Landau Injury Law

Clients and staff at the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. have suffered the debilitating effects of migraine headaches, here are some helpful options

With clients and staff sometimes suffering from migraines, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau is always on the lookout for cures, solutions and strategies to help.  Seeing others disabled by migraine headaches is frustrating.  However, an article in USA Weekend had some good ideas.  They are set forth below; please let us know if they work for you.  When people describe a migraine as though they have a nail being driven through their skull, (more…)

Why not ? Mediating workers compensation cases has many advantages in terms of time, costs and certainty according to Virginia workplace injury lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. Although there is no guarantee that an on the job accident case will settle at Mediation, the advantages include:

1. Litigation costs are reduced
2. Mediation through the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission is free of charge
3. Disputes are resolved quickly and confidentially
4. There are no lengthy, time-consuming appeals
5. Mediation can be requested at any time during the life of an on the job injury case
6. Any party can request Mediation to resolve a dispute or negotiate a compromise settlement
7. Parties retain the right to a Hearing before a workers comp judge if a dispute is not resolved through mediation
8. A follow up Mediation session, either in person or by conference call, can be scheduled
9. Mediations are held throughout the state of Virginia to accommodate the needs of the parties
10. Mediations are usually conducted by Deputy Commissioners who have been certified by the Supreme Court of Virginia to mediate on the job injury and disability cases
11. Mediations are usually involve the in-person meeting of the parties, as opposed to trying to negotiate over the phone or via e-mail or fax

According to the VWC statistics, approximately 80% of the disputed claims mediated by the Commissioner were resolved. At the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, our own experience is that most cases do in fact settle at Mediation. If you or someone you know or care for has been injured on the job as the result of a car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle crash or slip and fall or dog bite attack and there are questions about Mediating or settling the claim, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

When workers are injured performing tasks their employers have trained them to do, the “safety net” of workers compensation is supposed to provide for their medical care, medications and a portion of their wage loss. This is especially true when they are on their employer’s premises helping co-workers save others from imminent harm. Courage in the face of a tornado’s 200 mph winds is something to be respected and honored. The EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri was among the nation’s worst ever. It killed 162 people and destroyed more than 7,000 homes. A Joplin Social Worker’s heroic acts have resulted in permanent injuries, disability from work and a denial from the workers compensation insurance company. (more…)

Herndon bicycle police officers and bike safety lawyer Doug Landau preparing to give free Bell Sport cycling helmets to Hutchison Elementary School students

Yesterday, all sixth graders at Hutchison Elementary School learned about using their heads, protecting their brains and then received complimentary bicycle helmets. With the “hands on” help of Dr. Paul Aravich from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Fairfax County Police Officers, and bike safety lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm Abrams Landau, the students got rubber gloves and were encouraged to hold and touch real human brains, skulls and spinal cords.  The focus of the program was making good choices, including the choice to wear head protection when cycling, skate boarding, roller blading, long boarding, mountain biking and other wheeled sports.  According to the Virginia Department of Health, bicycle helmets, when worn properly, reduce the risk of a serious brain injury by almost 90%.  The Herndon school children were encouraged to wear a helmet when biking.  After the school assembly, a Bell Sports bike helmet was given to every child in the Hutchison Elementary School sixth grade.

Mr. Landau is known as “the Athletes Lawyer” because of his representation of many injured cyclists and other injured athletes.  Landau is a competitive triathlete, who is a three time winner of the Herndon Super Sprint Triathlon, a USAT Triathlon All American and World Championship qualifier.  Mr. Landau is sponsoring the event in cooperation with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Law Foundation and Mr. Henry Tragle, an outstanding local triathlete and father of 2, who was injured on his bike.  Fortunately Mr. Tragle’s brain was protected by his helmet.  Mr. Tragle won this year’s Reston Sprint and was runner up at last month’s Reston Triathlon.

Doug Landau hopes to visit other Reston, Herndon and Oak Hill Virginia area schools in order to protect other students and prevent disabling and fatal head injuries to these young cyclists.  If you or someone you know or care for would like Mr. Landau to come to their school to discuss bike safety and traumatic brain injury, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555).

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…)

With back to school comes varsity sports and all the late night practices, close friendships, and sadly injuries.  Concussions occur too often each year and are a potentially dangerous injury.  Concussions occur when a person is stuck on the head and the brain on the opposite side bruises from the impact with the skull. While concussions are rarely a devastating injury after one occurrence, multiple occurrences of this injury can have an accumulative adverse affect.  This is why on July 1, 2011 Virginia passed a law where any student which sustains a concussion is benched until they receive medical clearance from a medical professional or athletic trainer. For more details check out the Student-Athlete Protection Act which focuses on minimizing further damage from a concussion which could effect them later in life.

