Landau Injury Law

Virginia injury lawyers Brenda Page and Doug Landau want injured and disabled clients and their families to understand their surgical options and ask questions of doctors and other medical specialists

Free information to help make informed medical decisions is a good thing.  Even if your treating doctors are not at any of the INOVA Hospitals, if you are in the Lorton Virginia area, the upcoming free community seminar may be a wise investment of your and your family’s time. You and your family can ask the joint replacement experts of the INOVA Joint Replacement Center (“IJRC”) about relief from arthritis, repair of damaged bones and painful inactivity. Surgical joint replacement, with minimally invasive techniques may be the solution to your disability, pain and osteoarthritis. Advances in orthopedic hip replacement surgery including anterior hip replacement and minimally invasive techniques, knee replacement options such as mini-incision knee replacement, gender knee, partial knee replacement and customized patient specific (more…)

Herndon bicycle police officers and bike safety lawyer Doug Landau preparing to give free Bell Sport cycling helmets to Hutchison Elementary School students

Yesterday, all sixth graders at Hutchison Elementary School learned about using their heads, protecting their brains and then received complimentary bicycle helmets. With the “hands on” help of Dr. Paul Aravich from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Fairfax County Police Officers, and bike safety lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm Abrams Landau, the students got rubber gloves and were encouraged to hold and touch real human brains, skulls and spinal cords.  The focus of the program was making good choices, including the choice to wear head protection when cycling, skate boarding, roller blading, long boarding, mountain biking and other wheeled sports.  According to the Virginia Department of Health, bicycle helmets, when worn properly, reduce the risk of a serious brain injury by almost 90%.  The Herndon school children were encouraged to wear a helmet when biking.  After the school assembly, a Bell Sports bike helmet was given to every child in the Hutchison Elementary School sixth grade.

Mr. Landau is known as “the Athletes Lawyer” because of his representation of many injured cyclists and other injured athletes.  Landau is a competitive triathlete, who is a three time winner of the Herndon Super Sprint Triathlon, a USAT Triathlon All American and World Championship qualifier.  Mr. Landau is sponsoring the event in cooperation with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Law Foundation and Mr. Henry Tragle, an outstanding local triathlete and father of 2, who was injured on his bike.  Fortunately Mr. Tragle’s brain was protected by his helmet.  Mr. Tragle won this year’s Reston Sprint and was runner up at last month’s Reston Triathlon.

Doug Landau hopes to visit other Reston, Herndon and Oak Hill Virginia area schools in order to protect other students and prevent disabling and fatal head injuries to these young cyclists.  If you or someone you know or care for would like Mr. Landau to come to their school to discuss bike safety and traumatic brain injury, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555).

After Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was wounded in a mass shooting that injured 12 people in January, doctors removed a portion of the left side of her skull to prevent her brain from swelling and to halt tissue damage.  This month the doctors used a hard plastic implant to repair a hole in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ skull, according to news reports.

This is the latest milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt.  Experts say the plastic skull implant will improve her quality of life.  The neurological specialists had to remove a portion of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. The implant means Giffords no longer needs the protective helmets, one decorated with an Arizona flag, that she has used since the initial skull-removal procedure.  According to USA Today, the Memorial Hermann’s neuroscience institute surgeons intended to attach a computer-modeled artificial implant, not the actual piece of skull removed from Giffords head. The missing piece of Giffords’ skull has been described as a little bigger than the palm of one’s hand.

The reason this news story resonated with everyone at the Herndon law firm of Abrams Landau is because we were visited today by a client who had a piece offer skull removed at Fairfax Hospital after the swelling in her head caused by a slip and fall accident caused pressure on her brain.  This health care worker then spent time in the Mount Vernon Bridge Program regaining her ability to speak and perform other activities of daily living.  She wore a bicycle helmet until the neurosurgeon could put the piece of her skull, which had been kept in a special refrigerated, sterile unit, back in her head !  She has had several operations and has returned to work.  We hope that she continues to heal and help others.  If you have been sustained an injury to your head or skull, and would like assistance with a legal claim for Social Security Disability, Workers Compensation or a slip and fall or car crash case, please call our Herndon Law Shop today at 703-796-9555 or e-mail us.

Clients suffering from hip, shoulder, knee and arthritis pain should try to learn as much as possible about their condition in order to get as healthy as possible after an on the job accident or car crash.  You can ask the joint replacement experts of the INOVA Joint Replacement Center (“IJRC”) about relief from arthritis, repair of damaged bones and painful inactivity.  Surgical joint replacement, with minimally invasive techniques may be the solution to your disability, pain and osteoarthritis.  IJRC is the largest joint replacement center in the metro-Washington DC area, performing over 2,000 joint replacements annually.  With the latest techniques and medical equipment, patients are returning to more active lifestyles.  Herndon joint injury lawyer Doug Landau has attended past programs, along with ABRAMS LANDAU staff, and new insights are always gained and tough questions are always answered.  While knee, hip and shoulder joint replacement surgery is not for everyone, workers compensation and disability lawyer Landau has seen friends, family members and clients make wonderful recoveries as the result of such operations.

