The Athlete's Lawyer

“Prep football coaches get an education on concussions” was the title of today’s excellent “Varsity Letter” high school sports column by Preston Williams.  High school football coaches were exposed to current theory and practice with concussions at Redskins Park.  Secondary school coaches from Virginia, Maryland and the District filed into a tent at Redskins Park on a recent Saturday morning for a seminar on concussions.  The coaches watched a presentation, questioned Dr. Peter Gonzalez, an assistant professor of sports medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk and watched a Redskins practice.

There are an estimated 43,000-67,000 concussions — really just a fancy word for injured brains — per year in high school football.  About 50 percent of concussions are suspected of going unreported by young athletes.  Football coaches, particularly those at schools without full-time certified athletic trainers — which in the Washington area includes Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties — are the first responders to injured players. So these coaches often either make, or help make, the decision about whether a player, including one who is possibly concussed, is fit to remain in a game or continue to practice.  The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, determined that more than 40 percent of high school athletes who sustain concussions return to action too quickly.  Two high school football players in North Carolina died in 2008 from concussion-related injuries.

One coach wondered if players would be better served by being subjected to more hard hits in practice, because they would perhaps build up a tolerance and resistance to the shots that result in their brains colliding with their skulls. No, Gonzalez said tactfully. The fewer hits to the head, the better.  Other coaches had never heard of the ImPACT program, in which athletes take a 30-minute computer test that gauges their neurocognitive functions. That provides a baseline of information. The athletes are re-tested after a suspected head injury.  Howard, Fairfax and D.C. schools, among others in the area, use ImPACT.  Other coaches were unaware that athletes who sustain a concussion are two to four times more likely to sustain another, with 80 percent of those repeat concussions occurring within 10 days of the first one. A Time magazine article from 2009 cited a study that found from 2005 to 2008, 41 percent of concussed athletes, at 100 high schools nationwide, returned to play too soon, based on American Academy of Neurology guidelines.  “We can’t prevent this first concussion,” Gonzalez told the coaches. “What we can prevent is the sequella of that concussion, the second-impact issues, worsening or delaying recovery.”

Many bikers commuting on "Bike to Work Day" will go right past the Herndon Reston Sterling area Landau Law Shop

It’s free, it’s fun and it’s physical !  “Bike to Work Day” is in 3 weeks.  Join thousands of area commuters and Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau for a celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work!  There rate 35 regional pit stops, with SWAG, mechanics and riders of all levels.  Try a ride into the city with experienced commuter convoys and meet your fellow cyclists at Freedom Plaza.  Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Commuter Connections invite you to try bicycling to work as an alternative to solo driving. Help the Washington region become a better place to ride, a cleaner environment and a healthier community.  Bike to Work Day is a FREE event and open to all area commuters.  The ABRAMS LANDAU sports injury lawyer has participated a number of times, and Doug Landau enjoys the camaraderie, mechanical check ups and the freebies.  There will be a raffle, prizes, food, drink and more at all pit stops throughout the region.  Free T-shirts will available for the first 8,500 registrants who are in attendance at the pit stop they registered for in advance.  Registration for Bike to Work Day 2010 is now open!
Click on the pit stop link and register for the pit stop rally you plan to attend.  Raffles will be held at each pit stop for prizes including commuter bags, bike locks, and bicycles.

Doug Landau in the National Championship transition area

The 1st Annual Washington DC Triathlon will take place Sunday, June 20th, 2010 in the heart of the nation’s capital.  Brought to you by the producers of The Nation’s Triathlon, there will be Olympic and Sprint Distance events.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau is entered in the Sprint race.  The multisport lawyer hopes to put in a lot of distance outdoors at the Franklin Farms pool  and the Herndon artificial turf fields in preparation.  If  the ABRAMS LANDAU litigator’s training goes as planned, it will be a good test of his fitness for the USAT National Sprint Triathlon Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in late September.  The Washington, D.C. Sprint Triathlon organizers asked triathletes:

Is this your first time competing in a triathlon?  How are you training?  Are you racing in honor of your father ? Any special Father’s Day connections? Why are you doing this race?

Since it is National Poetry Week, Landau wrote a “Father’s day triathlon Haiku”

4 kids,
3 sports
2 “Tri”
one race

Virginia high school half milers line up at SportsBackers Stadium waiting for the gun. David Allen is on the outside

What better thing to do on your “day off” than to take in a high school track meet ?  That’s exactly what Sterling Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau did while resting up for the USAT National Duathlon Festival.  Landau attended the Elite Track Classic at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Virginia.  This sports event appeared to be the largest track meet in the Commonwealth of Virginia this season with a total of 1,400 athletes entered to compete representing over 70 different schools.

David Allen after breaking 2 minutes at the Elite Track Classic with his proud father Ted Allen (the Collegiate runner's time was not "wind aided," unlike his dad's hairdo !)

