they’re going to access it more slowly.  That’s because the nerve cells that connect teenagers’ frontal lobes with the rest of their brains are sluggish. Teenagers don’t have as much of the fatty coating called myelin, or “white matter,” that adults have in this area.

When discussing nerve and brain injury with his own car crash and traumatic brain injury clients, Landau has described it as “insulation on an electrical wire.”  Nerves need myelin for nerve signals to flow freely.  Spotty, incomplete or thin myelin leads to inefficient communication between one part of the brain and another.  Social Security Disability clients with demyelinating diseases suffer an inability to control nerve impulses, often resulting in motor function loss or spasticity.  For the full transcript or podcast of this superb news report or to download a podcast, go to NPR.

According to the premises liability lawsuit, the 42-year-old fitness instructor who worked for Miami-based Steiner Transocean, sustained a back injury and became incontinent and impotent as a result of the fall in 2006.  The case was tried in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.  Plaintiff’s counsel told the newspaper that the verdict included damages for economic losses, medical expenses and past and future pain and suffering. The South Florida jury awarded $9.5 million.  The defendant Steiner Transocean, which operated the spa on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Crown, filed papers seeking a new trial or a reduction of the jury award.  Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line previously settled out of court.  There are special rules and time deadlines for bringing claims on cruise ships and for injuries that occur on “the high seas.” If you or someone you know has been injured on a cruise ship or other ocean going vessel, please seek legal counsel at once.

Recently, Herndon disability and injury lawyer Doug Landau was apprised of two companies that were fined after a worker died in a vat of chocolate.  Landau, who is licensed in New Jersey, came across the Insurance Journal report of two chocolate processing companies in Camden, New Jersey that had been fined for safety violations following the death of an employee who fell into a giant vat of chocolate in July.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Lyons & Sons Inc. and Cocoa Services LP with a total of 12 serious citations.

One worker died in July after he was hit by a paddle used to mix chocolate.  OSHA said there were improper safety precautions at the facility and that a first-aid program was not in place.  Fines for the two companies total more than $39,000.  A city judge had already levied a fine for operating a business without a license.  Safety precautions Doug Landau has advocated for in the past include “kill switches” that turn off food processing machines and other industrial equipment when the operator is in trouble.  Likewise, dangerous machines need to be designed so that they automatically shut down when the operator is not depressing the power button.  Lastly, machines should not be designed so that the employer can override the safety precautions or remove safety guards.

According to Daniel Estep of the The National Animal Control Association’s training academy,

• “If the dog is 50 yards away and starts after you, if you can escape somewhere – inside a building. or on top of your car, or jump a fence – then that’s probably the best thing to do.  If the dog iis closer than that, then that’s not a good idea.  In a footrace, you’re going to lose.  The January Esquire Magazine piece continues,

• If the attack is imminent, try to shove something in its mouth, hopefully not a body part.
• If you’ve got a briefcase or clipboard or even a coat, shove that at the dog.  Most of the time, dogs are going to bite the first thing they get their teeth around.  And then you can try to walk your way out of the situation.
• If that’s not possible, feed him your nondominant arm.  Arm, not hand.  And let him grab onto that and try to get yourself out of the situation.  The last thing you want to have happen is to be taken off your feet, because then it’s much more difficult to protect yourself from serious injuries.
• If you get brought down, the best advice is to curl up into a ball and try to protect your belly and chest area.  Cover your neck with your hands and loop your arm around so that it covers your face.  When people roll up into this position and don’t move, oftentimes the dogs lose interest.”

If you or someone you know has been injured in pit bull or other dog or animal attack, please e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Doug Landau contributes blood to the Herndon Reston INOVA blood drive

In addition to watching the exciting 2010 Olympic Games, Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau and his wife again gave blood at an INOVA blood drive in the Reston Herndon area that had been delayed by this Winter’s snow storms.  Going to their children’s pre-school, the Landaus saw friends and were able to give blood to replenish the Fairfax Hospital System’s supplies.  Landau’s client’s often need blood transfusions after car crashes, spine surgeries and construction site falls, explosions and lacerations.

Inova Blood Donor Services supplies lifesaving blood and blood products to 15 different hospitals in Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metro area.

INOVA also works with national and international redistribution organizations to get blood where it is needed most.  If you are ready to donate blood:

Call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) or find a convenient donor site or blood drive.

If you want to know more about donating blood, “Giving the Gift of Life”, Please contact us at 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) with any questions.

Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau hopes that everyone reading this post will consider going to a blood drive soon.

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.