The Athlete's Lawyer

DCRRC President, frequent road racer and genuinely nice guy Bob Platt reminded me that this Sunday is the 19th annual Reston 10 miler, 5K & Fun Run. The races start Sunday, March 15, 2009 on South Lakes Drive in front of South Lakes High School. Race time is 8 AM for 10 Miler and 8:05 for the 5km.

Both events finish at South Lakes High School on a certified course. Run on paved roads with gently rolling hills, the course covers some of the same roads as the wildly popular Reston Triathlon bike ride that sells out immediately each September. Sanctioned by USATF and the Potomac Valley Athletic Association, you can get a map of 10M Course online. NEW THIS YEAR: Runners will receive a technical T-shirt.

After a bike crash with a car, truck or dog, it may take time for the injuries to the cyclist to reveal themselves and then heal. However, once a bike frame is bent, it generally stays bent. So, for ABRAMS LANDAU clients who have been injured in bike crashes and other bicycle accidents, TheAthletesLawyer often will guide them on how to get their bike and other property repaired or replaced. This is known as the “property damage” or “PD” claim. This can be settled before and separately from the “bodily injury” or “BI” claim.

Both claims have time limits, and there may be limits to the amount of insurance the Defendant driver or homeowner may carry. However, many of the TriathlonTrialLawyer’s clients who ride regularly seek to get their bicycles fixed soon after a crash or other accident. In some cases, the property damage claim to have the bike fixed or repaired may be settled and paid years before the personal injury case is settled or tried in court.

With family in the Los Angeles Valley area, I have often trained and raced in California. One of my favorite training runs is above the Coastline in Pacific Palisades at the Will Rogers Estate overlooking Malibu, the Pacific Coast Highway (“PCH”) and the Ocean. The PCH was the scene of a shocking accident that resulted in one of the largest settlements in Orange County history.

Two women were permanently disabled after being struck by a car while jogging along Pacific Coast Highway. The women, both mothers of 3, were hit by a driver who fled the scene. This negligent driver, who had 3 previous drunk driving convictions, was arrested several days later, convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison.

The women were jogging with two other women in the bicycle lane on the northbound side of PCH when they were struck. One Plaintiff was thrown some 60 feet, Read the rest of this entry »

Daylight Savings time means it’s lighter later in the morning. For “early bird” exercisers, that means that you should be wearing reflective, bright colored clothing so that you can be seen. You have seen me in my orange, yellow and other brightly colored garb. I practice what I preach.

I also try to wear my iPod when running on the track, turf field or spin class – NOT near the heavy traffic on the roads of Fairfax County and Loudoun County. Some Northern Virginia drivers seem to have little patience or courtesy when it comes to those of us who try to stay healthy through regular exercise. The DC Metro area roads and highways require extra vigilance on the part of runners, walkers, bikers, roller bladers, skate boarders, joggers, skaters, and wheelchair athletes.

Make sure that you see and can be seen. Look, listen and use all of your senses to avoid an accident and injury. In most every crash between a car or truck and a jogger or cyclist, the motor vehicle “wins.” Don’t lose valuable training time, your good health or time from your work and loved ones. Stay alert, dress so you can be seen, cross intersections carefully, use the cross walks and be aware. We want to see you on the trails, bike paths, roadways and races, NOT in our waiting room !

Calling All Triathlon Newbies!

Potomac River Running and the D.C.Running Coach Mike Hamberger are hosting an “INTRO TO TRIATHLON CLINIC” on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 from 7-8 PM at the BALLSTON Potomac River Running Store, 3924 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22203

It’s FREE!!

A panel of triathlon experts, including World Championship Duathlon competitor Michael  Hamberger and “Best in the US” Champion Margie Shapiro, will help answer your questions as you enter the Multisport World.

• Triathlon Terminology
• Training and Equipment Basics
• Open Water Swimming
• Race Selection and Registration
• What to Expect on Race Day
• Answers to questions YOU bring…

I am contacted by injured and disabled athletes from all over the United States.  Recently, I received a note from a Florida college football player who sustained a career ending neck injury.  This full scholarship athlete felt his neck was injured and went to the football team trainer.  His cervical area was sore, and he was starting to have symptoms.  However, both the trainer and the coach told him to get back out on the field.  You can probably guess the rest of the story.  This athlete has had major neck surgery and will never play football again.  he still attends the university where he was injured, and he resides in a state where schools and their employees have immunities and their are severe caps on what can be recovered even in successful cases.  These lawsuits are difficult and expensive, as expert medical testimony is almost always required to establish injury, causation and standard of care.

