Landau Injury Law

With the first few flakes of the year dropping on the Landau Law Shop this week, the Herndon law firm is pleased to share highlights from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s  (“VDOT”) recent snow briefing for public officials.  It is hoped that these actions will improve snow safety and decrease the chances of car wrecks, slip and fall accidents and truck crashes and road fatalities.  The highlights include:

• Additional equipment:  600 more pieces of equipment for a total of 2,600 pieces of equipment.
• Early deployment in subdivisions:  Trucks will be pre-positioned in subdivisions if the forecast is for more than 2 inches of snow.
• Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) pilot program:  (more…)

If I am hurt in an accident at work, but it happens in another state, must I go to court in that other state ?”  That is a question the Herndon law firm of Abrams Landau, Ltd. is asked regularly.  Because Virginia workplace accident lawyer Doug Landau has successfully tried workers comp cases throughout the East Coast, the Landau Law Shop gets those inquiries from near and far – even foreign countries !  The short answer is that there may be several appropriate states where the worker’s injury case can be won.

ABRAMS LANDAU client and Airline Pilot after successfully testifying in his Workers Compensation Hearing in Fairfax, Virginia

In a recent case tried by Landau in the Fairfax Virginia Workers Compensation Regional Office, an airline captain from Virginia was injured in the midwest when he slipped and fell coming out of his jet.   Rather than having to fly back to the state where the accidental injury occurred, the pilot was allowed to bring his claim for wage loss and medical benefits in Virginia, where he lived, where he was hired and where his employer was located, even though a large portion of his work hours were spent outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Virginia workers comp judge found (more…)

One major question that courts look at in determining whether to make social network information discoverable to the insurance defense lawyers is the inured victim website user’s expectation of privacy when that information was posted. Any “public” information that is accessible to any person who happens to click on your profile will almost certainly not be subject to any expectation of privacy, and will likely be discoverable. Even information that is only viewable by the users’ preselected “friends” can potentially lose this valuable expectation of privacy. Therefore, it would be wise for any injured car crash victim using these sites to maximize the privacy settings available to them.

If your social networking pages contain questionable comments, wall posts or photos, you should consider making your profile private to ALL viewers to minimize the risk that this information could be used against you in your injury, workplace accident or disability case.

Furthermore, you should NEVER put anything on these sites that discusses your lawsuit or any injuries (more…)

It might.  Not only is “Big Brother” watching, but the car accident and liability claims insurance companies are as well.  Online social networking websites, such as MySpace and Facebook, have grown exponentially over the last few years.  Facebook, in fact, has recently reported that over 500 million people use their service.  This phenomenon is certainly understandable.  These sites provide a great way to stay in touch with friends, meet new people, and share information with whole communities.  For someone who is involved in a lawsuit, however, there is a potentially catastrophic side to these sites that can quickly unravel even meritorious cases

A recent trend in many courts across the United States involves treating the information posted on these sites as discoverable material.  What this means, is that injured victims who are forced to file lawsuits seeking reimbursements for the harms and losses caused by the defendants’ negligence may be faced with a Court order forcing (more…)

At the Landau Law Shop, proving wage loss is a component of most car accident  and permanent disability cases.  Showing a judge or jury that our client was and may still be disabled is accomplished though the medical records and testimony of health care providers.  However, proving loss of earnings in a car crash, dog attack, slip and fall or bike accident case usually requires proof as to pre-injury wages.  If an injured car crash victim has switched jobs, been laid off, lost their W-2s, cannot find their tax returns, misplaced their pay stubs, or was paid via “direct deposit,” they may not have the documentary evidence to support claims of wage loss and earnings capacity.

So how does the personal injury trial team at Abrams Landau prove past earnings history for clients without all of the typical documentary evidence mentioned above ? (more…)

Until the judge enters the “Final Order,” a personal injury jury trial is not over.  And, Virginia law gives the trial judge the power to enter and Order of Additur or Remittitur.  Even after a jury’s verdict in a car crash, dog bite or slip and fall accident case, the trial judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia can change the amount though what are known as “Additur” and “Remittitur.”  Abrams Landau won a recent car accident jury trial where the insurance defense lawyers are seeking to reduce the jury’s verdict by requesting Remittitur by the Alexandria Circuit Court Judge.  This may seem like a surprising amount of power the judge has—after all, if the judge has the power to change the verdict, why have the jury !  The ability to reduce (Remittitur) or increase (Additur) a jury’s verdict is not be used in every case, and, in some instances, prevents costly and time consuming appeals.  Some things to remember about Additur and Remittitur in Virginia:

• First, the judge can only adjust the dollar amount when it is (more…)

While many states do not require that the injured car crash, slip and fall or dog bite victim place a specific amount in their lawsuit papers, because they recognize that injuries, treatment, lost time from work and eventual permanency may be months and years away, Virginia requires a sum certain. The “amount sued for” is also known as the “ad damnum,” and in Virginia, the filing fee paid to the court to start a personal injury case is based upon the amount sought. In the Federal Court system and many states, the lawsuit papers (usually called the “Complaint”), simply state that the case is being brought “in an amount sufficient to satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of this court…” No specific number is necessary, and that way changes in the recovering plaintiff’s condition do not prejudice the case or the victim.

