The Athlete's Lawyer

Looking for his triathlon race number and singlet, trial lawyer Doug Landau loses precious time in transition

Having no race number can cause an athlete’s disqualification.  Doug Landau had carefully pinned his race number to his singlet the night before, and had brought it to Lake Audubon to put on after the Reston Triathlon swim.  However, when he emerged from the water and removed his wetsuit, it was nowhere to be seen.

With his bike number on his shorts, a quick gulp and out Doug Landau goes past volunteer Kevin Baldwin to run down the competition at the 2010 Reston Triathlon

Since the numbers on his arms, legs, helmet and bike and the computer chip on his ankle would suffice for the next hour, Landau hoped that his shirt and number was inadvertently left at the second transition, when he got off the bike and began the 10 km  run at South Lakes High School.  When he dashed into the transition area, he was dismayed to see no shirt and no number.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”  So the saying goes.  Looking around his transition spot, the injured athletes’ lawyer had an idea.  Landau Read the rest of this entry »

Bike crash injury lawyer and Race Volunteer Doug Landau registering one of the Fairfax County Police Officers participating in the 2010 Reston Triathlon

The victim of the bike crash Sunday at Ridge Heights Road near the Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School was released from the INOVA Fairfax Hospital this afternoon.  The triathlete sustained multiple injuries in the incident described in a prior post when a car came from a side street during the 26th annual Reston Triathlon.

The experienced multi-sport athlete was grateful for those who came to his immediate aid and for the speed with which the Fairfax County Police, Fire and Ambulance were on the scene.  Excellent training by Fairfax first responders and law enforcement enabled the injured South Riding athlete to be taken to the emergency room quickly.

Doug Landau exiting the Reston Triathlon transition area (note that he is not yet in his biking shoes !)

Ask Triathlon Trial Lawyer Dog Landau which part of the triathlon is his best, and he’ll probably tell you, “Tranisitions !”  While triathlon is made up of three sports – swimming, biking and running, lawyer Landau views transitions as important elements to his overall race strategy and success.  What you eat, drink and change into in the transition areas can influence the rest of the race.  Transitions are the part of the race you can plan, create options and gain time on your competition while they are standing still !

At some venues, Landau has Read the rest of this entry »

Fire and rescue vehicles came to the aid of an injured bicyclist who was involved in a crash with a motor vehicle during this morning’s Reston Triathlon.  As the participants turn left on South Lakes to pedal up Ridge Heights Road toward Langston Hughes Middle School to get to the transition area at South Lakes and finish the bike portion of the race they were confronted by the sight none of like to see – a fallen athlete.  In this instance, a motorist apparently pulled out into the Ridge Heights Road as a cyclist was coming up toward the schools.

Allen Delaney of Commonwealh Orthopedics and Doug Landau during a picnic fundraiser for a fellow triathlete

The cyclist and the car collided.  According to an FABB post, the biker was unconscious and, after lying immobile in the road, was taken away by ambulance.

Dr. Allen Delaney of Commonwealth Orthopedics, along with his wife and physical therapist Mary Delaney, was a spectator at today’s triathlon.  According to athletes who had finished the race, the good doctor was at the cyclist’s side, lying with him in the street until emergency vehicles arrived.  Delaney, a distinguished endurance and multisport athlete himself, returned to the finish area after the athlete (who later regained consciousness) was taken from the scene, in order to cheer on other athletes he advises and trains as a coach with RehabtoRacing.  Everyone associated with the Reston Triathlon hopes the injured bicyclist recovers quickly.

Reston Triathlon volunteers

With drivers licenses, passports and USAT cards in hand, triathletes lined up at Reston’s South Lakes High School to check in for the 26th Annual Reston Triathlon.  While he is racing Sunday, Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau once again served as a volunteer, checking registrants in, answering questions of new multisport athletes, giving a tour of the transition area, marking and clearing the run course of debris.  Having competed in this perennially sold out Northern Virginia triathlon over a dozen times, Landau knows many of the volunteers, spectators and participants.  Even when he is not going to swim in Lake Audubon, ride on Glade Avenue and run on the Reston Association trails, Landau has volunteered at registration.

"May we please see some ID ?"

The pre-race safety meetings, course reviews, bike helmet inspections, reunions and mini expo make for a festive afternoon.  There are husband and wife, father-son and other family relations participating side by side.  This almost Olympic Distance Triathlon is also relatively spectator friendly because of the 3-loop bike course and finish in the South Lakes High School stadium with a live rock band (this year, the “Sock Monkeys”).  Click here to be a volunteer

Herndon Lawyer Doug Landau, selected to the 2011 "BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA"

ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. is pleased to announce that the “THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA” has again selected out Landau for its 2011 edition.  Doug’s father, Norman J. Landau had also been included in earlier editions, and many of his class mates from the University of Miami have been listed in the pages of “BEST LAWYERS.”  Like the Martindale Hubbel Lawyer Directory, BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA has been around for a long time and is a respected peer-review publication for the legal profession.  For a quarter century, BEST LAWYERS publications have helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in unfamiliar jurisdictions or unfamiliar practice areas. Read the rest of this entry »

While the Landau Law Shop is currently helping several victims of traumatic brain injury and we are once again sponsoring the Brain Injury Association‘s road runs at the end of the month, a recent radio news story caught head injury lawyer Landau’s attention.  “Is It Easier For Some Athletes To Suffer Brain Damage?” is the premise, and the coverage centered on professional football players and head trauma.

