TheAthletesLawyer

Doug Landau is set to participate in the 20th annual Sea Gull Century, named among the top 10 century rides in the nation by Bicycling magazine.

The Ride Magazine has called the century “one of the prettiest big rides in America” and The Washington Post has named it “by far the most popular local century” in the Maryland-Delaware-Virginia region. However, to ensure a safe and injury-free ride for over 6,000 participants, the directors remind bikers that bicycles are legally defined as vehicles in Maryland. Therefore, on all public highways where cycling is allowed, the rider must:

1. Obey all traffic signs, signals and other control devices.
2. Ride with vehicular traffic flow (as near to the right of the roadway as practical).
3. Use standard arm signals to alert others of the cyclist’s intentions.

Cyclists must NOT:

1. Wear headsets while riding on a public highway.
2. “Hitch a ride” by attaching to any other vehicle operating on a public highway.
3. Carry passengers unless the bicycle is equipped with seat securely attached to it for each passenger.
4. Operate the bicycle in a careless or negligent manner.
5. Conduct or participate in a bicycle racing event on a public highway that has not been approved by the State of Maryland and/or local agencies.

On Sunday, October 05, 2008, at 08:00 AM TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau will race at George Mason University, in the “Friends of the Orphans” 5km.

The race will start and finish on Mason Pond Drive near the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, covering the Patriot’s Circle course. This event will also be timed by Pacers running store of Alexandria.

Whether you’re a track star or a leisurely stroller, this all-ages event will be fun for everyone! All proceeds from the Fiesta 5K will benefit the children living at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”), homes located throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by Friends of the Orphans.  Online registration can be found at Active.com

Having grown up riding a bike, commuting to school and jobs on 2-wheels and racing in bike road races and time trials, I have seen some of the very best (and worst) of cycling. While most riders observe safety and common sense precautions, other riders and members of the peloton seem to want to increase their chances for crashing, broken bones and brain injury. My “Top 10″ list of things to do if you WANT to crash your bike and break some bones includes:

1. Talk on your cell phone, preferably with one or both hands off Read the rest of this entry »

A 7:30 AM start in 30-degree weather and a 1 mile uphill start was definitely not the best conditions for TheAthletesLawyer, who tends to race best in hot, flat and fast conditions. In fact one of the participants noted that weather any colder than this can cause brain damage and frost-bite to those used to warmer conditions. This cross-country run, which has traditionally been sponsored by the Garver Law Office in Reston, has seen

Triathlon Trial Lawyer Landau of Herndon sometimes win and sometimes finish as the runner-up. This sporting event is sponsored by friend. co-counsel and sometime training partner Steve Garver. In prior years, the “Triathlon Trial Lawyer” was runner up to 4:17 miler Davis Barry, who is now a senior in high school, and the son of the Allen firm’s managing partner Doug Barry of Fredericksburg. However, with the younger Barry out injured, The Athletes Lawyer was able to hold off 2 challengers, whose combined age was still less than half of Landau’s ! While the lead changed several times in the opening miles, and Landau took several wrong turns on the hilly, cross country course, he managed to come in first place and then run back to escort his wife and daughter to the finish line ! He is shown here with his wife and eldest daughter, who has been training at Virginia Tech with her brother in order to be ready for next week’s Ukrops Munument Avenue 10km. in Richmond, which is also the 2008 National 10km. Road Race Championship.

After a bike crash, concussion or loss of consciousness, many athletes feel that if they do not see blood, they are not injured. However, TheAthletesLawyer Doug Landau has advised several injured cyclists that they need to get checked out by specialists where:

They have continuing headaches,

They have nystagamous (darting eye movements)

Dilated pupils, bruising, black eyes or “Racoon-like” eye bands

Inability to get restful sleep at night, which had not been an issue prior to the bike crash,

Difficulty with memory (long or short term), follow through or other mental tasks.

The TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau notes that this list is by no means exhaustive. This Herndon-Reston area injury trial attorney adds that while most bike helmuts do a great job of absorbing the first impact, and the human skull likewise functions to protect the brain from injury and trauma, there can be injury from the brain impacting the inside of the skull. This injury can be subtle, with intracranial swelling taking time to show the extent of the damage caused by the bicycle crash. Get a referral from your family doctor, internist or general practitioner to someone qualified and experienced with closed head injury, concussions, traumatic brain injury and other neurological symptoms and treatments. Delay can be catastrophic !

