The Landau Law Shop has collected many thousands of dollars in penalties for clients over the years.  This money is free from state, local and federal taxation !  This money is also free of attorney fees !  The Workers Comp Team at ABRAMS LANDAU points out to clients that this is one of the major benefits of being under the protection of an AWARD. An Award is simply a written guarantee from the state government setting forth the injury date, comp rate and medical benefits coverage.  One additional benefit of the Award is that if the employer or its insurance company ever go out of business (unfortunately not an unrealistic proposition), the state “Uninsured Employers Fund” or the Insurance Guaranty Fund can step in to resume payments.  All employers who pay for workers comp insurance pay a percentage of their premiums into this Fund.  This money has paid “Super Lawyer” Doug Landau’s clients many tens of thousands of dollars in Awards.How does an injured worker (or his family) collect this 20% penalty ?If you are not getting this new amount, or if the insurance company is ever more than 2 weeks late in payment, SAVE THE MAILING ENVELOPE and let the Landau Law Shop know at once, since the Award we won for you has penalty provisions for very late payments.  Without the envelope, we cannot prove that they were late. Checks, whether by hand or computer, can be back-dated and post-dated.  Postage machines can be likewise manipulated.  But the watermark from the United States Post Office cannot be “messed with,” and so the envelope is the best evidence of late payment of comp benefits.  This is truly on Award of weekly benefits, as wel as for lump sum settlements.  In one Landau Law Shop case, the insurance company failed to send the $10,000 settlement check to Mr. Landau’s client in Texas within the period set forth in the Settlement Order. The client’s wife called to tell Doug Landau that she had not received the check in the time written on the Order.  Mr. Landau, as is often his habit, put together a “3-way call” to the insurance company.  The adjuster apologized, stating the check was coming from the “home office” and thus was being issued by a different computer than the weekly checks.  Landau then added the Commission to the phone call !  In this way, his client was able to hear and understand what was going on !  The Comp Judge told the insurance company they did not have to issue a check for the $10,000 settlement anymore !Instead, to the shock and dismay of the claims adjuster, the workers comp judge in Richmond ordered the insurance company to issue a check to Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau’s client in the higher amount of $12,000 !!!  Needless to say, Mr. Landau’s client’s wife (and client) were very pleased with this development.  Insurance companies routinely wait “until the last minute” to send out checks.  There are several obvious reasons for this strategy.  Insurance companies make money on the money they hold (like interest you get in the bank, but with a much higher rate of return).  Insurance companies know that many lawyers and unrepresented claimants do not know to ask for these penalties.  They also know that a certain percentage of claimants will pass away, move, give up or lose their cases on procedural grounds and thus never collect all the benefits to which they would be entitled under their Awards.  Do not let the Insurance Industry take advantage of you.  If you are not being paid correctly or on time, contact a lawyer experienced in helping injured workers with their Workers Compensation cases.  A good workers comp layer should be able to show you ACTUAL EXAMPLES of cases, like yours, that he or she has actually won. Remember: delay only works to benefit the Insurance Company.