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…)

The bailiffs at our last several court appearances have had to get extra chairs to accommodate clients, family members, friends and witnesses who have attended Hearings in Fairfax, Manassas, Richmond Virginia as well in Washington, D.C. !  EVERY SINGLE CLIENT who has attended a Hearing weeks and months before their own “day in court” has agreed that it helped them enormously.  These Hearings are nothing like what you might see on television and the best preparation for your own case is a “scouting trip” to see the best judges and lawyers in Virginia try real injury and disability cases in court.  In keeping with our promise to enable injured workers and accident victims to “SEE US IN ACTION,” upcoming trials, cases, races and programs are set forth below.  You will not see this from any of the advertising lawyers.  In fact, we know of no other plaintiff’s personal injury law firm that has the courage to: (1) Encourage their clients to come to court BEFORE their trial to see their lawyer “in action,” and (2) Actually publish the calendar of their public appearances, court cases, races and Continuing Legal Education programming.  But remember,

                 Always call the day before you come to see us in action !  

Cases set on a court’s schedule can be cancelled (like when the storms struck in September !), continued, postponed, settled, re-scheduled for mediation or arbitration.  So, always call our office the day before you want to come and watch to make sure the insurance company has not paid for the losses caused by the negligent defendant or unsafe employer at “the 24th hour.”  Your time is valuable.  We do not want any client, family member, friend or neighbor to make a wasted trip.  Doug Landau has even encouraged people to observe other cases that are not from the Herndon Reston law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., when there is little time before a client’s own Hearing or trial. To that end, here are some upcoming dates:

Date               Place    Case, Race &/or Program

2/2/2012 Social Security Disability Hearing, Richmond office of Hearings and Appeals, VA

2/9-15/2012    American Association for Justice, (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) Winter Convention, Phoenix, AZ

2/12/2012 “Double Down” races for Downs Syndrome, Phoenix, AZ

2/23/2012 Social Security Disability Income Administrative Law Judge Hearing, Washington D.C.

2/24/2012 Prince William County Circuit court, Manassas, VA Motion to Compel Discovery in a fast food slip and fall case

2/26/2012 Jack Corkey Memorial Aquathon at the Herndon Virginia Community Center, sponsored by ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.

2/27/2012 Hanover, VA – Hanover Junior Idol Competition (spectator, not as a competitor !)

2/27-3/1/2012 Depositions in Jacksonville, FL and Atlanta, GA for an disabled trucker’s Fulton County, GA injury case

2/28/2012 Annual Science Fair (Judge), The Madeira School, McLean, VA

3/9/2012 Social Security Disability Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, Washington, D.C.

3/13/2012 Social Security Disability Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, Washington, D.C.

3/30-4/2/2012    Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

4/12/2012 Virginia Workers Compensation Hearing, Northern Virginia Regional Office (Employers Application cutting worker off)

4/16/2012  Spotsylvania, Virginia Hearing before senior Deputy Commissioner (RSD or CRPS as a “compensable consequence”)

It seems so simple. I was hit in a car crash, my bumper was smashed, the fender dented and then I started noticing aches and pains that I did not have before. It makes sense that I was injured in the crash—even my doctor says so—that’s enough to prove the case, right?

Even if your car is smashed across the street from the Landau Law Shop, on the corner of Station Street & Center Street, and the Herndon Virginia Police charge the other driver, you still have to prove legal causation of your subsequent disability and pain in order to be reimbursed !

This is a common—and completely logical—perception of many accident victims. And then the attorney starts talking and things suddenly do not seem so straight-forward anymore. Suddenly the issues isn’t “I was fine before the accident and now I’m not” and instead the issue is “legal proof” or “legal cause” or “proximate cause”. So, what is all of this about?  What’s the difference ?  If I hurt or am disabled after a crash, then the accident must be the cause.  How can we de-mystify all of this lawyer-speak?

If you are the victim of a car wreck, bike crash, dog bite attack or some other type of personal injury, then the topic of “causation” is certain (more…)

What costs or fees are routinely allowed a prevailing Plaintiff in Virginia Circuit Court case ?

Herndon Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau frequently advises clients as to, "How long, how hard and how much" in their accident and disability cases

Under the American justice system, the losing side generally does not pay the attorney fees of the winner.  In other posts, Herndon Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau has discussed the payment of per-judgment and post-judgment interest.  Other costs and fees a losing Defendant may have to pay are  very limited.  They are generally limited to just filing fees (required to start a lawsuit in the County or City Circuit Court), writ tax, and service of process (the cost to have a Sheriff “serve” or give the papers to the Defendants). Jury costs are generally taxed against the losing party, but that is paid to the court, not the winner. A winning Plaintiff (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.