Sports injury lawyer Landau hoped to catch the running of the 800.  His friend David Allen, a senior at Collegiate, had a seed time of 2:02.09.  Allen is a talented distance runner who had injuries after visiting with Landau at the 2009 Duathlon Nationals.  This was David’s last track meet, as he is headed off to Duke University in the Fall, and his goal was to break 2:00.

As usual, lawyer Landau was working in between appointments in downtown Richmond, catching up on e-mail at Virginia Commonwealth University, when Allen’s parents called and told the Triathlon Trial Lawyer toy get his butt down to SportsBackers Stadium, as the half mile race was set to go off earlier than had been anticipated.   It was an overcast, sometimes rainy day, but Landau got to the venue in 10 minutes, at exactly the same time as Allen’s parents, and they cheered lustily as the racers lined up.  When the gun went off, the rain held, the wind was not too severe, and a good, clean race ensued.  Cheering, “Run like you stole something,” and “Make your Momma proud,” and “Use your arms and lean into the turn,” the high schooler’s multi-sport fan kept up the noise for both laps around the track.  David Allen was in the middle of the pack in the fastest heat, and was moving up at the end of the race.  His time ?  UNDER TWO MINUTES.  His parents, coaches, fans and friends were thrilled.  What impressed fellow runner Landau was the fact that David Allen could run a sub-2 minute half and then stop at the finish line without keeling over or having to continue running.  When Landau finishes any hard race of any distance, he has to keep jogging.  Stopping “on a dime” is something he finds impossible to do.  Congratulations to David Allen on his superb race in Richmond and good luck at college.

USAT Executive Director Skip Gilbert at the National Duathlon Championships with Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau discussing athlete safety, bicycle laws and "rules of the road" for bikers, runners and race directors

Finding the news of the arrests of charity cyclists and triathletes “disturbing,” USAT Executive Director Skip Gilbert was finally able to meet with Doug Landau in Richmond after the National Duathlon Festival in Richmond.  Gilbert told the injured athletes lawyer that he would, “see what we can do to help.”

Landau noted that, “when Loudoun County authorities arrest the runners, they will have achieved the ‘Triathlon TriFecta’ !  First the “Speedo 6,” then the “MS-8.”  What will be next ?  Bringing the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Paddy Wagon to the Leesburg 10/20 km or LoCo Triathlon ?  Cuffing Potomac River Runners at the Twilight Festival if they do not come to a complete stop at a stop sign or stop light during their warm up and/or cool down ?” A lot of area athletes are upset, as are the police & prosecutors.  When NBC came out to the ABRAMS LANDAU law office by the Herndon Caboose (the 20 mile mark of the 50+ mile W&OD Trail from D.C. to Leesburg), the filming revealed that NOT A SINGLE CYCLIST knew that they could:

1. lose their driver’s license,
2. get points on their Division of MOTOR Vehicles (“DMV”) record,
3. be convicted of a moving violation, and
4. have their insurance rates adversely impacted.

Landau’s own polling of Reston Bike Club members, discussions with Winchester Wheelmen and Tidewaters bikers, yield similar results.  So Landau and Gilbert have been corresponding for months as the sports injury lawyer was advised to contact the USAT before “Round 3.”  In the interests of safety and consistency, it is hoped that a coherent policy, rules of the road and enforcement will be promulgated.

Standing above the USAT DUathlon National Championship transition area, Doug Landau is happy to have finished the race without injury or crashing after hitting a bridge joint that caused a flat tire and the Triathlon Trial Lawyer to RUN the last 3 miles of the bike course - BAREFOOT !

When you’re  competing at the national championship level, every second counts.  In order to be one of the fastest multi-sport athletes, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau practices dismounting from his bike and immediately running at top speed.  The Triathlon Trial Lawyer also practices getting in and out of his bike shoes, which are attached to his racing bike pedals, without crashing or causing injury, while going 20 mph so as not to lose time in the transition area of a Duathlon or Triathlon.   At last year’s BRATS Vint Hill sprint triathlon in Warrenton, he finished 4th overall by less than one second ! So at this year’s National Duathlon Festival, when Landau’s bike flatted on the third and final lap, rather than quit (never an option), wait for a ride (and disqualification) or walk, he instead opted to keep from going hypothermic and ran across the Lee Bridge.  When he approached the finish line area, he was greeted with:

• “You’re supposed to ride the bike !”
• “You got off too soon, the transition area is 600 yards ahead !”
• “Where are your shoes ?”

Landau got out of his shoes and ran about 3 miles barefoot before he could get into the transition area.  He kept his bike helmet on, as USAT Rules mandate disqualification for removing your helmet before your bicycle is safely racked in its numbered sport.  So the Herndon Reston Triathlon lawyer looked quite foolish running down the street toward the spectators in his aerodynamic racing helmet with no shoes or socks !  However, Landau avoided injury due to his barefoot training and managed to finish in just under 2 hours.