A FREE Community Seminar on Osteoarthritis and Joint Replacement Advances will be held with Drs. Kevin Fricka and William Hamilton:

• Date:     Wednesday, April 13, 2011
• Time:     7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Address: Workhouse Arts Center, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079
• Contact Phone:     (855) 694-6682
• Free parking available in the rear of the building.

Inova Health System is pleased to present our “Ask the Expert” community lecture series. All lectures are free, but advance registration is requested.  Register online or call 855-MY-INOVA (855-694-6682).

We all know how hard it is to get “face time” with a qualified Orthopedic specialist.  Making injured workers and disabled accident victims aware of free programs and medical information that may help them make informed decisions as to treatment, surgery and rehabilitation has been one of the goals of this site.  The Bon Secours Richmond Health System, together with the Tuckahoe Orthopaedic Associates and St. Mary’s Hospital are teaming up on several interesting presentations.  On Tuesday, March 15th, 2011, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at St, mary’s Hospital Auditorium, there will be two doctors speaking on behalf of the Bon Secours Orthopaedic Institute’s FREE Seminar Series.

The first topic is Shoulder Pain – Rotator Cuff Tears to Replacement: “What is right for me?” Featuring Dr. Shannon Wolfe, Tuckahoe Orthopaedic Associates
The topics covered include:

• Rotator cuff replacement
• Total shoulder replacement
• Newest surgical & non-surgical treatment options

Next will be Crooked Toes & Flat Feet: Is There Any Hope for Relief? Featuring Dr. Truitt Cooper, Tuckahoe Orthopaedic Associates.  The topics covered are to include:

* Surgical & non-surgical options for treatment of bunions, hammertoes and other common foot deformities

The St. Mary’s Hospital Auditorium is located at 5801 Bremo Road, Richmond, VA 23226
For more information, go to the Bon Secours site or call (804-359-9355) and register today !

If you enjoyed and learned from the free lectures open to the public this winter, the INOVA hospitals of Northern Virginia invite you more of their “Ask the Experts” programs. These sessions make top doctors available for questions and their audio-visual demonstrations help make clear complicated medical procedures and advances.  These sessions are an excellent way to learn from the surgeons who perform operations and incorporate the latest technologies in helping many clients from the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. Northern Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau has enjoyed having this “Free Face Time” with orthopedic, neurological, chronic pain and other medical specialists at past programs.  It does not matter if you are a workers compensation claimant, the victim of a car accident or whether you suffer form an occupational disease, arthritis or other degenerative condition, you will leanr valuable information at these programs.  The following are some of the free presentations you and your family may want to attend to learn more about your health condition, future surgery and/or treatment of long term injuries.

• Options for Treating Back and Neck Pain – Westin Arlington Gateway     Wed, Mar 2, 2011     07:00pm
• Ankle Pain and Reconstruction – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital     Tue, Mar 8, 2011     07:00pm
• Minimally Invasive Joint Replacement – Inova Alexandria Hospital     Mon, Mar 14, 2011     07:00pm
• The Latest Options in Hip Replacement – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital     Mon, Mar 14, 2011     07:00pm
• Pelvic Floor Disorders – Inova Alexandria Hospital     Tue, Mar 15, 2011     07:00pm
• Leg Pain and the Plumbing of Your Legs – Inova Loudoun Hospital     Mon, Mar 21, 2011     06:30pm
• Robotic Assisted Knee Replacement: A New Solution – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital     Tue, Mar 22, 2011     07:00pm
• Surgical Management of Spine Disorders – Inova Loudoun Hospital     Thu, Mar 31, 2011     06:30pm
• Osteoarthritis and the Latest Advances in Joint Replacement     Wed, Apr 13, 2011     07:00pm
• Treatment Options for Joint Pain – Inova Loudoun Hospital     Thu, Apr 14, 2011     06:30pm

For more information, directions call 855-My-Inova (694-6682) or visit the INOVA Website to register for these FREE community programs.

Spinal cord trauma and spine injury lawyer Doug Landau proudly sports the green and orange of "The U" at his 25th reunion at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida

The University of Miami is frequently at the cutting edge of advances in medical research, especially accidental spinal cord injury and paralysis. As an alum of “the U” and a lifelong follower of spinal cord research, Doug Landau returns to Miami this week for Continuing Legal Education and to learn of the latest in advances in medicine that might help his injured and disabled clients from all over the country. The Virginia spine injury lawyer’s first real job was in fact at the Columbia Presbyterian Neurological Institute in New York City in the 1970s.

