TheAthletesLawyer

Herndon Reston lawyer Doug Landau donating blood an INOVA Blood drive Sunday

The Landaus again gave blood at an INOVA blood drive in the Reston Herndon area.  Inova Blood Donor Services supplies lifesaving blood and blood products to 15 different hospitals in Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metro area. INOVA also works with national and international redistribution organizations to get blood where it’s needed most.  If, like our daughter who recently contributed her blood as a college freshman, your are ready to donate blood.

Call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) or find a convenient donor site or blood drive.

If you want to know more about donating blood, “Giving the Gift of Life”

Please contact us at 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) with any questions.

Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau hopes that everyone reading his sports posts will consider going to a blood drive soon.

Winter sports and traumatic brain injury lawyer Doug Landau notes increasing use of helmets by skiers, snowboarders and other cold weather sports enthusiasts

It used to be rare to see helmets on the slopes; snowboarders, skiers thought they were “uncool, dorky,” and for wimps.  But serious injury and stylish helmet design have caused those wearing head protection to be in the majority.  Winter sports injury lawyer Doug Landau noticed all colors of helmets during recent trips to New England ski, snowboard and tubing hills.  Commending the increase in winter sports head protection, Landau hopes that the increasing use of helmets will lead to a concomitant decrease in traumatic brain injury and head trauma in injured winter athletes.

According to NBC Sports, Helmets, one of the fastest growth areas in the snowsports industry, have moved over the hump and are no longer considered too niche or dorky for the masses. Safety is the driving reason to wear them, of course, but improved styling and comfort may be what make them a no-brainer.  “In the last couple of years, you see a big movement toward helmets — it just makes sense,” says Ted Ligety, the U.S. Olympic skier who has been sporting a bright orange helmet in Vancouver. “I started wearing a helmet when I was 4 years old. I feel super naked if I’m not wearing a helmet. My parents did a good job engraining it in my head.”  Wearing helmets for recreational skiing and snowboarding often starts with the kids, and then parents.
To read the rest of the news report.

While in New York City recently, athlete safety lawyer Doug Landau came across photos of 41 notorious thieves who steal at health clubs and gymnasiums while their victims are working out.  The New York Post article’s title blared, ” Gym rats ‘lift’ and run” and even published the rogues’ gallery of photographs of the most notorious sports club scoundrels.  Police sources suggest that the thieves are not regular members, but rather day pass purchasers who target members wearing fancy jewelry.  Expensive watches and “bling” are top targets.  According to the Post, one female suspect showed police that she could open 10 locks in 3 minutes !  So what steps can you do to protect yourself and your family from these fitness club predators ?  Triathlon trial lawyer Doug Landau uses the following steps to avoid theft and loss:

1. Do not flash a lot of jewelry or “bling,”
2. Always use a lock on your locker,
3. Do not bring lots of cash or other valuables into the health club,
4. Use the mini-lock boxes some clubs have for wallets and keys,
5. Lock your iPod, Heart Rate Monitor, sportswatch, GPS and other expensive gear (even running shoes !) while showering, and
6. Consider keeping costly items in your car, office or home.

Doug Landau and other hardy cyclists after riding the free VASA Bike Ride at the Swedish Embassy

If you want a long early season ride with hot soup and a tour of the lovely Swedish Embassy, Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau recommends that you register for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (”WABA”) and the Embassy of Sweden’s VASA Ride.  The free Vasa event celebrates Sweden’s famed ski race and festival, “Vasaloppet,” by bike! This unique Washington, D.C. and Maryland bicycle event has options for riders of all abilities!

Starting from the Embassy of Sweden building, “House of Sweden,” bicyclists will duplicate the 56-mile Vasa race with a non-competitive ride through scenic upper Northwest Washington DC and into Montgomery County, MD.  In keeping with the Vasaloppet’s week-long series of events for everyone, WABA also has designed shorter routes, a Halv Vasa (28 miles) and a Kort Vasa (14 miles).  All rides will finish with the Vasa Race’s famed blueberry soup courtesy of Ekströms, part of Procordia Food AB and the Swedish Embassy.  If you have any last minute mechanical issues, Northern Virginia area bicycle shop Spokes, Etc will be providing mechanic support from 7:30am to 9:00am.

DATE: March 7, 2010

LOCATION:
House of Sweden
2900 K St., NW
Washington, DC 20007

TIMES:
Registration will start at 7:30am and end at 9:15 am.

