Fairfax & Loudoun Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Increase funeral, transporatation and burial benefits for workers' families

Doug Landau — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:37:00 GMT

Injured workers lawyer Doug Landau often represents workers and their families from other states and countries. When these workers suffer fatal injury, their families are confronted with enormous and immediate expenses. The cost of even a simple funeral can often run several thousands of dollars. However, the amount available under the Virginia Workers Compensation Act is limited, and does not pay all the bills related to transporting the fallen worker's remains to their home state or country. Unlike Cost of Living Adjustments ("COLA"), which are tied to the Consumer Price Index ("CPI"), and mileage reimbursement rates, which also change annually, the amounts for funeral and transportation do not increase with inflation. According to Herndon Reston area workers comp lawyer Doug Landau, this must change. As more and more workers come from other states and countries to work in Virginia, especially in the Internet, software, security, construction and hospitality fields, the law of this Commonwealth must reflect this reality and change with the times. Presently, the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission's ("VWCC") web site lists

BENEFITS UNDER THE ACT:

#5 Death Benefits

* A surviving spouse, children under 18, children under 23 enrolled full time in an accredited educational institution, parents in destitute circumstances or other qualifying dependents may be entitled to wage loss benefits.
* Death benefits include funeral expenses not to exceed $10,000 and transportation cost of $1,000.

Our clients have often exceeded this $11,000 benefit maximum amount. The legislature needs to keep up with the times and inflation. If you or someone you know has lost a loved one in an on the job accident, e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Workers lose their lives in the Construction trade

Doug Landau — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:01:00 GMT

With over 6 million people in the construction trades in the United States, it is a significant sector of our economy, However, construction is also one of the most dangerous kind of work, with over 8,000 workers killed on construction sites each year and many thousands injured and maimed for life. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we see first-hand some of the devastation caused by unsafe construction practices and lax inspection, regulation and enforcement by state, local and federal agencies. We have tried cases were our clients have been injured or killed on construction sites. Some of the injuries were caused by:

* Falls from roofing,
* Loads dropped on a workers head,
* Failure of scaffolding causing falls from heights,
* Unsecured stairways, steps or ramps,
* Wood snapping, breaking or coming loose,
* Getting shot with a nail from a nail gun,Ladders twisting and falling,
* Explosions causing hearing loss,
* Asbestos dust particles causing lung damage,
* Combustible materials catching firing and causing burns,
* Construction vehicles hitting other trucks, cars and workers on the ground.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a construction site accident, e-mail us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., or call 703-796-9555 today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Settling workers compensation cases takes time

Doug Landau — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:19:00 GMT

While Herndon job injury lawyer Doug Landau advises clients that settling comp claims take time and effort, there are still many questions about the settlements of workers compensation cases. Workers Comp claims seem to take a lot more time from acceptance of the settlement offer to the ultimate approval of the paperwork. This is especially true according to Herndon injured workers lawyer Landau, when compared to the settlement of a car crash or slip and fall case. In those "liability' or "negligence" cases, the check and release comes withnin days or weeks from the insurance company or defense lawyer. In Virginia comp claims, the ultimate approval takes months after the parties submit the signed (and notarized) paperwork to the Workers Compensation Commission ("VWCC") in Richmond. The Virginia Code provides (65.2-701) that compromise settlements of workplace accident, occupational disease or job fatality cases, "may be approved only when the Commission...is clearly of the opinion that the best interests of the employee or his dependents will be served thereby." Rule 1.7 sets forth the requirements for a compromise settlement package. Unlike the resolution of a car crash or dog attack case, a workers comp case requires a number of documents (and signatures !).