In her preparations for the Shamrock half marathon in Virginia Beach this month, Doug Landau’s oldest daughter ran in the DCRRC’s annual Fort Hunt 10 km. road race. Much to their surprise and delight, Miss Landau won an age group prize ! her doting dad had advised her that this 5 lap course was fairly flat, with well-marked mile signs and a water stop during every 2 km. loop.  The Athletes Lawyer used the measuring wheel he uses for bike crash scenes and car accident reconstruction to put inspiring messages on the pavement at quarter mile intervals.

While the TriathlonTrialLawyer also ran in the race, he finished well out of the prizes despite having previously broken 40 minutes on this same course and having competed as a member of the DCRRC 10 km championship team. It looks like the baton is being passed from one endurance athlete in the Landau family to another. Good luck at the Kappa Delta 5km at Virginia Tech next week and the Shamrock Half Marathon the week after !

In this very sad case, the decedent was a physical education teacher at a Tidewater area Middle School. He collapsed during an after-school student/faculty basketball game. He ran up and down the court once and collapsed and then died. The claim by the teacher’s widow and children was denied by his employer and their third party administrator (“TPA”).

The Full Commission found that “the decedent’s action of traversing a basketball court was an accident. From the record, it is apparent that he ran the length of the court before collapsing. The decedent in this case did not participate in strenuous activity for any significant length of time. The cause of the injury was a sudden activity, running up a basketball court. A sudden burst of strenuous activity caused a sudden mechanical change in the body.” The faculty member’s case met the requirements for compensability in Virginia. My friend and skilled Norfolk lawyer John Klein won this tragic case for the Phys Ed teacher’s family. HAROLD R. MORGAN v. CITY OF NORFOLK SCHOOL BOARD, VWC File No. 178-40-01

In a split decision, the Full Commission ruled on March 4th that a Wal-Mart employee who was injured in a company team’s charity game was NOT entitled to workers comp benefits. In a 2-1 decision, the VWC concluded “the claimant did not prove that the employer mandated, encouraged or promoted his participation at the game or that participation was part of his job duties. To the contrary, the claimant agreed that the associates volunteered to play and that each associate paid his entry fee. The claimant was off the clock, and he had anticipated taking off time to participate. He provided his own transportation to the off-premises game site. The claimant failed to show that the employer sponsored the game in any fashion, required his participation or benefited from his participation. This was not a case where the employer sponsored an event which was strongly connected with the employee’s employment in purpose, time, location and function. Instead, the current claimant was injured while voluntarily participating in an off-duty game that was not part of his employment requirements. We are simply not persuaded by the claimant’s arguments that the game was incidental to his employment.” Thus benefits were denied in OXENDINE v. WAL-MART, VWC File #236-00-42

The last thing Herndon and Reston injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau’s client thought she would be doing after work would be playing first base !  This “50-ish” assistant bank manager was “recruited” at the last minute by the other employees who played for the company team, as the league required a minimum number of females on the field.  Her younger co-workers did not want to forfeit, and so with promises of an “easy position,” they put this grandma at first base that evening.

Their opponents that night had a number of skilled players who had recently graduated from  college and were very serious about their sports.  So, when a young man attempted to beat out a grounder to the shortstop, he bowled the assistant bank manager over.  Disabled from work, the injured employee came to ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., with mounting medical bills and a denial from the insurance company.  TheAthletesLawyer was able to win her case, getting her much-needed medical treatment as well as a portion of her wage loss and out of pocket expenses.  Landau was able to show the Deputy Commissioner  that the claimant was engaged in an employment-related recreational activity when she was injured.

Not every sports related injury with co-workers results in a compensation Award by the Workers Compensation Commission, as you will see from tomorrow’s post, but these kinds of cases are very fact specific and require an experienced workers comp practitioner to present them effectively.  If you or a co-worker are injured in a work-related sports or recreational activity, call us at ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.  Just like in sports, you do not want to find out that you are too late because the clock has run out.