Landau Injury Law

Herndon police are enforcing drunk driving laws because of the increased danger to local roads by intoxicated drivers

Virginia wine sales are up to an all-time high, according to recent press accounts.  Virginia is home to nearly 200 wineries, the fifth largest number in the United States.  While the Commonwealth of Virginia collected almost $1.8 million in wine liter tax revenue this year, up from $1.6 million in 2010, Herndon lawyer Doug Landau is concerned whether the increase in sales will lead to an increase in impaired and unsafe driving on the roads of the Commonwealth.  Having represented the victims of drunk driving crashes, the team at the Landau Law Shop would rather see greater education, prevention and enforcement rather than an increase in injury and mayhem on the highways, interstates and local streets.  If you or someone you know or care for has been injured as the result of a car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle crash and alcohol was a factor in the unsafe driving, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

Follow the correct procedure for getting copies of records into evidence instructs Herndon Reston trial lawyer Doug Landau, or you may not get important evidence to the jury to consider in your car crash case !

Usually we tell clients at the Landau Law Shop that papers simply do not “walk” into court at trial.  Either a witness has to talk about the papers (like medical bills, pictures of the car crash scene or draw a diagram to demonstrate who hit who where), or the parties to the lawsuit have to agree ahead of time.

However, there are some documents that do not need to be “escorted” into evidence so that the jury can look at them.  Judicial records can be admitted by a trial judge without a witness, but nonjudicial records must be properly authenticated in order for the jury to look at them and take them to their deliberations.  Herndon Reston trial lawyer Doug Landau has seen lawyers try to get papers admitted into evidence and fail  (more…)

Reston Triathlon finishers are all shapes, sizes & ages !

The anniversaries of the 9-11 attacks are noted with sadness every year at the Landau Law Shop, as several victims’ families have been clients as the result of the fatal losses they sustained and are still enduring.  The 28th Reston Triathlon fell on this fateful day.  A moment of silence was held at the South Lakes High School track in memory of those who lost their lives, were injured or suffered occupational disease from the crashes and their aftermath.  Then the strains of the “Star Spangled Banner” were heard from the Seahawks stadium, played movingly by Pavel Pegarsky.  Pavel is a National Sympthony Orchestra (“NSO”) violinist and triathlete, who himself was recovering from minivan crash injuries while cycling (more…)

Reston Triathlon volunteer Doug Landau checking helmet safety before tomorrow's race at South Lakes High School

If you pick a fight with race directors or volunteers when they try to protect you from head trauma or brain injury.

“Not every Triathlon or multisport competition takes the time to inspect helmets, but when they do, it is for the athletes’ safety.  When a triathlete, duathlete or bike racer competes with an unsafe, cracked, delaminating or outdated helmet, they are ‘Voluntarily assuming the risk of harm,’ adds All American Triathlete Landau, whose “Law Shop” regularly helps injured victims of other peoples’ unsafe conduct.

Under Virginia law, “Assumption of Risk”  in and of itself may preclude any reimbursement for losses caused by (more…)

Crossing the street should not feel like playing a game of Frogger, but to some pedestrians that is exactly what it has turned into and often with tragic results.  The city of Chicago is tired of its citizens getting injured or killed while trying to cross the street. As a result the city has started a new plan to help out those on foot.

With 40% of the pedestrian fatalities being hit-and-runs, 50% higher than the national average, the city is looking to not only prevent but install surveillance so the offending drivers will be held accountable. Other possible improvements include countdown timers, curb bump outs, and pedestrian friendly medians.  Chicago has also started using the “leading pedestrian internal signal timings”,  which allows walkers to have an additional four seconds before the traffic light turns green.  The system was designed to allow walkers to get clear of the right side of the road before cars which were turning started.

If you are in a situation where your have sustained injury and would like assistance with a legal claim, please call our Herndon Virginia Law Shop today at 703-796-9555 or e-mail us.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Monday, June 20, 2011

After Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was wounded in a mass shooting that injured 12 people in January, doctors removed a portion of the left side of her skull to prevent her brain from swelling and to halt tissue damage.  This month the doctors used a hard plastic implant to repair a hole in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ skull, according to news reports.

This is the latest milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt.  Experts say the plastic skull implant will improve her quality of life.  The neurological specialists had to remove a portion of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. The implant means Giffords no longer needs the protective helmets, one decorated with an Arizona flag, that she has used since the initial skull-removal procedure.  According to USA Today, the Memorial Hermann’s neuroscience institute surgeons intended to attach a computer-modeled artificial implant, not the actual piece of skull removed from Giffords head. The missing piece of Giffords’ skull has been described as a little bigger than the palm of one’s hand.

