The Athlete's Lawyer

When going to the office on cold winter mornings, I have seen bikers in covered helmets, booties and thick gloves braving the elements.  However, motorists around the W&OD Trail are often surprised to see cyclists and animals coming off the path and crossing Herndon, Sterling and Loudoun County roadways.  When a biker or deer appears in front of you on a snow covered road, and there is not enough time to brake, the following suggestions come from Rally Coach Tim O’Neil so that you do not end up killing the cyclist, the deer, yourself or totaling your car.

• Take your foot of the gas immediately.  Do not fixate on the biker, deer or motorcycle – you will just drive straight at it if you do.  Instead, look at the rear wheel or animal’s hindquarters, since cyclists, deer, elk, etc. are not likely to go into reverse !  Turn the steering wheel 90 degree to your right.
• Now your vehicle is headed toward the shoulder, ditch, guardrail, etc.  Do not panic.  You should look at where you want the car to go.  Fix your eyes on the center of the road and turn left twice as far, about 180 degrees.
• Once you have cleared the obstacle, animal, human or other, counter steer 45 degrees to your right and hit the gas to straighten out.

Hopefully, these tips will enable you to “live and let live.”  A car crash with a deer, cyclist or object in the road can be catastrophic.  The damage we have seen caused by impacts with deer are truly astounding.  The losses caused by car crashes with animals and cyclists are some of the most severe we see at the Landau Law Shop.  you might even want to practice, and take the newer drivers in your household out to an empty, safe parking lot, to practice winter driving techniques in order to prevent injury, property loss and death.

At least at the start of the race when the canon fires.  That was Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau’s experience when he ran the New York City Marathon.  He and his brother both ran on other people’s sweat clothes, gloves, hats, mittens and other garments for what seemed like the first mile !  This surreal experience drove home the magnitude of the event and the logistical planning required by the New York Road Runners Club (“NYRRC”) to stage a world-class event in one of the busiest cities on the planet.   At the start on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, there will be 1,694 portable toilets, 42,000 PowerBars, 90,000 bottles of water and 563 pounds of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee beans, enough to make 45,000 cups. About 500 volunteers will collect more than 10 tons of sweat suits, sleeping bags and Snuggies, much of which will be cleaned and given to charities. The bridge must be cleared within an hour of the last runner’s leaving. More than 70 United Parcel Service trucks will take the athletes’ belongings to the finish line.

According to the New York Times, among the more than 6,000 volunteers on race day are medical workers at the 38 aid stations. They will have on hand 11,410 pounds of ice, 13,475 bandages, 57,059 salt packages and 390 tubs of Vaseline. They will have 435 cots and 30 defibrillators that, hopefully, will not be needed.

Herndon Virginia biker lawyer Doug Landau applauds the Washington Area Bicyclist Association's free membership offer to Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC bicycle police officers

As part of the Washington Area Bicyclist Associations ongoing efforts to improve roadways safety and build relationshis with the law enforcement officers responsible for helping to enforce traffic laws in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, the WABA has begin offering free memberships.  Any law enforcement officer in the DC Metropolitan area who rides a bike as part of his or her duties is eligible.  The WABA is encouraging members to reach out to local police ion the community.  It’s simple: if they ride a bicycle as part of their job they qualify for free membership.

As WABA members frequently interact with local police on a number of matters, from roadway safety, and enforcement concerns, to special events, information seeking after crashes and near misses.  WABA members recognize the life-and-death importance that enforcement of traffic laws can have for cyclists sharing the road with motor vehicles of all sizes.  Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. will be advising Herndon’s bike-based officers about this free benefit.  Hopefully, all of the bicycle officers in Herndon and Reston Virginia as well as those who traverse the W&OD Trail will soon have WABA memberships and receive the excellent “Ride On” publication.

Sometimes, after running long distances in extremely cold conditions, Herndon Virginia sports injury lawyer Doug Landau, despite wearing layers, shows little brain activity !