However, in Virginia, a plaintiff cannot recover damages exceeding the ad damnum demand in the Complaint. (more…)

Sometimes, despite the best preparations, the insurance company’s “hired gun” medical examiner still finds a way for the Defendant to avoid responsibility for the harms and losses the car and bike crash, dog attack or other type of accident caused.  You have prepared for the Insurance Medical Exam (the “IME”) and the report is unfavorable.  The Reasonableness of your medical care, the necessity of the treatment, the costs and the causal connection to your car crash are all called into question.  What can you do ?

Leesburg, Fairfax and Loudoun County injury lawyer Doug Landau knows that there is no medal for simply going along with an Insurance Medical Exam and cooperating with Defense Counsel

Your next strategy is to have a medical examination by a doctor whom you get to choose or have an appointment with your treating doctor.  If the IME doctor does not correctly report your injuries, your own unbiased physician can present a more credible description of your injuries. Your attorney can tell you how to arrange an examination from your own doctor, and advise you on who should attend the exam and how to create a record of it. Your legal counsel may have specific questions for our doctor and may also send a copy of the insurance medical examiner’s report for comment, so that your attending doctor gets “the last word.”

Finally, there are some cases where a judge can order a independent medical exam. This typically occurs when mental or physical injuries are in dispute.  If the parties are at odds as to which physician to use, the court may decide the physician. In some instances when an exam is compelled, your attorney may be allowed to attend the exam as well.  However, that might  make counsel a witness, which would create problems at trial if there was a dispute as to what was said and done.  A better practice, which we use at ABRAMS LANDAU, is to send a nurse or medical doctor to our clients’ medical exams if a dispute is likely at trial as to what actually transpired.  It is expensive, but may prevent even great harm being done to the innocent victim of a car crash or dog attack.  An experienced Virginia and Washington DC personal injury trial attorney can protect you from the pitfalls of the Insurance Medical Exam.

Have you been injured in a car crash or a dog attack ?  Are you disabled as the result of a slip and fall accident or bike crash ?  Did a defective product or premises cause you or a loved one harm and permanent impairment ?  If you seek legal redress for all the harms and losses caused by the crash, attack or other kind of accident, the insurance company has the right to have you examined by a doctor of their choosing.

Experienced Washington DC and Virginia Trial Lawyers Doug Landau & Deborah Vitale have seen many Insurance Medical Exams that were anything but "Independent"

The insurance company will call this an “Independent Medical Examination.”  At the Landau Law Shop, we refer to these “sham exams” as “Insurance Medical Examinations.”  They might better be called an Adverse or “Defense Medical Examination” (what we call in the Landau Law Shop a “DME”).  It’s anything but “independent.”  Anyone who goes to one of these “exams” without taking steps to protect their rights does so at their own risk.

When you are making a claim for medical care and costs, the insurance company can require you to (more…)

A former cruise ship trumpet player was awarded $1.7 million from a Miami jury after he slipped and fell while on stage on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.   As a former trumpet player, this verdict caught recreational injury, vacation accident and resort tort lawyer Doug Landau’s eye.   The horn player claimed that the fall injured his shoulder and ended his trumpet-playing career.  The accident was caused by a bit of oil that leaked out from the on-stage fog machine, according to the lawsuit.  The Miami Herald reported that nine years after he slipped on stage during rehearsal, cruise ship trumpeter finally won a $1.7 million verdict against Royal Caribbean for the fall.  A Miami-Dade jury awarded the 40-year-old the money for the August 2001 accident, which was blamed on spilled oil from a fog machine.  The musician’s lawsuit claimed the shoulder injury ended a beloved trumpeting career, since he is only able to lift the instrument for about an hour at a time. The Miami Beach resident now works part-time as an usher at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center.  The injured plaintiff’s lawyer indicated Royal Caribbean asked jurors to award the injured music maker, who earned about $22,000 a year as a trumpeter, less than $130,000 for his injuries.  In addition to the many years it took to get get his “day in court” in Florida, plaintiff’s counsel noted that he expects to retain only about 40 percent of the verdict amount.  Royal Caribbean Cruises “feels the amount awarded is not supported by the evidence and are currently evaluating our appellate options,” the cruise line said in a statement.

Because there are strict time limits for claims against cruise lines, resorts, property owners and recreational facilities if you or someone you know has been injured in an premises liability or other accident caused by someone else’s negligence or fault, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.