The Athlete's Lawyer

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled Huffy Slider Tricycles sold in January and February of this year at Toys R Us because the handlebars can loosen, causing the rider to lose control of the bike.

If you have purchased this bike, you should stop using it immediately and contact Huffy for a refund.

Contact information for Huffy:

• By  phone: (888) 366-3828 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday
• Online at www.huffybikes.com – click on “Product Recall” on the bottom of the page

If you or someone you know has been injured after using a defective product and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call Abrams Landau, Ltd. at once (703) 796-9555.

Taking part in the New York City 5 Boro bike tor, Herndon Virginia bicycle accident attorney Doug Landau was able to compare the bike lanes, road surfaces & motorists to those of the Commonwealth

The League of American Bicyclists has released its 2013 ranking of bicycle friendly states.  Virginia comes in at #16, an improvement over 2012′s 17th place.

Click here to see Virginia’s Bicycle Report Card, which, among other measures, provides feedback to the Commonwealth for areas in which the state can improve its bike friendliness

According to an article on Patch cyclists joined legislators in Richmond earlier this year to push for more bike safety Read the rest of this entry »

Give a wave as you bike by our office on “Bike to Work Day” this May 17!

This year’s Bike to Work day is Friday, May 17.  Held annually, this event is a celebration of biking as a clean, fun, and healthy way to get to work.  Click here to register.

With spring weather finally making its way to Virginia, Herndon bicycle accident lawyer Doug Landau is ready to drag his bike out of its winter storage and hit the roads and paths on his way to work.

“I love Bike to Work Day!” says Doug.  “I love it for lots of reasons.  1) I really enjoy biking; 2) I think everyone could always use more exercise; 3) biking is environmentally friendly; and, 4) I enjoy seeing bike-to-workers ride right by the Abrams Landau office in downtown Herndon!”

If you are biking to work through Herndon, you can not miss the Abrams Landau office — it is the house that looks like a grandma’s house, at the corner of Station and Center streets.  Please wave as you ride by!

The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) Victims’ Services Unit and the Fairfax County Law Enforcement Foundation together are hosting the first ever 5K Walk dedicated to raising awareness for crime victims in Fairfax County, and honoring the 2013 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (April 21-27).  The walk, which will take place on Sunday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. at Fairfax Corner, is a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to join the caring professionals that support local victims of homicide, trauma, sexual and domestic violence, child physical and sexual abuse, stalking human trafficking and suicide as they walk together.

Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau, of the firm Abrams Landau, Ltd., is currently representing victims of several crimes including one who was shot and injured in a gas station robbery, a second sexually assaulted by an unlicensed doctor, and a third rendered unconscious by an impaired underage driver.

“Walking is great exercise, and walking for an important cause makes it doubly rewarding,” says Doug.

You can register for the walk by visiting the FCPD website. If you or someone you know have been injured as the result of a crime, and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call Abrams Landau, Ltd. at once (703-796-9555).

As a traveler who has long enjoyed snorkeling during family vacations, Herndon recreational sports injury lawyer Doug Landau recognizes the importance of aquatic eye protection. Defective products, like this snorkeling mask sold at Costco, can pose a danger to consumers.

U.S. Divers has recalled a youth snorkeling mask that was sold exclusively at Costco as a part of a set, along with a snorkel and fins.  The Martinique LX Jr. Youth Snorkeling Mask Sets can pose a laceration danger when notches in the tempered glass lens on the mask can break under certain water pressure. If you purchased this mask set, you should stop using it immediately and contact U.S. Divers for a replacement.  Here is the contact information:  U.S. Divers; toll-free at (888) 606-6162 anytime, or online at www.usdivers.com and click on “Recall Notice” for more information. If you or someone you know has been injured due to a defective product and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call Abrams Landau, Ltd. at once (703-796-9555).

Hockey rinks are surrounded by protective glass which shield most spectators from errant pucks

Our last post featured a discussion of  “Assumption of Risk”.  In terms of the fans at a sporting event, this doctrine holds that a spectator knows, fully understands, and assumes the risk inherent in watching a live sporting event.  Therefore, according to Herndon Virginia Injury Attorney Doug Landau, a lawsuit can be an uphill battle for an injured spectator. There are very few claims for sports fans being struck and injured.

Two sports where spectator accidents and claims for injuries and death have been brought are hockey and Read the rest of this entry »

Does a spectator sitting in the grandstand hit by a ball at a baseball game stand a chance at a lawsuit?

Herndon Baseball Sponsor Appreciation Night at Herndon High School – Doug Landau & the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU have long supported Hornets Sports

In the summer of 2010, a trip to the ball park for a Georgia man and his 6-year -old daughter turned disastrous.  According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a “line drive sliced over the visitor’s dugout and into the crowd before anyone could get out of the way. The foul ball, struck at the August 30, 2010, Braves-Mets game at Turner Field, slammed into the head of a 6-year-old girl, fracturing her skull, damaging her brain.”

Earlier this year, the girl’s father filed a lawsuit against the Atlanta Braves and Major League Baseball (MLB), charging that the Braves and MLB failed to protect Read the rest of this entry »

Too much exercise can be counter productive and put you on your butt ! Plan rest, nutrition and recuperation as carefully as you plan your workouts and you will avoid overuse injury

Having studied exercise physiology, I am often taken aback by some of the extreme forms of training and competition being promoted by so-called “sports gurus.” The are recipes for injury, disability and worse. While the human body is indeed a miraculous collection of systems, it is not immortal and our bodies need time to rest and recuperate after the stresses of sports training and Read the rest of this entry »

The National Football League is looking into kickoff modifications in order to help ‘deal with injury numbers’ according to news reports this week. Indicating that it was a matter of safety, along with possible suspensions for player who make illegal hits, the NFL is recommending that kickoffs be moved from the 30- to the 35-yard line — as it was before 1994. Also, kicking team members must line up within five yards of the ball. This would prevent the kicking team members from lining up 10-15 yards behind the ball to get a running start. By the time these offensive players got downfield, they were at full speed.

The sound of the impact when 300 pounds of professional football player, sprinting at top speed, strikes another player moving in the opposite direction at maximum velocity, it something not soon forgotten. The momentum of each player (speed times mass) is truly shocking. The league recognizes the potential for devastating and career ending head, neck and brain injuries and is looking into way to modify the game while still keeping its essential features. Read more at the Washington Examiner.

Brain injury in sports can occur even without outward manifestation, such as bleeding, swelling of the skull, bruising of the skin or laceration. Sports medicine specialists who study head injury in athletics have long noted that it is the movement of the brain inside the hard, bony shell (the cranium) that often determines the nature and extent of the brain damage. Director of the Brain Injury and Sports Concussion Institute at the University of Virginia School of Medicine Jeffrey Barth has explained, “if [a player] is not expecting it, the head snaps on the neck [when struck].” The Sports Illustrated Special Report Concussions concluded by noting that when an athlete is caught off guard or going the wrong way, even a minor blow to the head can be devastating. This is because the speed at which the head snaps back and how long it takes to decelerate often determine whether an athlete will be concussed. It the snapping of the head and neck is rapid enough, the player can lose consciousness momentarily, and suffer a concussion.

To entirely prevent or mitigate concussive head-snapping, athletes Read the rest of this entry »