Scouting out the course is a key element of Doug Landau's pre-race preparation, especially in major championship races

Just as with his personal injury trials, workers compensation and Social Security Disability hearings, Doug Landau spends a lot of time, effort and money preparing for major athletic competitions.  The Triathlon Trial Lawyer’s goal is to prepare to win all races and cases. Others may be “natural athletes”, but the ABRAMS LANDAU litigator has learned from his days running track at the Hotchkiss School that careful preparation, smart training and consistent effort can pay off in the long run.

In order to be as ready as possible for the early season championship, the Herndon sports injury lawyer rode twice weekly in intense indoor computrainer classes at HPC and performed “brick” workouts when the weather would cooperate, combining biking and running without resting in between.  As the National Duathlon Festival feature race would consist of a 5km run, a 38k road bike followed by another 5k run, Landau knew he would have to be in peak shape in order to be among the top finishers.  He also previewed the course Friday and Saturday, even though he was generally familiar with the area from racing this venue the last 2 years and training on Browns and Belle Islands in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

Bikers get ready tosort themselves into groups 1-5 & start out on a Thursday night Reston Bike Club ride in Herndon

Instead of riding with the Reston Bike Club tonight, Doug Landau went, cowbell and bicycle helmets in hand, to speak to the assembled cyclists about safety, crashes, speeding, stopping and avoiding peleton accidents and car crashes.  Landau showed the bikers smashed helmets from cases he has won on behalf of injured cyclists and asked them to keep their speed reasonable on the W&OD Trail, where pedestrians, strollers, joggers and bladders would be foreseeably encountered.

The ABRAMS LANDAU sports injury lawyer furthermore suggested that the faster bike riders use the Trail portion of the evening workout as their “warm up” before hitting speeds of 20-30 mph on the open roads of Loudoun County.  While other cyclists and runners had talked about “near misses” and accidents on the Trail, Landau was willing to “bell the cat.”  The Triathlon Trial Lawyer was thanked for his remarks by the Reston Bike Club President and other safety conscious bikers.  While sports injury lawyer Landau will not likely ever win a popularity contest among competitive road cyclists nor a bicyclists’ fashion show, safety on the roads and trails of Herndon is important.  These popular Thursday night rides start within sight of the Landau Law Shop; so we hope that our friends and training partners will not have to use our first aid, nursing or other bike crash accident and injury related offerings.

As one who enjoys running barefoot on the beach, and who listens to an iPod when running off the roads, sports injury lawyer Doug Landau was taken aback by the news reports of the death of a runner in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Apparently the ipod jogger was running along the beach  with his iPod when a plane making an emergency landing hit him from behind, killing him instantly.

According to news reports, the 38-year-old father of two was on a business trip in Hilton Head Island, when a Lancair IV-P single-engine aircraft lost its propeller and was “basically gliding” Monday evening before hitting Jones, according to the coroner.  “There’s no noise,” said aviation expert Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). “So the jogger, with his ear buds in, and the plane without an engine, you’re basically a stealth aircraft. Who would expect to look up?”

The pilot and his passenger walked away from the crash landing near the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa.  This jogger’s death is uncommon, but not unheard of: last year a Philadelphia jogger using an iPod died when a tree fell on her.  Hard to say whether volume control might have saved him, but it is worth thinking about.  One of the reasons Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau does not run on roads with cars or trucks with his iPod covering his ears is that he cannot hear motorized vehicles that are traveling behind him.  On the beach, turf fields, trails and track, there is less danger from getting injured by drivers you don’t hear coming, or so the ABRAMS LANDAU injured athletes lawyer thought…

Sport & Health Club Spin Cycle instructor Lisa Adams (in hat) brought runners in support of the Rockstar running race

Ever since his pre-law studies at the Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences with Physical and Occupational Therapists, Herndon Reston trial lawyer Doug Landau has had enormous respect for PTs and OTs.  To this day, gifted PTs and OTs have helped injured and disabled ABRAMS LANDAU clients return to work, sports and the activities of daily living (“ADLs”).  For this reason sports medicine enthusiast Landau needed little coaxing to sign up for the first “Rockstar Run” on an out and back course in Burke.  In order to prepare for the USAT National Duathlon Championships the next week, Landau rode his bike along the rolling Burke Course before the start for a “brick” workout that he hopes will keep him from accidents or injury in Richmond.

Physical Therapist Jo Burton speaks before the Rockstar scholarship race in Burke

Therapist Jo Burton is putting on the run with Potomac River Running, which held registration in its Burke Centre store 200 yards from the starting line (!), for a fabulous cause.   The net proceeds from the 8km running race and 1 mile fun run/walk will be donated to the Celebrate Cherie Scholarship Fund to benefit students who wish to attend physical therapy school.  It is in memorial to a PT at Commonwealth Orthopedics.  This PT died very young of a rare cancer.  Her favorite saying was “Party Like a Rock Star!”  Several hundred runners, racers and walkers showed up for the inaugural event.  Landau hopes that this Burke Center race will become an annual event and that it will raise lots of money for Physical Therapy Scholarships.