Landau Injury Law

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases involve withholding pay, overtime and unfair wage practices. Examples include:

1. Store managers, assistant managers, and department managers are many times classified as Executive Exempt in order to keep from paying them overtime. They do not qualify for this exemption, because their primary duty is not management, but is more in line with the duties of hourly employees. The Legal Aid Justice Center would like to review the case of any employee who has been classified as any type of manager who is doing work more in line with hourly employees.

2. Companies classifying employees as independent contractors. Many companies try to completely avoid FLSA responsibility by claiming their workers are not employees at all, but are instead independent contractors. When classified as independent contractors, companies can avoid paying overtime, training pay, payroll taxes, workman’s comp premiums, unemployment insurance, etc.

These misclassifications of employees occur in many service related industries. The lawyers of the Legal Aid Justice Center have seen this in the construction industry, delivery services industry, stocking vendors, maintenance crews, food processing plants, dental assistants, waitresses, nail salons, nurses, secretaries, and landscaping crews, just to mention a few.

The Legal Aid Justice Center would like to review any case where a worker is classified as an independent contractor but has very little control over his or her work.

3. Legal Aid Justice Center is also interested in looking at cases dealing with hourly employees who are routinely required to work “off the clock”.

This is a first for me - quoting US Magazine ! But in today’s US Magazine, the question was posed:
Can a Fractured Hip Be Fatal ?

“Mortality rates can reach 24%, with higher risks for senior citizens, the International Osteoporosis Foundation reports. Why ? Long recoveries increase risk of blood clots, infection and other complications.” Described as “the rock of the family,” Marilyn Dunham, Barack Obama’s grandmother passed away in Hawaii before she could see her grandson elected to the Presidency of the United States of America. Our condolences go to the Obama and Dunham families. Issue 717, US Weekly, 11/10/2008, p.66

Volunteering has long been a part of Doug Landau’s contribution to the community.  He has been a Soccer Coach, Rotary Club Speech and Essay Contest Judge, Red Cross Blood Donor, Fairfax Bar Association “Ask a Lawyer” Booth participant, Circuit Court Tour Guide, Chamber of Commerce Speaker, High Schools Science Fair Judge, Soccer Tournament Field Marshall, “Friday Night Live” Security Crew Member, and Race Volunteer.

However, today was a first,  he was authorized by the Office of the Electoral Board of Fairfax County, Virginia to be a “Poll Watcher” for the Democratic Party.  Because of bad weather and worse traffic, Doug ditched his car and ran to the Cooper Middle School in McLean in order to close the polls and watch the counting of the ballots.  There were electronic voting machines, Optical Scanning Devices and Provisional ballots.  The Herndon Reston area lawyer was able to see first-hand how the actual counting and transmission of the totals is accomplished.

“It was fascinating.  We were not allowed to use cell phones, blackberries, etc., so I had no idea who had won any election until I was driven back to my car after 11:00.  In the precinct where I was the observer, Senator McCain won the voting on both kinds of ballots.  I did not know that Senator Obama had been elected until I finally got gas in Tysons Corner ! I was provided with materials and the laws relative to elections, in case there were any problems or ‘mis-counts.’  However, I was lucky to be assigned to a polling station with experienced and efficient poll workers.  It was wonderful to see such excitement and so many people turn out to exercise their Constitutional right to vote.  I was disappointed to see that many people only voted for the Congressional or Senate seats and not for the Presidential race.  There were also a few ‘write ins,’ including some for people who had dropped out of the race long ago.  It was a wonderful, exhausting and unforgettable night.”

Having traveled to the Capitol of the Commonwealth several times for cases and seminars, Doug Landau returned to the Herndon home of Abrams Landau, Ltd. to find out that he had once again been named as one of “Virginia’s Top Lawyers.” Noting that many of the other lawyers that attended the VTLA Brain Injury Retreat were also listed by Richmond Magazine and the Washington Post, Landau said, “It is quite an honor to be one of the very few small law firms to be selected.” Abrams Landau, Ltd. was the only law firm in the Herndon-Reston area selected for the sub-speciality of Workers Compensation. Doug Landau and experienced legal assistant Dianna Meredith have built a record of successful cases before the state and Federal judges for clients who have sustained on the job injuries, occupational diseases and permanent disability work. Shown here are Mr. Landau and Ms. Meredith preparing another winning case.

Shown here is Lamont Johnson, Navy ROTC.  The Johnson and Landau children grew up in Franklin Farms.  Lamont is the oldest of the three Johnson boys, and he graduated Notre Dame Academy and is attending University in Pennsylvania.  Monty has elected to join the Navy ROTC program, and hopes some day to fly rescue helicopters.  It was not an easy decision for him, but he is a smart, level headed young man, who will no doubt develop into a great leader and succeed in whatever he chooses as his life’s path.  I admire and respect “Monty’s” decision, and I salute his courage during this difficult time in our nation’s history.

