Landau Injury Law

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”)

Our daughter Danielle Landau wrote the following about her most recent experience at Comfort Zone Camp:

Comfort Zone Camp ("CZC") volunteers from the University of Miami KKG sorority give generously of their time to work with grieving children who have lost a parent

As my little buddy and I watched the bright, beautiful flames take our messages up to our loved ones, we held each other close and cried until we felt a true release. To think we had only met earlier that day further exemplifies the impact two days with an incredible program can have on a child.

This past October I volunteered at Comfort Zone Camp (“CZC”) in Ocala, Florida, with two of my KKG sorority sisters. This weekend was my second CZC experience; Comfort Zone Camp is a nonprofit bereavement camp that provides a loving and accepting environment in which children can grieve their losses. Each trained volunteer, or big buddy, is paired with a child, their little buddy, to shadow and support during the weekend’s events. Little did I know when I first connected to CZC that it is supported by the Virginia Law Foundation, to which my father, Herndon trial lawyer, Douglas Landau contributes.  As my dad would say “Small world isn’t it?” (more…)

With our last several cases involving unsafe drivers with limited insurance and assets, I am reaching out to all of our clients to review their personal insurance coverages and to make sure that they, and their loved ones, are protected this holiday season.  In several cases, the harms were many hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the cases had to settle for $50-100,000, because that’s all the insurance available, an there was no ability to collect any additional money to pay for the losses caused by the unsafe drivers.  And it’s not just car crash cases.  In slip and fall, dog bite, bicycle accident and animal attack cases has all resulted in reduced compensation because the Defendants (and sometimes the innocent victims themselves) have minimal insurance coverage.  Unlike shopping for presents, shopping for and purchasing insurance can be a daunting task. Insurance by its very definition is intended to provide you security when the unknown and unexpected happens. So when you are purchasing insurance, it is often very difficult to know what type of coverage, and how much coverage you need. In the midst of the confusion surround insurance, one type of insurance that often gets thrown around is “umbrella insurance”. What exactly is it? And who needs it?

Umbrella insurance is (more…)

Cutting corners in the ledgers books or on the interstate highways is never a smart strategy over the long hail.  Over the last several years, the popularity of dirt cheap bus rides to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston have lead to the proliferation of discount interstate motor carriers.  However, these buses sometimes employ drivers who are reckless, fatigued, poorly trained, and who cannot communicate in English !  The bus industry says the problem is limited to a small number of rogue operators.  The interstate motor carrier industry also notes that what is needed is (more…)

Policing the Interstate highways from unsafe common carriers should be one of the priorities of the national law enforcement agencies.  When a bus company has a pattern of unsafe practices and a history of accidents, the Federal Government should protect the public and shut the transportation motor carrier down until the safety violations are corrected.  In yesterday’s post the recent SkyExpress bus crash in Virginia was noted, especially as reckless driving and driver fatigue were factors in the fatal bus accident.  The Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigated the company, finding that SkyExpress has been involved in several accidents and was cited for (more…)

A discount bus line was shut down for safety violations after a fatal Virginia crash.  SkyExpress, a discount bus service, was shut down by federal regulators after a crash in Virginia that killed four people and sent more than 50 others to hospitals.  As the DC area is a hub for many cut-rate bus services, news reports of the crash and the subsequent safety violation record of the transportation company gave cause to reconsider travel on this recently popular transit services.  Bus injury lawyer Doug Landau has seen passengers being loaded onto these common carriers at cheap express bus stops in Arlington Virginia, Bethesda Maryland and Washington, D.C. due to the DC Metro area’s proximity to Interstate 95.

A SkyExpress bus headed to New York City swerved off northbound Interstate 95 last month, hit an embankment and overturned about 30 miles north of Richmond, near Bowling Green.  According to the Washington Post, SkyExpress offers $30 bus trips between (more…)

“Not fancy, just friendly,” is the saying at the Landau Law Shop.  We recognize that it is important to put people at ease.  To answer their questions.  If we cannot answer their tough questions, then we go to the places where we can get answers.

Herndon workers comp and injury case lawyer Doug Landau at the Bills Barbecue Richmond before meeting a client around the corner from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission ("VWCC") headquarters

Doug Landau is not afraid to go to court.  The Herndon injury lawyer had hoped to visit the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (“VWCC”) last week in order to look at the official file with a widow who was looking for answers.  Since the VWCC was closed, Doug Landau met with a client at the Bill’s Barbecue Restaurant around the corner from the Comp Commission’s DMV Drive Headquarters.  Landau has (more…)

Herndon lawyer Doug Landau during a Fredericksburg Virginia "pit stop" at a Route 3 Starbucks for a worker who was struck by a "distracted driver" in Fairfax County VA

The “Advanced Workers Compensation” meeting in Richmond was the reason for Virginia workers comp lawyer Doug Landau’s trip South on Friday, but in order to make his injured clients’ lives a little easier, he arranges to meet with them closer to home when possible.  Many clients find any kind of travel physically difficult because of their disability.  Because lawyer Landau travels up and down I-95, he is able to accommodate the needs of injured workers, their families and friends.  While his first choice is to meet at the “Landau Law Shop,” because it has all of the equipment, staff and technology the Herndon injury lawyer relies upon to successfully assist those who call upon ABRAMS LANDAU for help, he routinely meets clients at court, other law offices and even coffee shops, restaurants and sports venues !

In addition to meeting several injured workers on the way to the Virginia Capitol to participate with the best workers comp lawyers in the state, Landau also registered for the annual Richmond Marathon Weekend 8km. (5 mile) road race.  If you or someone you know or care for has been injured as the result of a car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle crash and there are questions about what laws apply, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.  We can meet with you in our accessible buildings here in Herndon, or closer to you if you cannot travel.

Just as in dating, sometimes the date you start with is not the one you end up with !

Herndon Social Security lawyer Doug Landau (shown in front of the Washington DC hearing Office) & his clients will "amend the onset date" of their disability in order to secure a favorable decision from an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge)

Unrepresented Social Security Disability claimants often pick a “date of onset” for their disability on their original applications that lead to denial after denial by the Federal Government.  While a disabled workers may have stopped working on a particular day due to an on the job injury or occupational disease, that date may not be supported by the objective medical evidence.  Just because a wage earner stops working on “date X,” does not mean that the Social Security Administration will find that they should receive Disability Income benefits from that date.  The rules for getting Federal Disability benefits are quite strict.

At the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, we see Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William families who have been denied Social Security despite what appear to be debilitating injuries.  Sometimes the medical conditions that disable our clients from working become totaling disabling months and even years after they stop working.  In these cases, when we get the case before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), our investigation (more…)

To help injured employees and their families, experienced Virginia workers comp lawyers meet regularly to discuss recent cases, compare trial strategy and learn the latest advances in medical care for those disabled after on the job accidents.  Meetings with Virginia Workers Compensation Commission judges and lawyers from all over the Commonwealth further the exchange of ideas and suggestions for improving conditions for injured claimants. (more…)