Landau Injury Law

Winter driving is more dangerous because of the glare, the cold and the road surface conditions.  When a biker or deer appears in front of you on a snow covered road, and there is not enough time to brake, the following suggestions come from Rally Coach Tim O’Neil so that you do not end up killing the cyclist, the deer, yourself or totaling your car.

• Take your foot of the gas immediately.  Do not fixate on the biker, deer or motorcycle – you will just drive straight at it if you do.  Instead, look at the rear wheel or animal’s hindquarters, since cyclists, deer, elk, etc. are not likely to go into reverse !  Turn the steering wheel 90 degree to your right.
• Now your vehicle is headed toward the shoulder, ditch, guardrail, etc.  Do not panic.  You should look at where you want the car to go.  Fix your eyes on the center of the road and turn left twice as far, about 180 degrees.
• Once you have cleared the obstacle, animal, human or other, counter steer 45 degrees to your right and hit the gas to straighten out.

Hopefully, these tips will enable you to “live and let live.”  A car crash with a deer, cyclist or object in the road can be catastrophic.  The damage we have seen caused by impacts with deer are truly astounding.  The losses caused by car crashes with animals and cyclists are some of the most severe we see at the Landau Law Shop.  you might even want to practice, and take the newer drivers in your household out to an empty, safe parking lot, to practice winter driving techniques in order to prevent injury, property loss and death.

Meeting with the potential Defendant, who was quite shaken up even though not physically injured, I was made aware of the facts of the unfortunate accident. A bicycle rider was severely injured in an accident on a rainy day in California. A car pulling into a parking lot was struck broadside by the Los Angeles bicyclist. The police charged the cyclist because:

1. the bike rider was not riding in the marked bike lane
2. the bike rider was riding on the sidewalk
3. the bike rider was going the wrong way (against traffic)
4. the bike rider did not have lights, reflectors or even a helmet

However, the driver contacted Virginia bike injury lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. because of the possibility of a future liability lawsuit. While people sue for all sorts of reasons, and filing a personal injury lawsuit is not prohibited in many cases, the real question is would the plaintiff prevail in a court of law. Landau assured the worried motorist that this case would be (more…)

While he often races in the warmer weather, Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU has also commuted to work by bicycle and has used and rented bikes in a number of cities all over the world. Now bikes are available in the Washington DC metropolitan area through the “Capitol Bikeshare” program.

According to news reports, more than 5,000 people have signed up for Washington’s new bike share program after less than three months in operation, with riders taking nearly 37,000 trips in the first full month.

The Capital Bikeshare program, which allows users to rent a bike from one location and drop it off at another, has 5,017 registered users, according to the District Department of Transportation. Nearly all of those have annual memberships, with 145 of them signed up for 30-day passes. Those numbers don’t include single-day passes, which hit 5,500 in October.
Read more.

The Sterling Virginia bike and car crash is a sad reminder to Loudoun County motorists to keep an eye out for cyclists on the W&OD Trail and to share the road

A Sterling Park Virginia bike accident results in the biker getting crushed and then getting a ticket, despite being waved on by at least one car driver.  The local biker contacted Abrams Landau after being struck by a car in Sterling Virginia and being issued a Traffic Court Summons at the hospital.  Member of the Landau Law Shop sports injury team had heard of other cyclists and pedestrians receiving their citations at the hospital, but it always strikes Herndon lawyer Doug landau as “adding insult to injury,” especially where permanent injuries and disability are likely.  In this case, as the local biker was headed West on the W&OD Trail from Herndon toward Sterling Virginia, he came to Sterling Virginia and then two lanes of motor vehicles heading South toward Route 28 (Sully Road) in Loudoun County.

There was no traffic in the first two lanes, so the cyclist crossed safely to the center grass and paved strip.  the car in the first Southbound lane stopped and waved him and another cyclist to proceed.  The other cyclist proceeded safely to get back on the W&OD Trail, however the local biker was struck (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…)

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…)

Triathlon Trial Lawyer Landau safely negotiating the bike dismount zone leading into the second transition area at the National Sprint Triathlon Championships

The bike dismount area at this weekend’s National Triathlon Championship was the scene of crashes, “near misses” and equipment going in all directions.  However, race officials did the smart, safe thing – the changed the course for the USAT Sprint National Championships which will be contested at high speed and on wet pavement. The rain and cold can increase the danger by causing (more…)

If you are ever the victim of a car wreck, bike crash or trip and fall accident you will likely experience a loss of wages, have to pay medical bills, and perhaps have to make repairs to or replace your vehicle. Although some car insurance policies include medical pay, (“Medical Payments” or “MedPay” for short) not all do.  Many folks that turn to ABRAMS LANDAU for help use their health insurance to help with the costs of medical visits to treat their injuries, and then access this “MedPay” to pay the deductible, office visit co-pays and other incidental charges.  But when the case settles, or is resolved in court, you may receive less compensation than you thought.  This can happen when a healthcare provider places a “lien” against your recovery.

Most health insurance policies now require reimbursement from settlement with a third party.  Where there is a valid claim for “subrogation,” where your health insurance company paid for your medical treatment, it is entitled to get the money back from the settlement, just as you are entitled to reimbursement for your expenses or lost wages. The rules governing, what, if anything, has to be paid back, involve (more…)

Doug Landau bikes past Lake Audubon and Fairfax County police, fire and medical rescue workers on his way onto Glade Drive during the Reston Triathlon

The victim of the bike crash Sunday at Ridge Heights Road near the Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School contacted sports injury lawyer Doug Landau this week.  The Loudoun County athlete sustained multiple injuries in the incident and was taken to INOVA Fairfax Hospital by ambulance after being attended to at the accident scene by Good Samaritan and award-winning triathlete Dr. Allen Delaney of Commonwealth Orthopedic Group.

Apparently a car came from a side street during the 26th annual Reston Triathlon and blocked the path of the cyclists heading up toward the High School transition area according to reports in the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling FABB blog. The injured cyclist was grateful for those who came to his aid and for the speed with which the police and rescuers were on the scene.  Excellent training by Fairfax County first responders and police enabled the injured athlete to be taken to the emergency room quickly.

• If you know anyone who may have seen any part of this car accident, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) at once. We are investigating this bike and car crash, as the cyclist suffered severe injuries, loss of consciousness and closed head injury.