When it gets dark earlier in the evening, and when glare and low sunsets compromise driver’s vision, it’s best to run off the roads or with a group.  Join a local running group in your area and enjoy your running.  Running off roads has its own set of special hazards.  For one thing, the uneven surfaces that I favor can cause twisted ankle in the low light conditions this time of year.  Also, the cold temperatures make soft cinder, mud and grass courses more unforgiving, leading to stress on the knees, IT bands and ankles.

If you run on streets, wear as much reflective and light colored gear as you can.  I understand that black clothing is “slenderizing,” but as a driver myself, I have a hard mew seeing runners in all black during “rush hour.”  If you can run during your lunch break, when the temperatures are higher and the lighting is better, try to do so.  It will keep your energy level high during the afternoon “doldrums,” and you won’t be so tired (or unmotivated) facing a workout after your commute home at the end of the day.  I tend to overdress in the winter with lots of layers, as I can always remove a light jacket, hat or open up some vents.  When there is snow on the ground, I like to wear high gators like mountain hikers wear.  It keeps snow and ice out of my running shoes and socks.  As long as my  extremities are warm (my hands, feet and head), then I can keep going for many miles.  But, as soon as I get wet and cold, I head for home,. hot soup and a bath.  Stay warm, run with friends, be safe and have fun this winter.

Sometimes even the fastest athletes need to stop and be thankful for the gifts and good health they have.  Thanksgiving is a time for celebration.  We celebrate family, friends and food.  It is a unique holiday that does not memorialize the great deeds of some war hero or leader, but rather the bounties that we have in the United States and the American tradition of gathering around the table to give thanks.

It is also a time to think of those who may be less fortunate than ourselves.  While I give of my time to volunteer, direct and help with school, sports and law related events, at ABRAMS LANDAU, we donate clothing, food, and supplies to the local free clinic, neighborhood resource center and community center.  In addition, regular donations of goods to Purple Heart, AmVets, the Lupus Foundation, Salvation Army, and the Red Cross Blood drives and National Bone Marrow Registry collection efforts.  While money may be tight throughout the USA, there are many ways we can give to others and contribute to help our fellow Americans.  Everyone at the Landau Law Shop hopes to do even more in 2011.

The Chantilly Youth (CYA) U-17 BLAST girls travel soccer team won their last game today securing their season championship in the Old Dominion Soccer League (ODSL)

The Chantilly “BLAST” U-17 girls soccer team won their final season match 8-0 and secured their league championship this afternoon at Fairfax County’s Poplar Tree Park.  The Chantilly Youth Association (“CYA”) travel soccer team, despite sometimes being short-handed due to only 9 or 10 girls making it to a game because of other commitments, only gave up one goal this season.  More importantly, their coach announced that they had won the Sportsmanship Award as well.
Always playing exciting soccer, the purple clad CYA girls on the “BLAST” never showed any of the rancor or egotistical conduct that mars the records of other teams, especially in the ranks of major professional sports.  Furthermore, some of the girls compete for their high school soccer, cross country, tennis and other sports teams.  While Doug Landau coached several members of the “BLAST” when they were members of his CYA “Jumping Green Grasshopper” teams before they went up to travel soccer, they are now superbly lead by Coaches Ray and Irwin.  The team practices in Herndon Virginia near Dulles Airport, and plays its matches in Northern Virginia.  The “BLAST” was a finalist in the Spring 2010 U-16 Division of the Old Dominion Soccer League (“ODSL”) which fosters Travel Soccer and Sportsmanship.  Hoping to keep the roster together for another successful indoor season, Coach Ray noted that they may have to expand their roster if they are going to continue their winning ways in the U-19 division.

Defective bicycle products, components and frames can cause permanent and fatal injuries to innocent cyclists

Having seen athletes injured by defective sports products, Herndon Reston injury lawyer Doug Landau believes that if generally accepted engineering principles can reduce or eliminate the risk of permanent injury or death, then it is incumbent upon a manufacturer and supplier to do so or face liability for the harms and losses their products cause consumers.  There are some basic concepts that apply to manufacturers of consumer products that are placed into the stream of commerce.