The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission does not approve every single settlement that is submitted to it. The VWCC is not a "rubber stamp" and settlement documents are carefully reviewed. Deputy Commissioner Courtney Mercer manages the Compromise Settlement Department, with a claims examiner who supervises the department and who is assisted by a claims technician and two senior judicial secretaries. Deputy Commissioner Mercer shared his thoughts with Doug Landau recently in Richmond. Workplace accident and fatality lawyer Doug Landau was invited to a special "Retreat" for lawyers who only represent injured workers and not insurance companies. If you or someone you know, has questions about their workers compensation case or settlement, please contact ABRAMS LANDAU or call us today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Workers Comp and violation of OSHA Safety Regulations

Doug Landau — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:30:00 GMT

Loudoun Fairfax construction accident lawyer Doug Landau is often asked about safety violations on the work site. If the employer is in violation of safety standards, are they automatically found liable for the disabled worker's injuries ? And if the injured employee is found to be in violation of a safety rule, can they still collect workers comp benefits ?

Unfortunately, it is not good for the injured worker in Virginia. Even if the employer is found to be in violation of a safety statute or fined by OSHA, that does not mean that the employee automatically gets their workers compensation benefits. The ABRAMS LANDAU injury trial team has won cases where the employers were found guilty of homicide in criminal court, and Virginia law still did not allow them to be sued for negligence ! So, the employer's negligence or recklessness is not reviewed by the workers compensation judges.

However, the employee's failure to follow a known and enforced safety rule, can and will preclude an award of workers compensation benefits. In one case that Loudoun Fairfax and Leesburg construction injury lawyer Doug Landau won, the employee had "unhooked" his safety belt right before he slipped and fell from a roof, fracturing both ankles. The employer's insurance company lawyers alleged "wilfull violation of a safety rule," and comp benefits were denied. Landau won the case by showing that ALL the employees, and the supervisors all "unhooked" in order to put the top pieces of roofing in place. Furthermore, the injured worker had never been disciplined for this practice, written up or docked pay, so it was not an "enforced rule." If you or someone you know has been injured in a construction site accident or other workplace accident, e-mail ABRAMS LANDAU or call (703-796-9555) today. Just because the insurance company denies the claim, does not mean that the case cannot be won in court.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Horseplay is not fun: Workers Compensation claim frozen in its tracks

Danielle Landau — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:14:54 GMT

Joking around becomes no laughing matter when someone gets hurt. But in a recent workers compensation case, ice throwing at work resulted in a serious injury.

A male waiter entered the kitchen of the restaurant where he worked and began to input meal orders into a computer. Three idle co-workers threw ice at the waiter. He turned around when a piece of ice hit him in the back of his head. He was continually hit in the head and chest as he faced forward. He threw his left arm up to block the ice and his left shoulder dislocated. He suffered an injury and underwent surgery, as a result of the incident.

But even more shocking than the facts of the case is the decision of the Virginia Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the employer. The employer's insurance company argued: “there was no casual connection between the injury and the conditions under which the employer required the work to be done”.

Attorney Doug Landau, who has won cases involving horseplay, playing at work and injuries occurring off the premises and "off the clock," knows Workers Compensation claims can be tricky. But with this particular case we see that just because someone is hurt at work, while they are working, does not mean they always get the restitution they deserve under the state's Workers Compensation law.

See http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cav/home.html

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Danielle Landau

Horseplay is not fun: Workers Compensation claim frozen in its tracks

Doug Landau — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:01:00 GMT

Joking around becomes no laughing matter when someone gets hurt. But in a recent workers compensation case, ice throwing at work resulted in a serious injury.

See VA court of appeals

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

"On the job" injuries: Are you "ON THE JOB" when you injured are out of the office or shop?

Danielle Landau — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:25:00 GMT

Workers injured on the job are usually expected to be "ON the job" in order to get workers compensation benefits. However, there are exceptions. One such exception that has helped our clients who have been injured on the job is the Personal Comfort Doctrine. Under the Personal Comfort Doctrine, employees who engage in acts which are for their personal comfort are not considered to have left their place of employment, if they remain on (or nearby) the premises when conducting these acts.

For example, in Cadmus Magazines v. Williams, 30 Va. App. 129, 515 S.E.2d 797 (1999), the employee worked the night shift, and on his break, went outside to smoke a cigarette in a co-worker’s vehicle. On his return to the building, he was running in the rain, slipped on wet pavement, and fell. The employee was on a regular break, in an employer-controlled parking lot, and smoking outside, because it was prohibited in the building. The Virginia Court of Appeals determined that the personal comfort doctrine applied, as well as the “principle that once an employee is on the employer's premises with the intent to begin his or her services for the employer, injuries occurring thereon may be compensable.”