56-Mile Vasa will start at 8:00am
28-mile Halv Vasa will start at 8:30am
14-mile Kort Vasa will start at 9:00am

*Please note, any riders arriving back to House of Sweden past 1pm will not be guaranteed blueberry soup

Landau notes that the Vasa Ride is a rain or shine event, and helmets are mandatory.  And, typical of the Swedes irreverence and wonderful sense of humor, they note, “If it snows, bring your skis !”

According to USA Today, 3-time U.S. bobsled Olympian Todd Hays suffered what originally was thought to be a concussion during a training crash in Germany. After evaluation in the United States, doctors diagnosed Hays with intraparenchymal hematoma, or bleeding into the brain tissue caused by trauma to the head.  His career was over.  Bobsledder Hays retired after tests found bleeding in his brain

According to news reports, the crash that ended US bobsledder Hays’ career came on a foggy, rainy day on a German track during a World Cup training session. Hays was in his four-man sled when he lost control. None of his three sled pushers were injured.  After an overnight stay in a German hospital, USBSF doctors decided to bring Hays back to Lake Placid, N.Y., for further evaluation, with hopes he could compete in an America’s Cup race. That’s when the bleeding was detected in the American athlete’s brain.

The Winter Sports Olympian will meet with neurological specialists to further evaluate the severity of bleeding in his brain and determine a course of treatment.  Surgery has not been deemed necessary at this point, a positive sign for the 40-year-old, who played college football before becoming a top winter athlete.  Doctors told Hays that “additional trauma to a healing brain … may cause irreversible damage” and advised him to stop racing immediately.  With that, his quest for a fourth Olympic team came to a sudden end.  Everyone at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. wishes Hays a good recovery and the US Bobsledding team safe success.

Tomorrow’s post about a winter athlete who sustained a career ending brain injury (”TBI”) struck a note with me, as I and my family members have had several serious winter sports injuries.  While this TriathlonTrialLawyer has never ridden in a bobsled or luge, I spent many winter days, when I wasn’t making money shoveling driveways, sledding, bobsledding, skiing and discing in the snows of Jersey and New England.

Injury lawyer Doug Landau's broken bones healed after his sledding crash

One incident stands out.  My best friend and I had fashioned a “bobsled run” along our neighbor’s horse fence.  We had used the natural snow built up along the fence as a “wall” and built up snow on the other side to create our own “Olympic Bobsled Course.”  We were always concocting “Olympic Games” of our own, with unique events and creative scoring !  We did the run several times, and found that the higher up on the hill we started, the faster our top speed at the end.  So we started our last run above the “tube” that we had made and the sled had created.  Our sled took off, with me in front, my feet between he chains, and instead of following the tracks, we veered outside the course and smashed into our neighbor’s horse fence.  My friend’s body weight slammed into me, and our combined mass broke the bones in my lower leg.  Only I did not know it at the time !  The fence was electric, and I received a jolt of enough electricity to stop a horse.  When my buddy ran for help, I rolled off the sled and buried my leg in the snow, so it was doubly “numbed.”  I even got back on the sled and rode down to get a lift home !  That week, we thought it was a bone bruise, and I was pushed around the house i a chair that slid over the smooth carpet.  When I finally tried to stand, the leg would not support my weight and I fell.  We then went to see an orthopedic surgeon, and I was eventually casted, given crutches and healed over that winter.

So what became of the 2 “geniuses” who got into this crash ? One became a lawyer for people injured and disabled as the result of broken bones, crashes and sports injuries and the other a superb doctor, scientific researcher and the Chief of Rounds at Brown University Hospital.

Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau getting his VO2 Max tested in Herndon, Virginia

VO2 Max testing is something triathlete Doug Landau has been familiar with since the early 1980s.  During graduate studies in Sports Medicine, Landau volunteered to be a test subject at Boston University, and had his VO2 Max tested.  Since then, he has had the testing done on treadmills, bicycles and stepping machines.   VO2 max, or maximal oxygen uptake, is one factor that can determine an athlete’s capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance. “VO2 max” refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that an athlete can use during intense or maximal exercise.  It is measured as “milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight.”  So, Landau points out, you want to be lean, efficient and able to remain “aerobic” at very high work loads, speeds or paces.”  For an excellent discussion of this testing and the information it reveals, check out the National Geographic piece entitled, “What It Takes to Build the Unbeatable Body.”

