Maryland construction worker wins, then settles, comp claim

After winning a client’s case before the Maryland Workers Compensation Commission, Virginia trial lawyer Doug Landau was able to successfully settle the case on the eve of trial at the Circuit Court of Worcester County. This was the third time Landau had represented this client ! They originally met when this construction worker watched a full day of Hearings by attorneys from all over the D.C. metropolitan area at the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission and then chose the Herndon lawyer to be his counsel. The case involved a back injury and the surgical implantation of metal rods in the patient’s back. Thomas Schuler of the Virginia Spine Institute in Reston (www.SpineMD.com) performed the surgery, which enabled the patient to return to work. . That Virginia comp claim settled for a lump sum of over $100,000.

The second case involved a fall from a truck. That workplace injury broke those rods, which then had to be replaced by Virginia Spinal Surgeon Thomas Schuler. The third case came 15 year after Mr. Landau and this Maryland client first met ! Because Doug Landau knew this gentleman’s medical history so well, he associated with local counsel in Maryland and agreed to represent him in this serious back injury case. They won before the comp judge, but the employer and insurance company appealed. In Maryland, an appeal from the Workers Compensation Commission leads to a jury trial on the issue of compensability (not on the amount of damages, which is set by statute).

Mr. Landau traveled to Ocean City several times for depositions, court hearings and trial. His local counsel, Brian Lee, had handled the original hearing before the comp judge, but Landau was prepared to take the case to the jury. Critical to this preparation was his pre-trial submissions to the Worcester County Circuit Court. Despite the Defense attorney’s allegations that: the claimant had no credibility in that his father was the only witness, he was a convicted felon, he had not been candid at his deposition under oath, the employee had been fired for assaulting his boss (the company owner), there was no accident, no new injury, and that the disability was due to the claimant’s prior, serious spinal injuries, Doug Landau and local counsel Brian Lee were able to achieve a settlement that accomplished the client’s goals.