Keep in mind that the Premise Liability Law denotes responsibility for the safety of the people lawfully on the premises to the owners, the operators, and/or the maintenance company of the premises. Put simply, if someone gets hurt on your property, whether it is your home or business, you are primarily responsible if you or someone you hired to maintain the property, was at fault.

If you have been hurt "On the job", one or even both of these laws may help your case. We at Abrams Landau Ltd. represent clients who fall into this category. For more information visit our site.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Danielle Landau

Virginia's Workers Compensation Law: Death on the Job Must be Immediate!

Doug Landau — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:26:59 GMT

At Abrams Landau we represent multiple workers and families of workers injured and sometimes killed at work. Though Worker's compensation was established to protect and provide for benefits to the widows and orphans of workplace fatalities, these laws vary from state to state. Though we have been very successful her in Virginia helping many injured workers and their families, there are statutes in the code that are need of modification. Sunday's Washington Post addressed the issue of Virginia's workers' compensation laws pertaining to death and coma claims.

Virginia law generally presumes that when a person dies at a work site, it is considered a work-related injury. However, if the employee doesn't die immediately, if he or she lingers in a coma and dies subsequently, then the injury and death are not assumed to be compensable.

I represent workers compensation claimants with brain injuries in VA, Maryland , and DC and my clients have been awarded compensation in cases where they can not recall the injury. However the rules differ in VA from the other two jurisdictions.

The difference is this:

In Maryland and DC when a worker dies on the job it is assumed to be compensable as a work related injury unless proven otherwise by the employer. In Virginia, the burden of proof falls on the dead employee. this creates a quite a "catch 22" Dead men can't testify.

This injustice was addressed in the Washington post this past week. A local widow's claim is being contested in VA because her husband lingered in coma rather than dying on the scene.

The post interviewed defense attorney Charles Midkiff who opines that a change in law would not be favorable to local business. I don't think inconvenience to local business is reason to leave an outdated and unfair law on record. It harms widows and orphans who have lost a family member or are dealing with a comatose family member or a family provider who is plagued with a permanent brain injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau

Promotions and the Average Weekly Wage

Lauren Holtzman — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:38:48 GMT

When you are injured in a compensable, work-related accident, your employer may pay for wages you cannot earn while you are recovering from your injury. Generally, Virginia Code specifies that an average weekly wage is determined by averaging the fifty-two weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury and dividing it by fifty-two.

There are some situations, however, where that does not accurately reflect the injured employee’s wages. What if you received a promotion immediately before your accident? It hardly seems fair to average your new, higher wages in with your lower, pre-promotion wages.

In this situation, an exception has been carved out by a series of Workers Compensation cases. If the employee received a promotion or raise (that is analogous to a promotion), the correct way to determine their average weekly wage is to use their higher, post-promotion earnings. For further reading, go to the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission's website, they have cases on point.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lauren Holtzman

Can an injured worker collect Social Security Disability payments AND Workers Comp at the same time?

Doug Landau — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:05:00 GMT

In a word, yes. Injured workers who are disabled from their regular jobs and receiving state workers compensation benefits AND who are also unable to do work may be eligible for Federal disability payments.

Clients who are receiving workers compensation benefits often have Awards of 2/3rds of their average weekly pre-injury wage. The Federal disability income program takes a set off for monies an injured worker receives from Workers Comp and certain other government programs. The Feds frown upon people "double-dipping," even though the benefits come from the money taken out of the wage earner's paychecks. The Social Security rules limit benefits to no more than 80% of the recipient's pre-disability earnings.

So, when we win a Social Security Disability claim for a client receiving state workers compensation, they frequently still receive their comp benefits, AND get an additional 13% from the Federal program. Plus, there is the added benefit of the Federal program covering other health care needs, unrelated to the on-the-job accident or occupational disease. Lastly, winning the Social Security Disability claim can also lead, in appropriate cases, to the receipt of benefits by the injured worker's family members.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Doug Landau