TheAthletesLawyer

I was in Atlanta in order to meet with a Georgia client who was badly injured in a trucking accident in Florida.  This truck driver is receiving workers compensation benefits and we have filed a lawsuit for his personal injury case.  After a solid day of video tape recorded depositions, I was looking for something to do Saturday morning before heading to the airport back to Virginia.   My wife and I were able to locate a 4 mile race conveniently located close to where we were staying.  While I did not have the best race around the “Perimeter Mall,” my bride won an Magnolia Festival age group medal ! We even found a gym in the mall where we could work out after the race and then shower before getting on the plane !  Cases, Races, Places and Faces – with planning, it can work out.
Held for over 20 years, Magnolia Run includes a four-mile run and one-mile fun run/walk, hosted annually in June at Perimeter Mall to bring awareness and support to EFGA. This is a great way to spread the work about the resources available at the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia. Last year, over 600 runners participated and all proceeds went directly to help fund support groups, educational programs, children’s camps and medications for those in need.

On June 15th, several classmates and I ran the Hotchkiss School cross country course against other returning alumni in what has become “the Hotchkiss Reunion Run.” I had previously served as a volunteer and race director on the old course, and I did not know what to expect in terms of my classmates actually showing up in the early morning after our raucous 30th reunion festivities. Plus, I had done a challenging Olympic Distance Triathlon the day before and thought the faculty would like another volunteer at the finish line. I was wrong. I was immediately impressed into the service of my class, and managed to finish a distant third overall. Our class’s depth, however, carried the day, with 4 of the top 10 hailing from the Hotchkiss Class of 1978 ! My classmates came from: Texas, Hawaii, California, New York and Georgia. I doubt we will be so fortunate next time around.

Always looking to “kill as many birds with as few stones as possible,” I went up to my 30th High School Reunion and also returned to compete in the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Quassy Amusement Park, Middlebury CT.  This race is held at one of the more unusual venues I have seen in 25 years of multisport participation.

The race is named for Pat Griskus, who was an amazing guy and credited with paving the way for the many amputee athletes to follow.

The Olympic distance race is now part of the new Best of the U.S. Series, which includes such prestigious races as Columbia, MD and Timberman in NH.

We swam one mile in beautiful Lake Quassapaug, “enjoyed” a 25-mile challenging (and rare) one loop bike course through classic New England farm country, and then ran 6.2 hilly miles on shaded back roads.

I finished in the top 10%, but “out of the money” this year.  A terribly slow swim doomed me from the start.  But, unlike my classmates, I had gotten my day off to a great start and was back in Lakeville for brunch !  Note my singlet has my high school’s name and my class year on it !

Athletes typically eat healthy diets, as they understand the need for food as fuel, raw materials for repair after hard workouts and nutrients. However, these same athletes often forget their good habits when getting ready for, and going to, court. Shown here are Doug Landau and his youngest daughter at the famous Red Rooster, in Brewster, New York. While the Red Rooster’s fried chicken, “criss-cross fries” and dipped cones are wonderful, a stop at this venerable, one-of-a-kind restaurant is a “once in a while” treat. For court cases, Landau prefers that clients plot out their nutrition and medication needs in advance and stick to a healthy diet. He also prefers that they not try anything new the day they go to court.

Supporting the Smith Station Road Family YMCA, Doug and Melissa Landau raced in the Spotsylvania Sprint Triathlon on 6/7/08. In a day of extreme heat and humidity, the Triathlon Trial Lawyer managed to win his age group by 10 minutes and place 2nd overall (1st Master).

Mrs. Landau was runner up in her age group, and both came home with prizes galore. At the race they bumped into Virginia Tech Cheerleader and newbie triathlete Stephanie Broman, who had enough energy after the race to strike a pose with the squinty Hokie fan. Ms. Broman was on the cheerleading squad at Virginia Tech with Mr. Landau’s son in 2006.  The Landaus are fortunate to have not one, but TWO Hokies presently attending Virginia Tech; their oldest daughter is in the Architecture program, which is currently ranked #1 in the United States, and their son is in the Honors Biology program and performing biomedical research. Go Hokies !

Just as careful preparation can help every athlete on race day, proper post-accident investigation can assist the chances of a successful claim in a court of law. Brain injury lawyer Lauren Holtzman, shown here in the ABRAMS LANDAU conference room, recently explained to an injured triathlete why it is so important to get early documentation in a head injury and brain trauma case.

Juries are skeptical. It is important to have objective evidence. In other words, juries may “filter out” subjective complaints UNLESS there are supporting documents, photos, x-rays or other OBJECTIVE evidence.

It is for this reason that Herndon brain injury attorney Holtzman requests x-ray, MRI and CT Scan reports and definitive diagnoses from potential clients, rather than treatment notes and subjective journal entries. If you have been in a bicycle crash, attacked by a dog, struck by a car, disabled due to a defective bike component, bitten by someone’s pet, injured while cycling, or the victim of someone else’s negligence or unlawful behavior, call us at once. Remember, the more evidence, information and documentation we can gather immediately after the crash or animal attack, the greater the chances of success later in Court.

Looking over his “post mortem notes” after the Reston Sprint Triathlon Sunday, Doug Landau noted several key mistakes that cost him 3-5 minutes.

1. Prepare as much as possible the night before. (Landau had not secured his Nimble race wheels to his bike ahead of time, and the loose screws resulted in rubbing against the frame, wearing out the tires and using extra effort to get up the hills. The wheel rubbing also forced the experienced racer off the bike TWICE to make repairs.

2. Freeze an inch or two of liquid in the water bottle if it will be a hot day. HOWEVER, take your straw out first. Landau blew it again. He could not get any liquid Cytomax during 80% of the ride because his straw was frozen. Then, in pulling on it to shake the ice out, he broke the aero bottle straw. He also did not have a second bottle because it was such a short race ! There was plenty left in the bottle after the race.

3. Start you heart rate monitor, stop watch, cyclometer, time window swim chronograph and other electronics BEFORE you leave the wall to swim. Stopping in the pool will result in your getting passed, cussed at, out of synch and smacked. Starting these things a few seconds before the Race Officials yell “GO !” will now corrupt your data.

Despite these mistakes, Landau swam the 400 meters in 8:07, for 9th place in the 45-49 age category. The Herndon brain injury lawyer followed that less-than-stellar swim with the fastest transition time (0:55) of the group and a decent 5th place bike ride in 31:48 (despite 2 dismounts for mechanical problems). The next transition was a little slow, but good enough for 3rd at 1:05, which, followed by the 4th fastest run in the bracket (22:43 for a hilly 5km.) resulted in an overall time of 1:04:36 and another age group prize.

Doug Landau is shown here with Maccabiah Teammate Rob Urbach, of Octagon Sports and Isidro Reverte after the Reston Sprint Triathlon. This trio of Masters Competitors finished 13th (Urbach), 14th (Landau) and 15th (Reverte) respectively out of over 300 finishers. Urbach beat the Triathlon Trial Lawyer by over a minute, despite not having had the opportunity to train in all 3 disciplines (and not wearing a swim cap in the pool !).   See tomorrow’s post for coverage of Landau’s mistakes.  Just like any experienced trial attorney, TheAthletesLawyer reviews his performance and tries to learn so as to be better next time.  There will be a re-match at a future Virginia Triathlon Series race !