Lawyer Landau, of the ABRAMS LANDAU Herndon law firm, noted the recent peer-reviewed publication of research findings by his alma mater in Coral Gables, Florida. A team led by Allan Levi, professor of neurological surgery, clinical researcher at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and chief of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s neurospine service, published findings in the journal NEUROSURGERY supporting the use of mild hypothermia in acute spinal cord injury. (more…)

Free medical information and “face time” with top area doctors are all the reasons you need to attend an upcoming INOVA program at a hospital near you.  The superb, free lectures are open to the public, as the INOVA hospitals of Northern Virginia invite you the “Ask the Experts” programs.  These sessions make top doctors available for questions and their audio-visual demonstrations help make clear complicated medical procedures and advances.  These sessions are an excellent way to learn from the surgeons who perform operations and incorporate the latest technologies in helping many clients from the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. Northern Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau has enjoyed having this “Free Face Time” with orthopedic, neurological, chronic pain and other medical specialists at past programs.  The following are some of the free presentations you and your family may want to attend to learn more about your health condition, future surgery and/or treatment of long term injuries.

• Common Hand and Wrist Problems – Inova Fair Oaks Hospital     Thu, Jan 27, 2011     07:00pm
• Current Treatment Options for Hip Arthritis     Mon, Feb 7, 2011     01:30pm
• Say Hello to a Healthy Heart! Healthy Eating, Healthy Living – Inova Alexandria     Thu, Feb 10, 2011     07:00pm
• Treatment of Heart Attacks – Hospital to Home     Wed, Feb 16, 2011     06:00pm
• Common Sports Injuries and How to Avoid Them     Wed, Feb 16, 2011     07:00pm
• Women’s Heart Health – Lifestyle Tips for a Healthy Heart – Woodbridge     Thu, Feb 17, 2011     06:00pm
• Options for Treating Back and Neck Pain – Inova Fair Oaks Medical Plaza Bld     Tue, Feb 22, 2011     07:00pm
• Don’t Break Your Heart – How Angioplasty/Stens Can Prevent Heart and Leg Pain     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     06:00pm
• The Role of Surgery in Stroke Prevention and Treatment – Inova Fair Oaks Hospita     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     06:00pm
• Pelvic Floor Disorder Symptoms and Treatment Options     Wed, Feb 23, 2011     07:00pm
• The Emergency Treatment of Heart Attacks and Strokes – Inova Loudoun Hospital     Thu, Feb 24, 2011     06:30pm
• Osteoarthritis and the Latest Advances in Joint Replacement     Thu, Feb 24, 2011     07:00pm

For more information, directions call 855-My-Inova (694-6682) or visit the INOVA Website to register for these FREE community programs.

State Workers Compensation claims are becoming more complex.  In the past, if the insurance company, the employer, the injured worker and their lawyer agreed to a compromise settlement, a Maryland workers compensation judge could approve the settlement and payments would then be made.  Now the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) is proposing to make permanent a regulation requiring federal approval of medical set-asides before the state will sign off settlements.  This additional step has been in effect as an emergency rule since Jan. 4, 2010 according to a report in WorkCompCentral in which multi-state comp lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. was interviewed this week.

The proposed regulation will require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to approve all claims that meet the agency’s threshold for review.  Settlements that do not meet the CMS review threshold are required to include a statement confirming that the interests of CMS have been considered and to identify the amount of the proposed settlement that is apportioned for future medical expenses.  CMS requires approval on settlements where the claimant is 65 or older, is a Medicare recipient or has a reasonable expectation of becoming eligible for Medicaid within 30 months and the anticipated total settlement for future medical expenses and disability exceeds $250,000.  The WorkCompCentral article relates. “One of the lessons learned by Doug Landau, an injured workers’ attorney located in Herndon, Virginia, is that CMS approval is a long process.  It takes at least 90 days to get a response, he said.  Landau thinks regulations like the one proposed in Maryland will start popping up throughout the country.”

Believe it or not, the rights many of us take for granted, such as the right to privacy, do not exist if we are hurt on the job.  In many states, the ability of insurance defense counsel to unilaterally talk to your doctors is virtually unfettered.  In other words, the workers comp insurance lawyers are allowed to have what is called “ex parte” contact with the claimant’s treating physicians behind the patient’s and their lawyer’s backs !  In order to help WILG (the Workers Injury Law& Advocacy Group) in its research concerning this problem and its widespread abuses, IF YOUR STATE IS NOT LISTED AND YOU KNOW THE ANSWER FOR YOUR STATE PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL ALONG WITH ANY STATUTE, CITATION, CASE LAW OR NEWS REPORT.  Thanks in advance, Doug Landau

States permitting unilateral contact: (or not prohibiting or significantly limiting insurance defense lawyers from having their way with the disabled workers’ treating physicians):

• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Maine
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Virginia
• Wyoming

States which are believed to at least require notice to claimants and/or their legal counsel prior to contact with the treating doctors or which forbid contact outside of the patient or their counsel’s presence:

• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Wisconsin