This measurement is generally considered the one of the best indicators of an athlete’s cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. Theoretically, the more oxygen you can use during high level exercise, the more ATP (energy) you can produce. This is often the case with elite endurance athletes who typically have very high VO2 max values.  There are special workouts Landau does in order to increase his oxygen intake capacity and efficiency.  Periodic testing enables athletes to gauge their fitness and refine their training regimens.  You can get a VO2 Max Test a block from the ABRAMS LANDAU building in Herndon at HPC.

Franklin Farms bike crash lawyer Doug Landau advocates wearing bright colors when cycling, and often dons fluorescent yellow, orange and green bike gear when biking.  But even the TriathlonTrialLawyer was surprised to read the news story in this month’s TRIAL magazine about a driver who was found guilty in Oregon of “Hit and run” as well as “leaving the scene” of an accident.  According to the case report, the Defendant driver hit a pedicab operator.  The pedicab driver was 6-feet-tall and wearing an orange bunny suit for Easter !  Furthermore, the innocent victim’s pedicab had reflectors and  blinking red light.  The pedicab driver noted, “I was very visible.”  Evidence tends to suggest that the Defendant driver could have also been charged with “failure to pay full time and attention” to their driver when they hit this six-foot-tall orange bicycling Easter Bunny !

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a car crash with a bike, pedicab, motorcycle or tandem, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555), as there are legal time limits for bringing such claims.

Bike crash and jogger injury lawyer Doug Landau at the Herndon General District Traffic Court

Just because there is no Traffic Court Hearing does NOT mean that the Defendant who got the ticket at the scene of the bike crash gets off scott free, according to Herndon, Loudoun bicycle crash lawyer Doug Landau.  The former prosecutor with the State’s Attorney’s Office adds that the fact that there was no hearing, findings or transcript from a Virginia General District Court trial does not automatically mean that the citation was dismissed.  Landau points out that ticketed Defendants often pre-pay the fines or fail to show up for court.  In both cases, according to Landau, a “guilty” plea is entered in the Court’s records, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s computer index and the Department of Motor Vehicles’ driver history.  The Virginia Code section for procedure in Traffic Court for guilty pleas and pre-payment can be found at § 19.2-254.1. Procedure in traffic infraction cases.

• In a traffic infraction case, as defined in § 46.2-100, involving an offense included in the uniform fine schedule established pursuant to § 16.1-69.40:1, a defendant may elect to enter a written appearance and waive court hearing, except in instances in which property damage or personal injury resulted. Arraignment is not necessary when waived by the accused or his counsel, when the accused fails to appear, or when such written appearance has been elected.

• An accused may plead not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere; and the court shall not refuse to accept a plea of nolo contendere. A plea of guilty may be entered in writing without court appearance.
• When an accused tenders payment without executing a written waiver of court hearing and entry of guilty plea, such tender of payment shall itself be deemed a waiver of court hearing and entry of guilty plea.
• In districts with traffic violations bureaus on July 1, 1977, the chief judge of the district may designate the traffic violations bureau for the receipt of a written appearance, waiver of court hearing and guilty plea.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a car crash accident, whether or not the person who crashed into has been charged or received a ticket, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) BEFORE the Traffic Court date.  We have FREE information that can help you, even if we do not end up representing you.

Even Greek boxers knew the importance of hand, wrist and palm protection, even if they were otherwise unprotected

Just as these ancient Greek boxers sought protection for their hands from cuts, fractures and dislocations, bicycling gloves can help protect cyclists’ fingers and palms from “road rash,” lacerations and slipping off the brakes or handlebars.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau often wears bike gloves when it is cold, humid or wet outside for safety, not fashion.  The experienced triathlete lawyer eschews gloves indoors when spinning, CompuTrainer or recumbent cycling.  In crashes, when thrown from his bike, Landau notes that with gloves, his hands avoid road rash as well as embedded orated grit, glass and infection-causing debris.  Furthermore, when he gets back on his bicycle, he is able to grip his handlebars and brakes without pain.  Without multiple abrasions on his palms, fingers and wrists, Landau is able to avoid pressing germs from his handlebar tape into the wound sites.  The W&OD Trail cyclist recommends that in addition to always wearing your helmet for head and brain injury protection, that you consider wearing cycling gloves, even during warm weather rides.  Bikers need full use of their hands to safely cycle the roads, paths and race courses of Virginia, Maryland and  the District of Columbia.