According to the news report, an autopsy has shown that Chris Henry, the young Cincinnati Bengal who died a few months ago, suffered what is called CTE –– chronic traumatic encephalopathy –– which means, more simply, that his brain had been traumatized.

CTE can be diagnosed only in the brain tissue of cadavers, and 22 deceased former NFL players have been identified as having had it. Studies also show that elderly men who played football have four times the rate of dementia as do other U.S. males.

What makes the Henry case so frightening, however, is that he is the first current player to be diagnosed with CTE — and his case is even more of a concern because it doesn’t seem that he suffered any serious concussions. How easy might it be for certain athletes to have their brains damaged?

Not just football players either. Studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics have shown that girls get concussions on the soccer field at much the same rate as boys do playing football. One cannot watch the World Cup, where players slug balls 60 sixty miles an hour with their heads — not to mention banging into opponents’ heads — without thinking that the world’s finest soccer athletes must surely be at the same risk of CTE as NFL players.

Jim Joyce was himself a football player. He got concussions of his own and also remembers laughing at befuddled teammates when they got, in the vernacular, “dinged.” It was all a joke then, all part of being a tough guy on the gridiron. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

What happens when an injured cyclist hires a lawyer who says he can handle a personal injury case and that lawyer fails to take steps to advance the injured athlete’s case, and in fact becomes suspended from the practice of law just as the 2 year deadline approaches ?

Herndon sports injury lawyer Doug Landau and law enforcement volunteers at a local running race

This recently happened at ABRAMS LANDAU, where we get a large and sad number of calls every year from injured victims who retain lawyers who should not be handling personal injury cases. Often these lawyers are general practitioners who will not invest time, effort or money in serious injury cases, “friends of a friend,” and advertising charlatans who never go to court. While we counsel callers to try to work out their differences with the lawyer they have got, there are some instances when this is impossible, and they make a change. For example, when their present lawyer is retiring, or has passed away, then certainly we will meet with them. However, in a case such as this where the deadline was approaching and the Leesburg lawyer supposedly handling the biker’s crash injury case would not return letters, phone calls, e-mails or faxes, then immediate change of counsel was necessary. When Leesburg bike accident lawyer Doug Landau called the Virginia State Bar to enquire as to this lawyer, he was advised to tell the plaintiff to call the Bar’s office. Apparently, the lawyer originally retained was on a Suspension for Failure to Comply with a Subpoena, effective June 9th of 2010. This was just published, after the 2 year time limit had run, in the Virginia Lawyer Register.

Luckily, the ABRAMS LANDAU law firm filed the lawsuit within the time limits, and is now proceeding to get medical records, investigative reports, Traffic Court transcripts and other items necessary for the successful prosecution and settlement of a serious bike crash injury case.  Because there are strict time limits for claims against drivers who run over or crash into cyclists, if you or someone you know has been injured by someone else’s negligence or fault, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

Chantilly High School is experimenting with a voluntary workout program for their marching band.   With brass and percussion instruments weighing as much as 40 pounds, increases to students’ endurance mean sharper turns, crisper stepping and faster flag twirling for the color guard.  In other words, the Chantilly Chargers marching band formations will be “in shape” this season.  As a former marching band trumpeter myself, I was surprised to learn that, according to CHS marching band Director Ross,

• “The heart rate a student has marching through an eight-minute show is almost what a marathon runner’s would reach.  The students who are athletes go through a conditioning program. We wanted to make sure our kids do, too.”

Band directors Gary English and Drew Ross told the Fairfax Times: “We decided to do something new this year Read the rest of this entry »

The view from the W&OD Trail in Herndon

Lines stretched passed the Herndon Dairy Queen and along the W&OD Trail today as people waited in line to sample local wines, beers and hear a variety of musical artists.  The Herndon Town Green and a perfect weather day made for a superb day.

Doug Landau was on his way to the Landau Law Shop 2 blocks away when he noticed downtown Herndon was set up for great music, crafts, food, 12 wineries and, new this year, micro-brews.

Crafts tents stretched to the Caboose at the 20 mile marker of the W&OD Trail in Herndon, Virginia, for the Labor Day Music Festival

In keeping with the Reston/Herndon area’s emphasis on driver safety and family entertainment, there were reduced pride tickets in the “Designated Driver/Entertainment Only” category and Children 12 and under were free of charge.  So, while this is not legal advice, Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau suggests that you mark the Herndon Labor Day Music & Crafts Festival on your calendar for next year – there’s something for everyone !