Fortunately, the community has also identified how devastating concussions can be are are spreading awareness and implementing precautions.  For example, some schools are utilizing a computer program which can identify concussions faster and more accurately.  In addition, Dick’s Sport Goods has created PACE (Protecting Athletes through Concussion Education) a program designed to spread information about concussions with the support of famous athletes like Doug Flutie and Jerome Bettis. The AAN (American Academy of Neurology) has put together a website toolkit for parents and students to prevent and recognize concussions. While concussion are a serious matter it is good to know that both the legal and local communities are taking strong steps to keep student sports fun but also safe.

As the medical profession continues to learn more about the adverse long term effect of concussions, it is important to be safe instead of sorry.  If you or your child has sustained a head trauma please  get it examined by a medical professional. If you think you need legal advice concerning a concussion or other wrongfully acquired injury please contact us at the Herndon Law Shop at 703-796-9555 or email us.

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.

Some jobs are more dangerous than others.  Working around the Metro trains, buses, tracks and repair garages exposes workers in Dc, Maryland and Virginia to significant risks of injury.  News reports this month indicate that the DC area’s Metropolitan transportation workers are getting hurt on the job more often than their counterparts at other transit agencies.   The high prevalence of injuries among workers is costing the Metro millions each year.

While some of the job tasks are more dangerous than others, part of the problem is the frequency of the injuries.  In 2010, Metro averaged 6.17 injuries per 200,000 hours of work, which is above the national transit industry standard of 5.0 injuries.  But some areas of Metro have four times the national rate.  In an effort to reduce worker’s compensation claims and the related costs to the transit system, Metro has focused on preventing injuries.  One of the strategies to reduce DC, Virginia and Maryland comp claims is (more…)

Spinal cord trauma and spine injury lawyer Doug Landau proudly sports the green and orange of "The U" at his 25th reunion at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida

The University of Miami is frequently at the cutting edge of advances in medical research, especially accidental spinal cord injury and paralysis. As an alum of “the U” and a lifelong follower of spinal cord research, Doug Landau returns to Miami this week for Continuing Legal Education and to learn of the latest in advances in medicine that might help his injured and disabled clients from all over the country. The Virginia spine injury lawyer’s first real job was in fact at the Columbia Presbyterian Neurological Institute in New York City in the 1970s.

Lawyer Landau, of the ABRAMS LANDAU Herndon law firm, noted the recent peer-reviewed publication of research findings by his alma mater in Coral Gables, Florida. A team led by Allan Levi, professor of neurological surgery, clinical researcher at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and chief of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s neurospine service, published findings in the journal NEUROSURGERY supporting the use of mild hypothermia in acute spinal cord injury. (more…)

Free medical information and “face time” with top area doctors are all the reasons you need to attend an upcoming INOVA program at a hospital near you.  The superb, free lectures are open to the public, as the INOVA hospitals of Northern Virginia invite you the “Ask the Experts” programs.  These sessions make top doctors available for questions and their audio-visual demonstrations help make clear complicated medical procedures and advances.  These sessions are an excellent way to learn from the surgeons who perform operations and incorporate the latest technologies in helping many clients from the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. Northern Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau has enjoyed having this “Free Face Time” with orthopedic, neurological, chronic pain and other medical specialists at past programs.  The following are some of the free presentations you and your family may want to attend to learn more about your health condition, future surgery and/or treatment of long term injuries.

• Common Hand and Wrist Problems – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital     Thu, Jan 27, 2011     07:00pm
• Current Treatment Options for Hip Arthritis     Mon, Feb 7, 2011     01:30pm
• Say Hello to a Healthy Heart! Healthy Eating, Healthy Living – Inova Alexandria     Thu, Feb 10, 2011     07:00pm
• Treatment of Heart Attacks – Hospital to Home     Wed, Feb 16, 2011     06:00pm
• Common Sports Injuries and How to Avoid Them     Wed, Feb 16, 2011     07:00pm
• Women’s Heart Health – Lifestyle Tips for a Healthy Heart – Woodbridge     Thu, Feb 17, 2011     06:00pm
• Options for Treating Back and Neck Pain – Inova Fair Oaks Medical Plaza Bld     Tue, Feb 22, 2011     07:00pm
• Don’t Break Your Heart – How Angioplasty/Stens Can Prevent Heart and Leg Pain     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     06:00pm
• The Role of Surgery in Stroke Prevention and Treatment – Inova Fair Oaks Hospita     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     06:00pm
• Pelvic Floor Disorder Symptoms and Treatment Options     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     07:00pm
• The Emergency Treatment of Heart Attacks and Strokes – Inova Loudoun Hospital     Thu, Feb 24, 2011     06:30pm
• Osteoarthritis and the Latest Advances in Joint Replacement     Thu, Feb 24, 2011     07:00pm

For more information, directions call 855-My-Inova (694-6682) or visit the INOVA Website to register for these FREE community programs.