Landau Injury Law

Always leery when people do not identify themselves, the Social Security Administration’s (“SSA”) decision to no longer identity the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) assigned to hear your Disability case is troubling.  The Herndon disability law firm ABRAMS LANDAU received several Hearing Notices this week.  None of them had the name of the Federal Judge assigned to our clients’ disability claims.  This means we cannot (more…)

Virginia workers compensation lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., after a recent permanent total disability ("PTD") court hearing in Fairfax

Rarely do disabled Virginia Workers get more than 500 weeks of wage loss compensation.  Even in fatal accident cases, the families of the deceased workers do not even get 10 years of benefits.  However, in very limited cases, where the injured worker has lost BOTH arms, legs, eyes, hands or feet, they can apply for “Permanent Total Disability” (“PTD”) benefits.

Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU has tried “Permanent Total” cases for disabled worker who “have lost the use of their arms (more…)

After a number of decisions where the disabled worker lost continuing wage loss benefits because their efforts to look for light duty work did not pass muster, the Full Commission of the Virginia Workers Compensation ruled in favor of a claimant on this difficult issue !  In Waldman vs. Wal-Mart, the testimony was that approximately 70% of the job search (or “marketing”) contact were online, and of those places, she filled out applications, 75% were done online.  The injured claimant estimated that only 2-3% of her entries involved traveling to the place of employment and asking about jobs within her restrictions.  During a 25 week period there was documentation of 110 prospective employers working out to 4.4 job contacts per week.  While the majority war eon line, the remainder were from newspapers and in person.  The Virginia Workers Comp trial judge found that the disabled worker adequately marketed her remaining capacity to work.  She did document the source of her job leads, reviewed the local newspapers, used Craigslist, Fburg.com and a friend.  Her documentation included where she sent resumes and applications pr telephoned.  The injured claimant obtained several interviews.  The Full Commission noted, “the economy is difficult for job seekers,..we find that the claimant’s marketing efforts were adequate in number, quality and breadth of work sought, and that her documentation establishes her intent to find suitable work.”

The “bottom line” according to Ashburn, Ashburton and Broadlands area workers comp lawyer Doug Landau is “to keep detailed records of calls, interviews, online forms, in-persons meetings, resumes sent, newspaper “Want Ads” reviewed, correspondence received.  In short, be ready to show evidence of weekly marketing evidence, with actual documents, at a Hearing or face the prospect of having your weekly wage loss compensation cut off by a Virginia Workers Comp judge.”

Injured workers need to be ready to "show" and not just "tell" a Virginia Workers Compensation judge what they have done to look for light work that they CAN do

It’s gotten harder, but the short answer, according to Herndon Reston workplace injury lawyer Doug Landau is “yes.”  Two 2010 cases made it look like a partial disabled worker would always lose on the issue of marketing unless they were “pounding pavement” every single day.

In the 2010 Ruffin case, the Full Virginia Workers Comp Commission (“VWC”) affirmed the trial judge’s denial of benefits on the basis that she had not adequately marketed her remaining physical abilities in order to find light duty work that she could actually do.  The injured worker’s evidence included 97 job searches, the vast majority of which were online.  Even though she also had taken classes at the local library in her desire to be taught a new skill for employment, the VWC found the disabled worker’s computer searches over an 10 month period were not adequate marketing.  Likewise, the same year in the Simon vs. Kmart case, the injured worker was seeking continued wage loss (indemnity) benefits and had contacted 15 potential employers (more…)

Since 2008, the Virginia courts have ruled repeatedly against the injured worker on the issue of “marketing.”  Herndon’s injured workers lawyer Doug Landau frequently hears from claimants (and so-called personal injury attorneys) who are baffled by this requirement under Virginia law.  What is “marketing” in the context of the Virginia Workers Compensation Act ?  It is simply an injured worker’s good faith effort to look for work that they CAN do, despite their injuries or disability.  In National Linen Serv. v. McGuinn (Virginia Court of Appeals, 1989), a case I had argued an appeal on, the appellate court discussed a CLAIMANT’S DUTY TO MARKET HIS RESIDUAL CAPACITY:

“Where an employee’s disability is partial, to establish his entitlement to benefits, he must prove that he made a reasonable effort to market his residual work capacity.”  In determining whether the employee has met his burden of proof, the [Virginia Workers Compensation] Commission should consider the following:

• (1) the nature and extent of [the] employee’s disability;
• (2) the employee’s training, age, experience, and education;
• (3) the nature and extent of [the] employee’s job search;
•  (4) the employee’s intent in conducting his job search;
• (5) the availability of jobs in the area suitable for the employee, considering his disability; and
• (6) any other matter affecting [the] employee’s capacity to find suitable employment.

