The Athlete's Lawyer

Doug Landau & Beatrice Vargas of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. holding copies of his new bike crash book

ABRAMS LANDAU received its first shipment of Doug Landau’s new book, “Ten Mistakes That Can Derail Your Bicycle Injury Case.” Drawing upon over 25 years’ experience helping injured cyclists, disabled riders and their families, Herndon and Reston bike crash lawyer Landau compiled a book that cyclists have been requesting online since this summer’s court cases in Loudoun County. Landau’s bike crash book had been available through SPOKES Magazine, Potomac Peddler‘s “Pedal Patter” newspaper and other Bicycle clubs and bike shops.  In addition to common sense tips and actual cases, Landau provides extensive forms, explanations and details that many so-called personal injury lawyers neglect to share with their clients. As the Landau Law Shop is regularly contacted by injured bikers, this new book is intended to be a helpful resource for injured cyclists.

If you or someone you know would like to get a copy, please e-mail ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. or call (703)796-9555.

Underground parking lot storage for bike commuters in Washington, D.C.

Unsafe bike storage facilities is one of the top reasons why many weekend cyclists are not bicycle commuters during the week. My last Disability trial in Washington, D.C. showed me that there are buildings in the Nation’s Capitol with excellent and easy to use bike storage facilities.

These pictures were taken

Bikes parked near the new Social Security Disbility Hearing office in North West Washington, D.C.

below ground next door to the new D.C. Social Security Administration Hearing site at 25th Street, N.W., near “M” Street. After winning a difficult Social Security Disability case, Herndon Reston lawyer Doug Landau explored the various racks, storage areas, signs and parking lots for bicycles. Even the all important bicycle helmets and smelly bike shoes could be left to “air out” with a cable through them in this designated area. While Landau has taken his bike to Court in Old Town Alexandria, Leesburg (Loudoun County), he has yet to bike to a hearing before a Federal Administrative Law Judge. However, with this new hearing venue, and its abundant bicycle parking, Landau may very well become “the real deal on 2 wheels” in court as well !

Today I saw something I had never seen before – a lifeguard text messaging while on duty !  While I have seen swimming pool staff working while listening to music from a radio or the pool sound system (as opposed to “ear buds” or headphones), I had never seen an aquatic safety worker texting while in the chair.  Because drowning can happen so quickly, and the cell phones and Blackberries require so much of the user’s attention, this is a recipe for disaster.  I believe that swimming pool and diving life guards should not even have cell phones, blackberry or similar devices on them when they are patrolling and scanning the pool.  It flies in the face of safety and the vigilance expected of water safety and rescue personnel.

Texting life guards is my unfortunate prediction for future litigation.  Lawsuits in the past have been filed for claims involving:

• Lifeguards actions, inaction and oversight,
• Analysis of pool chemical handling, disease transmission and indoor air quality,
• Pool and aquatic facility construction, design and operation,
• Regulatory compliance (i.e., pool drain covers),
• Reconstruction of drownings, diving injuries, falls, etc.

If you or someone you know has been injured as the result of a pool or aquatics injury, please contact us at ABRAMS LANDAU or call (703)-796-9555.

“Congratulations DOUG LANDAU on finishing the 2009 HCA VA 8k. There were 312 finishers in your age group, 4,564 registrants and 3542 total finishers. Your overall finish place was 86, your age group finish place was 3 and your gender finish place was 76. Your chip time was 00:33:20 and your pace was 06:12 per mile. ”

That’s the message that greeted Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau upon his return from Richmond Saturday night. Landau was in the State Capitol for the annual Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (“VTLA”) advanced Workers Compensation retreat. The Herndon Reston injury lawyer set two goals for himself this year: break the top 100 finishers and improve on last year’s time.

While Landau had a busy visit to Richmond; reviewing files at the VWC, meeting clients, attending Continuing Legal Education presentations, both goals were met. According to the Richmond SportsBackers, “There were 312 finishers in your age group, 4,564 registrants and 3542 total finishers. Your overall finish place was 86, your age group finish place was 3 [good enough for an Age Group Award !] and your gender finish place was 76. Your chip time was 00:33:20 and your pace was 06:12 per mile.” You can find full results at the Richmond Marathon website. Landau is shown at left during the wonderful Richmond Marathon weekend Runners Expo, at the Arthur Ashe Center, where other races like the “Kentucky Bourbon Chase” were pitching for potential participants.

Not to protest, but to participate in the Richmond marathon Weekend races. Doug Landau ran again this year in the HCA 8km. (almost 5 mile) race. The Herndon Reston sports injury lawyer improved his time by over two and a half minutes ! Shown with Landau is Richmond workers comp lawyer Greg Harbison, who finished the half marathon this morning. Both lawyers still made it to the presentations at the annual Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (“VTLA”) Workers Compensation retreat.

By invitation only, this event is attended by trial lawyers who represent injured workers and their families. Attendees cannot represent insurance companies and there were only three dozen experienced job accident, occupational disease and workplace fatality attorneys from all over the Commonwealth who gathered to learn from noted speakers from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission as well as the legal and medical professions.

Actress Natasha Richardson died after suffering a head bump that seemed no worse than those that my son had as a child when he would jump or crash into hard objects. After Richardson’s death, the question on a lot of minds is what distinguishes one kind of head trauma from another–and how you can tell before it’s too late. According to the TIME magazine Health report, head injuries are very common–with some 1.5 million in the U.S. last year. While many injuries to the head are superficial and short-lived, many others have long-term and even permanent consequences. The signs of a serious blow to the head include:

• headache that gets worse,
• confusion,
• disorientation,
• vomiting,
• slurred speech,
• sleepiness,
• a droopy eye,
• clumsiness, and
• any kind of amnesia.