At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. we see claims for workplace injury denied because of an alleged failure to wear company issued safety equipment.  If a worker is blinded because they were not wearing safety goggles, the case could be denied.  If an employee sustains a head or brain injury because they did not have their hard hat on, the workers compensation judge can rule in favor of the insurance company for the employer. The general rule is that the violation of a known and enforced safety rule that results in injury precludes the injured worker from receiving compensation benefits.  However, we have won cases where the rules were not publicized, enforced or relevant to how the accident even occurred.  If you or someone you know is injured or disabled due to something striking them in the eye, a brain injury or head trauma, and their claim is denied due to failure to have their hard hat, goggles or other safety equipment, has them contact us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd.

While a number of recent posts have covered somber topics, at Abrams Landau, Ltd., we do also celebrate accomplishments, accolades and other milestones. This Fall, both Beatrice Vargas (on left) and Lauren Holtzman (center) celebrated birthdays with Melissa (bookkeeping, on right) and the rest of the Herndon Reston area injury law firm team. Here the two women are shown enjoying their birthday cake in the always bustling LandauLawShop kitchen. The counter island was built by one of our Workers Comp clients after we successfully won and then settled his claim. Attorney Holtzman was instrumental in the recent policy-limits settlement of a car crash case that occurred less than a mile from our office. Mrs. Vargas was critical to the winning court decision and ultimate settlement of a workers compensation fatality claim for a family that lives in Mexico and North Carolina. Congratulations to both women on their success and hard work.

Alcohol-related fatalities increased among motorcycle riders in half the states in 2007.  The increase was 7.5% over the previous year.  Motorcycle riders were featured in the government’s $13 million advertising campaign over the Labor Day Weekend.  Many of you may have noticed that law enforcement authorities stepped up their activities against drunk driving during the end of the summer.  At Abrams Landau, Ltd. we have seen alcohol impaired motorcycle drivers cause devastating injuries and lifelong disability.

Is there such a thing as a “Designated Driver” for inebriated motorcyclists ?

Abrams Landau’s founding partner, Doug Landau received this missive in October:

Dear Douglas K. W. Landau, Esq:

I would like to congratulate you on having been selected by your peers for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the specialty of Workers’ Compensation Law. For over a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers has been regarded – by both the profession and the public – as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States.

Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 2.5 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Our annual, advertisement-free publication has been described in The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

The Best Lawyers in America also reaches the largest and most targeted audience of any peer review publication in the legal profession. Best Lawyers is excerpted monthly in Corporate Counsel Magazine, reaching more than 44,000 general counsel. Excerpts also appear in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, and more than 50 other regional and city magazines, reaching more than 15 million influential readers. The Best Lawyers database is also now searchable on more than 260,000 Bloomberg Terminals™ worldwide.

Your legal specialty and contact information are visible to all subscribers of BestLawyers.com. More than 13,000 listed attorneys, representing more than 1,400 law firms, have linked their firm web pages or bios to BestLawyers.com, making them visible to all site visitors, not just to subscribers. In the past year, the site has received more than 6.4 million hits and responded to more than 4.6 million requests for lawyer searches.

Again, congratulations on being chosen by your fellow attorneys to be included in The Best Lawyers in America

As a member of the Florida Bar, I keep up with legal developments in the “Sunshine State.”  At Abrams Landau, Ltd., we have represented many clients who are residents of, or were injured in, Florida.  Tort Reform in 2003 limited the amounts that could be charged by the injured workers’ legal counsel.  However, this “Tort Deform” did not limit how much money the insurance companies and employers could pay their lawyers.  This 5-year-old law severely limits the abilities of plaintiff’s lawyers to recoup fees even for cases they win.  There are no limits to what defense lawyers can charge, and their fees are NOT contingent upon the outcome !

This law is currently being challenged by the case of Murray vs. Mariner Health.  The injured workers lawyer successfully won benefits previously denied his client, Emma Murray.  The injured worker was a nurse who was injured while lifting a patient.  Nurse Murray’s lawyer put in approximately 80 hours in order to win the case, yet his fees were limited to about $650.00.  The claimant’s lawyer took on the case, risked getting nothing if he lost, and, after winning, got paid about $8.00 an hour.  Do you think any defense lawyer would work on a contingent fee case for $8.00 an hour ?  The case is pending before the Florida Supreme Court.  Because the case involves a state administrative law system, it can likely not go up to the United States Supreme Court, of which I am also a member.  I hope for the Florida workers compensation claimants’ lawyers’ sake that the state Supreme Court changes this unjust law.