When products are placed into the stream of commerce, the products must be reasonably safe.  Companies have a responsibility to eliminate all foreseeable hazards from their products, if feasible.  If hazards cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the utility of the product or making the product prohibitively expensive, then the hazards must be re-engineered, guarded or re-designed so as to avoid injury or death.  The guards must effectively prevent accidents and not introduce other types of dangers into the product.For those dangers that cannot be safely or economically re-designed, consumers must bewared of all dangers associated with the use of the sports products.  Because there are strict time limits for claims against sports product and equipment makers, if you or someone you know has been injured by a company’s deceptive or dangerous product, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.

Herndon Reston Virginia spine and brain injury lawyer Doug Landau with a gift basket from a thankful neurologically disabled client

Injuries to the brain and spine do not necessarily mean the end of exercise and sports.  While brain injury can be a life changing event, advances in sports medicine and rehabilitation have enabled bike crash and car accident victims to remain more active than in the past.  It is important to remain upbeat, active and exercise.  As we used to say at ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) meetings, “If it isn’t physical, it isn’t therapy !”  Physical and occupational therapy is essential to maximum recovery after a spine or brain injury.  Nerve cells need stimulation for recovery and repair.  Reorganization may occur.  Synapses, that is the contacts between the nerve cells, may strengthen with stimulation and use.  Sports injury lawyer Doug Landau has several hemiparetic clients who are paralyzed on one side of their bodies.  To advance recovery from hemiparesis after stroke, one novel treatment, Constraint-Induced Movement therapy (“CIMT”), entails the temporary restraint of the functional limb while the patient is encouraged to carry out tasks with the paralyzed limb.  According to medical researchers, CIMT produces greater improvements in movement and functional use of impaired arms and hands.

The repair of broken connections between nerve cells is poorly understood.  Doctors understand that a sudden snap of the head pushes the brain so forcefully inside the skull that the long processes of the nerve cells are severed.  This effect is known as axonal shear.  Read the rest of this entry »

Trampoline accidents and injuries can be catastrophic due to the impact and damage to the spinal cords and heads of victims young and old.  The issues of adequate spotters, padding and instruction are usually at the forefront of any investigation into a trampoline accident.  However, when the trampoline itself is defective, catastrophic injury can result regardless of the number of spotters, pads and training sessions.  Herndon Virginia sports injury lawyer Doug Landau of Abrams Landau, Ltd. examined the dangers of such equipment over 25 years ago in his article for the Practicing Law Institute, “…With the Greatest of Ease – Gymnastic Products Liability”  (Sports & Recreational Equipment, 1983).  One of the reasons Abrams Landau supports the distribution of free bicycle helmets for children is to put safe, non-defective sports equipment in play so no one gets hurt.

A California sporting goods company has recently announced a recall 160,000 sporting trampolines over the risk of the structures breaking.  Bravo Sports announced the recall in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission last week, saying “the trampolines, if improperly assembled, can result in weak support, posing the risk of the top rails or legs bending or breaking during normal use.”  The trampolines were imported from China Read the rest of this entry »

A lovely little bridge off of a dirt road in Loudoun County - perfect for hybrid, mountain, knobby and "fat tire" bikes !

Owning a mountain bike does not mean you have to go tearing down mountains, slaloming between trees, jumping roots and avoiding protruding rocks.  Bike injury lawyer Doug Landau uses his off road bike for commuting to work in good weather, pulling buggers, “trail-a-bikes” and touring in the off season.  Mrs. Landau likes her mountain bike for training rides as it enables her to sit upright, without the strain on her lumbar spine, and to be able to see further down the road.  The Landau’s mountain bikes are also less likely to get flats, are easier to adjust to other riders, and can carry heavy panniers and gear.  Other bikers like the safety and stability of a mountain bike.  The Abrams Landau bike crash lawyer also likes the “Granny Gear” when ascending steep inclines in Loudoun County.  There are several Reston and Herndon area cyclists who ride with the Reston Bike Club on hybrid and mountain bikes, and they keep up, traverse rough road and even hop the curb now and then !  Landau puts his Speedplay peddles on his off road bike so that he can use his biking shoes to keep up and has the bell for safety on his handlebars when approaching cyclists, runners and other recreational users of the W&OD and other Northern Virginia Trails, bike paths and roads.