The signs of traumatic brain injury can be subtle. “They gradually progress,” says Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, director of the neuroscience critical-care unit at Duke University. “Then suddenly it gets to the critical point that a person can’t be woken up.” Clients family members tell me that the signs and symptoms are not always obvious.

The outlook for a patient depends in part on acting fast: call 911 or drive the victim to the hospital; do not wait to reach your own doctor. The rest turns on the type of injury. Richardson died of an epidural hematoma, an accumulation of blood between the skull and dura, the tough tissue covering the brain. A subdural hematoma is blood between the dura and brain. Both injuries have a mortality rate of about 50%. Intracerebral bleeding, which occurs within the brain, is even more serious. “Patients get redlined to surgery in 15 to 30 minutes” if they have any of these injuries, says Dr. Neil Martin, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at UCLA.

Other head injuries include skull fractures, which can lead to brain bleeding, and concussions, which typically don’t–but which can lead to swelling and potentially permanent brain damage. As a general rule, doctors say that any head injury should be treated within the so-called golden hour after it occurs. In some cases, hospitalization and drugs may resolve the problem.

The family of a man who was left comatose after being thrown from a golf cart has filed a lawsuit against the resort where the accident occurred. According to the lawsuit, an employee of Indian Lakes Resort attempted a sharp turn while traveling at a high rate of speed. The resort guest suffered severe brain injuries and remains in a coma, a doctor told a judge earlier this year according to the Chicago Tribune.  In October, the plaintiff’s doctors told a judge he was in a coma “and has a very poor prognosis for recovery.” His wife was named guardian of his estate.  To read the lawsuit papers which allege that the plaintiff was thrown from the cart and suffered head injuries, go to Chicago Bar-Tender.  If you, or some you know, has been injured in a golf or golf cart accident, contact ABRAMS LANDAU or call us at (703)-796-9555 today.

Always up for a challenge, sports injury lawyer Doug Landau joined HPC‘s youth team for an indoor CompuTrainer session at their new Herndon, Virginia location. While the experienced Triathlon TrialLawyer often trains indoors on LifeCycles, trackstands, Spin Bikes and other stationary bicycles, the computerized class was a new experience.

The CompuTrainer tracks not only speed and distance, but also watts, gears, and can project just about any race course in the world. Some athletes train indoors on the courses they will race during the season this way. The Ironman World Championship course, as well as the Eagleman Blackwater and Columbia triathlon courses are also available. During my introductory class, I raced against the teenagers behind me as well as Lance Armstrong and the other nearly life sized Tour de France bike racers projected on the wall in front of me.

Pierre (shown at left during the build out) checked on our form, gadgets and Elizabeth called out instructions and set the training goals. Needless to say, this “Supe Lawyer,” felt like quite the mortal after the 90 munite session. I look forward to participating in future classes, as this was more challenging than the spin cycle classes I have taken, as it is nearly twice the riding time and you get feedback with objective measurements so that you can see if you are improving, getting stronger, faster, smoother and fitter.

Lifeguards are given tremendous responsibility at swimming pools throughout the country. In addition to maintaining and cleaning the pool, a lifeguard on duty must be ever vigilant to watch swimmers and divers so as to prevent drowning and other aquatic injuries. Public safety education and on site supervision by lifeguards have helped keep drowning rates low, and have significantly reduced the number of drownings in the US. Still, the cost of a single catastrophic injury or death while using an aquatic facility can be substantial. My own son has worked as a lifeguard and a facilities manager, and the work is not as glamorous as “Baywatch” would have us believe.

The United States Lifesaving Association (“USLA”), which has information, safety tips, statistics, spinal injuries, heroic acts, lifeguard information, and events on its web site recorded approximately 77,000 rescues for areas served by lifeguards in 1997. Virginia swimmers, aquatic injury and drowning lawyer Doug Landau stands next to a frog in a life guard chair after the BRATS Salute to the Military Triathlon held in the community of Vint Hill in Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. This Bristow Triathlon and Swim event was a sprint triathlon around the Vint Hill complex. Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau was 3rd place male and he hopes to return next year to this wonderful Bristow venue in Warrenton, Virginia.

A long-time fan of super swimmer, triathlete and aquathlon champion Beth O’Conner Baker* (see her visage at other posts on our site, including this photo), I was surprised to meet her “stunt double” at “On Track” in Englewood, New Jersey. Yet, when I visited this Englewood New Jersey running and fitness store, I thought I had bumped into Beth’s twin as evidenced from the photo I took with my iPhone. This is Beth O’Connor of On Track, located at 1 Engle Street, Englewood, NJ 07631 (201) 541-1600 is a wonderful shop staffed by friendly knowledgeable salespeople who “walk the walk AND talk the talk.” If you are in Bergen County for a race, stop by and visit”On Track.” When this New Jersey injury & disability lawyer is in the Garden State for a case, race or family visit, he stops by.

*According to American University, where Beth is an Assistant Coach, Baker was a 10-time All-American swimmer at the University of Virginia. She later went on to earn a master’s degree in exercise physiology, also from UVA. Since then, she has competed at the highest level of age-group triathlon and masters swimming. When I competed in the USAT Aquathon National Championships, she was a gold medalist (and swam right over me during the race !). She has won the Reston Triathlon and broke over 30 world and national masters swimming records. AU reports two years ago Beth: was ranked first in the world in over 15 events, was named one of 12 USMS Masters Swimmers of the Year, and garnered a spot in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” column. Additionally, Baker has been elected to UVA’s Swimming Hall of Fame.