In posts over the next fortnight, we will discuss these requirements in more detail.

VIRGINIA LAWYERS WEEKLY Editor in Chief Paul Fletcher and Workers Comp attorney Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, discussing the Mediation of a workplace lifetime disability injury case

While any lawyer can ask for and participate in the free Mediation offered by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, it takes time, effort, experience and money to be properly prepared to Mediate a permanent injury or total disability case. The best Virginia Workers Compensation lawyers in Virginia come prepared with their own settlement evaluation and have discussed the issues thoroughly with their clients, and others who have a stake in the outcome of the case. Poorly prepared lawyers, attorneys who try cases “on the cheap,” and the volume law firms rarely invest the time and resources to be fully prepared to Mediate permanent disability and catastrophic workplace injury claims.

The best Virginia workers comp lawyers go into Mediation committed to negotiating in good faith. They know the range of values of the case and have had experience with similar cases in Mediation and at trial. The data that is usually assembled well before the week of the Mediation include:

1. The compensation rate
2. The average pre-injury weekly wage
3. The weeks left under the Award
4. Permanency rating(s)
5. Partial Disability rates
6. Present day values
7. Current Medical Status
8. Average Monthly Cost to date
9. Anticipated future care ross
10. Medications, mileage, DME and other reimbursements
11. Statutory Life Expectancy
12. Age-Rated Life Expectancy
13. Present Value of Medical Care, RX, DME, mileage reimbursements, etc.
14. Likelihood of payments, due to (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.

Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU and clients after Mediation in Richmond Virginia

As Deputy Commissioner Blevins pointed out in a recent presentation, successful Mediation depends on the parties’ willingness to negotiate in good faith towards a workable solution. This solution can be an agreement as to particular problems in the claim (like who will be the treating doctors) or settlement of the entire case. One of the other aspects of Mediation that many injured workers and their families do not understand is that the process is confidential. In other words, materials and communications during Mediation are not subject to disclosure in discovery or in any judicial or administrative proceeding, with limited exceptions. The purpose of Mediation is to identify the issues, clarify any misunderstandings, explore solutions and alternatives for resolution, and negotiate an agreement.

While the majority of the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission Mediations are scheduled for the purpose of reaching a full andy final settlement of the claim, almost any issue can be mediated. Plus, adds Herndon workplace injury lawyer Doug Landau, solutions outside of the workers compensation claim may be reached, such as “Global Settlements” where there is an on-the-job car crash or slip & fall case. Issues outside of the Workers Compensation Act that have been resolved in Mediations handled by the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., have included: Long Term Disability insurance coverage; repayment of the workers comp lien; Social Security Disability, sick, vacation and holiday leave repayment; subsequent claims; voluntary resignation; retirement; return of work equipment; and other issues to numerous to list here. 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 what laws apply, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

Herndon workplace injury lawyer Doug Landau knows that Mediation can lead to the successful settlement of a difficult workers comp claim

Mediation of workplace accident cases has long been a “win-win” proposition. This form of “Atlernative Dispute Resolution” was offered free of charge and recommended for all kinds of disputes, from medical payment, to vocational rehabilitation to rules and procedures. The Virginia Lawyers Weekly October 18, 1999 headline read, “Mediating Workers’ Comp Claims – Commission promotes its new program.” When ABRAMS LANDAU lawyer Doug Landau of Herndon, Virginia, was interviewed for that front page article, he noted that the parties “will have another means of decision-making at their disposal.” However, after its introduction in 1999, the Commission cut back on staff, and the Herndon law firm saw very few, if any, workplace injury claims referred to the Mediation docket in the last 10 years.

This Fall Deputy Commissioner Blevins spoke to some of the best trial lawyers in Virginia about mediating workers comp claims. This able and experienced comp trial judge noted that 80% of mediated claims are resolved. Normally scheduled for (more…)

Pay for plenty of parking BEFORE going upstairs to your Social Security Disability Hearing in Washington, D.C. advises Herndon disability lawyer Doug Landau. You can do this online or at the underground lot to the right

Injured, disabled, rejected by the Federal Government – these conditions do not make for a happy person.  An unhappy client is not a good thing.  So, when a woman disabled by spinal stenosis after a terrible car crash came to the Landau Law Shop to help with her Social Security Disability claim, we had our work cut out for us.

This widowed mother of 2 was unhappy because the lawyer she had hoped would help her with her car crash case settled the case for an amount that did not come close to compensating her for all the harms and losses she sustained.  This lawyer, who advertises heavily, did not take the case to trial, (more…)