The reason this news story resonated with everyone at the Herndon law firm of Abrams Landau is because we were visited today by a client who had a piece offer skull removed at Fairfax Hospital after the swelling in her head caused by a slip and fall accident caused pressure on her brain.  This health care worker then spent time in the Mount Vernon Bridge Program regaining her ability to speak and perform other activities of daily living.  She wore a bicycle helmet until the neurosurgeon could put the piece of her skull, which had been kept in a special refrigerated, sterile unit, back in her head !  She has had several operations and has returned to work.  We hope that she continues to heal and help others.  If you have been sustained an injury to your head or skull, and would like assistance with a legal claim for Social Security Disability, Workers Compensation or a slip and fall or car crash case, please call our Herndon Law Shop today at 703-796-9555 or e-mail us.

Must all accident cases be submitted to a jury for decision ?  Are all accident cases expensive to try ?  The short answer is “no.”  While most of the injury cases filed by the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. are heard by judges and juries in the Virginia Circuit Courts or the Federal District Courts, a number of injured victims contact the Landau Law Shop for help with matters that do not meet our criteria for filing for a jury trial.  Doug Landau will often suggest that these prospective plaintiffs retain counsel to bring their meritorious injury claims in one of the local General District Courts.  The General District Courts decide cases where there is less than $15,000 in controversy, non-felony criminal cases, traffic violations and other matters.  The filing fees are lower, there are no juries and pre-trial discovery is limited (and much less expensive).  These “courts not of record,” do not provide court reporters, so the parties must hire their own private court stenographer to make a record if they want to later appeal the judge’s ruling.

According to Lawyers Weekly, Fairfax County’s 10 general district judges handle some 37,000 cases a year. “That doesn’t give you an awful lot of time to deal with folks,” according to Chief Judge Donald P. McDonough.  If you do the math, that’s an average of 77 cases a day per judge !  “It’s a very intense and difficult job,” notes experienced Fairfax and Loudoun County trial lawyer Doug Landau, “and unlike the trial courts, these judges have to decide the facts as well as the law !”

It does not matter who is behind the wheel, reasonable transportation expenses are reimbursed by the Virginia Workers Compensation Insurance Companies when such travel is in connection with medical care that satisfies the “three Rs” (Reasonable, Related and by Referral).  A call to the Herndon law Firm ABRAMS LANDAU repeated this often heard question.  In order to be reimbursed for trips to the doctor, physical therapist, hospital, radiologist, etc., it does not matter if:

• Your daughter, son, wife or parents drove you,
• You took a cab because you could not drive,
• An old friend gave you a lift in his vintage mustang,
• You hopped the local bus (or two) and then the Metro,
• A car service was required because there is no public transit nearby,
• The Medical services building charges you for parking,
• There are toll roads along the way to the therapist’s office,

As long as you have the receipts for the taxi, bus, subway, parking, tolls and other travel related expenses.  If you go to a health care provider for treatment, then such expenditures may be covered under your Workers Compensation Award.  For use of your own car (whether or not you were driving, as many ABRAMS LANDAU client cannot drive themselves to their medical appointments because of the severity of their injuries), mapquest or the mileage on the odometer can be summated for payment.  In cases where the injured or disabled worker cannot drive and has no one to take them, cab fare or car service may be reasonable under the circumstances.  In some permanent total disability cases, the insurance companies have paid for car service, limousines and taxi cabs to shuttle our clients to their necessary medical appointments.  Bottom line: keep the receipts and good written records for full reimbursement !

Clients suffering from hip, shoulder, knee and arthritis pain should try to learn as much as possible about their condition in order to get as healthy as possible after an on the job accident or car crash.  You can ask the joint replacement experts of the INOVA Joint Replacement Center (“IJRC”) about relief from arthritis, repair of damaged bones and painful inactivity.  Surgical joint replacement, with minimally invasive techniques may be the solution to your disability, pain and osteoarthritis.  IJRC is the largest joint replacement center in the metro-Washington DC area, performing over 2,000 joint replacements annually.  With the latest techniques and medical equipment, patients are returning to more active lifestyles.  Herndon joint injury lawyer Doug Landau has attended past programs, along with ABRAMS LANDAU staff, and new insights are always gained and tough questions are always answered.  While knee, hip and shoulder joint replacement surgery is not for everyone, workers compensation and disability lawyer Landau has seen friends, family members and clients make wonderful recoveries as the result of such operations.

A FREE Community Seminar on Osteoarthritis and Joint Replacement Advances will be held with Drs. Kevin Fricka and William Hamilton:

• Date:     Wednesday, April 13, 2011
• Time:     7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Address: Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079
• Contact Phone:     (855) 694-6682
• Free parking available in the rear of the building.

Inova Health System is pleased to present our “Ask the Expert” community lecture series. All lectures are free, but advance registration is requested.  Register online or call 855-MY-INOVA (855-694-6682).