The sports injury team at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. has been contacted by several cyclists who have been injured in early season rides by dogs, automobiles and defective bicycles. While fractured arms and legs are indicative of obvious injury, concussions and head trauma require a more sophisticated and subtle approach according to experienced personal injury trial lawyer Doug Landau. There is a common misconception that if there is no blood, there is no injury.  This is simply not true, as will be discussed in tomorrow’s post.

The MS SOCIETY CHARITY RIDE at Worldgate Sport & Health will take place Saturday, April 5th from 9:30-11:30 AM.

Fun, great prizes and a Grand Prize for the highest fundraiser will make for a very worthwhile morning.  There will be bagels, fruit, coffee following this fundraising event that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau has represented individuals with MS, and won a Federal Social Security Disability claim on behalf of a young client in Columbia, South Carolina last year.  This Herndon-Reston injury and disability lawyer has taken classes from both Ed Smith and Denise Morgan, who will be leading this indoor ride (so it’s “RAIN OR SHINE”).  They are experienced, inspiring and affable  spin instructors.  What is more, Denise, shown here with TheAthletesLawyer, has a family member with Multiple Sclerosis, so this charity event is personal.  For more information, contact Ed Smith at: esmith1@aol.com or Denise Morgan at: denise1284@aol.com.  Hurry, only 27 bikes available !

ABRAMS LANDAU multistate injury lawyer and multisport athlete Doug Landau assembled a team to compete in the 16th Annual Van Metre 5 Mile Run For Children’s Hospital at Broadlands Marketplace in Loudoun County, VA.(LEFT TO RIGHT) Dr. Allen Delaney, M.D., Doug Steele, TriathlonTrialLawyer Landau, Rob Colburn and Dr. Keith Saylor of NeuroScience, Inc. in Herndon took the starting line Saturday, March 15th, 2008 in order to benefit Childrens Hospital and compete against other teams and Loudoun Race Series participants.Herndon-Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau notes that several severely injury young clients have been successfully cared for at Childrens Hospital in the District of Columbia. In one case, a 4-year-old girl who was shot at point-blank range by a neighbor who had been given a pump action bb gun Read the rest of this entry »

2/16 Alexandria, VA George Washington Birthday Classic 10km., took place on the flat Eisenhower Avenue course by the United States Courthouse where TheAthletesLawyer recently tried a catastrophic brain injury and paralysis case before the same Judge who heard the Mousaui Terrorist case. Benefitting the Alexandria Police Youth Camp, Landau did his warm up INSIDE the AMC Hoffman Center Theater. Starting mid-pack with experienced triathlete and lawyer Charles “Chuck” Corbin, Landau averaged 7:20/mile, finishing in the top quarter of his age group and 144 of 810 in his first race of the new year. www.washingtonbirthday.net

2/23 Prince George Indoor Masters Track Meet, MD (3k, mile) PVTC www.pvtc.org See report under “CASES” as The TriathlonTrialLawyer actually competed, in his Newtons, in a Track Meet, running 11:48 for the 3,000 and 5:57 for the Mile.

2/29 Quaddrenniel Leap Year 3km. Running this “Once Every 4 Years Race” round the Jefferson Memorial tidal basin, in Washington, DC, TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau managed a 12:03 for a 6:28/mile pace uder windy, cold conditions, to finish not quite last.
The DCRRC (703-241-0395) has a FREE noon time 3km. every month at the Roosevelt Memorial Tourmobile stop & Ohio Drive, SW (where many big D.C. races start/finish) on the 3rd Wednesday of the month year round. NO pregistration necessary. For a map of the course, go to: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=489441

3/30 *Homestead, Hot Springs, VA VTLA annual 2 miler, X-C

After a bike crash involving head trauma, loss of consciousness, closed head injury or other neurological signs of damage, many veteran cyclists find it very hard to rest and recuperate.  Missing their daily “endorphin high,” riders, racers, commuters and other cyclists often return to their sports before cleared to do so by their treating doctors.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau often counsels injured cyclists, triathletes and sports enthusiasts after high speed bike crashes, that they may have sustained a closed head injury, concussion, traumatic brain injury, etc., and that intracranial swelling, neurological and other symptoms should not be ignored.  The treatments after such  traumatic accidents need time to be efficacious, and injured triathletes and cyclists need to follow  their health care providers’ instructions.  At Abrams Landau, Ltd. we routinely have to remind our clients that the body heals with time, and it is not a good idea to try to fool (or rush) “Mother Nature.”