The Athlete's Lawyer

Doug Landau and his nephew are getting ready for the Jack Corkey Memorial Aquathon at the Herndon Virginia Community Center. Get your blue goggles on !

It’s official !  Check out the Town of Herndon, Virginia’s web site.  The Town’s site says, “On Saturday, February 25, the Herndon Community Center will be hosting the Jack Corkey Memorial Aquathon. Please click here for information about the event and for the registration form.  Lane availability for lap swimming will be limited in the morning due to this event.” Race information can also be found at the Washington Running Report Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau and the Herndon Aquatics Center staff look forward to seeing all area multisport athletes at this fun event.

Double Down Race Directors presented Herndon Injury Lawyer Doug Landau with his medal after he completed the Runners Den 5km and 10km races in Phoenix, Arizona before the Association fort Justice CLE sessions resumed

Just as the best trial lawyers plan successful case trials well in advance, top endurance athletes often decide on pace, nutrition, gear and even sleep well before the day of the race.  Such was the case with today’s race, where sprint specialist Doug Landau was going to be running over a half-marathon in total distance.  Rather than run with other lawyers at the Scottsdale Convention site, Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau chose to run in the competitive 34th Annual Runners Den 5k and 10k races in Phoenix, Arizona.  To do so successfully, the Herndon sports injury lawyer had to contend with 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 »

Reston bike riders assemble in the Herndon Town lot prior to a fun weekday ride from Fairfax County to Loudoun County

“Defensive Driving” is not just for motorists.  Even bikers need to ride “defensively” and anticipate unsafe actions by others on the roads, paths and trails.  A group of cyclists from Reston were enjoying the W&OD Trail, just past Leesburg in Loudoun County, when calamity struck.  A little boy about 6 or 7 years old was riding with at least one or two siblings and his father was walking with them.  The child was looking back and rode directly into the bikers’ lane.   While the cyclists yelled warning, and some were able to avoid crashing, but others Read the rest of this entry »

or the crazy !  This was no “April’s Fools” but real white precipitation !

Ed Allen and Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau enjoy the warmth of The Homestead

With snow flakes falling in South West Virginia, the lawyers, judges and legislators who signed up to play in the Annual Norman Landau Cup at the Virginia Trial Lawyers convention had to not only contend with a challenging Homestead golf course, cold and wind, but the possibility of losing their balls in the snow !  There was scant accumulation, but while jogging today in order to familiarize myself with tomorrow’s fun run course, where I would serve as a race volunteer, I noted it was hard to see the balls being hit when the flakes were falling !  Hopefully, the foursomes will wait for those ahead to move out of danger, yell “fore” and wear gloves with dry grips.  Golf course injuries are no laughing matter, and wet, slippery surfaces increase the danger of golf cart crashes, as I have written in prior posts.  No injuries were injured, and the top teams were heartily cheered at the closing banquet.  When their fingers thaw out, they hope to shake the hands of all the well-wishers.

Doug Landau, of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., at the start of the Newton crosss country run during the Multisport World conference in Bethesda, Maryland

DC, Maryland and Virginia Triathletes, Duathletes, Runners, Bikers, Swimmers and Rowers were treated to some outstanding lectures, demonstrations, clinics and competition at this past weekend’s Multisport World in North Bethesda.  There were individual and team competitions in swimming relay, cross country running and indoor computrainer cycling events.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau competed in the running and cycling events.  The 5km race was sponsored by Newton running shoe company, and Landau wore his custom-cut Newtons around the Georgetown Prep Track, golf course and roads. Top finishers and teams got free shoes !

For the 10km. time trial inside the Expo hall, Landau brought his bike and shoes, and a change of clothes, as he was soaked afterwards !  The school’s locker room and facilities were excellent, and this event is sure to get bigger each year.  Cheered on by friends from the DC Triathlon Club, RATS (Reston Area TriathleteS), Team FeXY, Team Z, TriCats, SetUp Inc., Rehab 2 Racing and others, the Herndon injury lawyer was able to average over 22 miles per hour on the hilly course and over 230 watts !

Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau, SPOKES publisher Neil Sandler, Virginia Triathlon Series race director Greg Hawkins, and Rehab 2 Racing Triathlon Coach Rob Colburn survey the scene at the 2011 Multisport World Expo in Bethesda, MD

Multisport World came to the Mid Atlantic region today.   Developed in partnership with USAT Mid-Atlantic Region and held at the state-of-the-art Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland, triathletes, duathletes, bikers, runners and swimmers were treated to a full day of activities.   The local high school’s indoor track, pool and conference rooms were devoted to multisport seminars, training clinics, workshops, competitive events and more.  The first 500 registered attendees received  swag bags with product samples, money-saving coupons and more.  Plus all registered attendees were eligible to win valuable prizes and receive discounts to selected Multisport World clinics.

The campus golf course and outdoor track were the venues for the Newton running shoes demonstration and challenging 5km and the pristine pool, held Total Immersion swim clinics.  Georgetown Prep was the site of the Bethesda Cure Autism Now Sprint Triathlon (yes, that’s my photo on the far right, exiting the pool en route to winning the race 2 years ago !).  All of the big names, and clubs from Virginia, Maryland and DC triathlon were there.  There were also a number of newcomers and there was something for everyone, from “newbie” to veteran.  In the following posts, the competitions and other news will be published.

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.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) in cooperation with EB Brands, of Yonkers, New York announced a voluntary recall of Resistance Stretch Tubing manufactured in China.  Having used these types of exercise devices to work out at home and at the gym, sports injury lawyer Doug Landau notes that strength training equipment should be built to withstand normal use without injuring the athlete.  Landau’s opwn family members have used products like this for swim training and rehabilitation.  At the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., it is important to help prevent future injuries to consumers and athletes, as well as asist them after injuries caused through no fault of their own.  With this particular exercise product, the handle on the tubing, also called bands, can break or detach while in use, causing the tubing or handle to strike the user and posing an injury hazard.  There has already been a report of an incident involving a bone injury.

This recall involves Everlast Resistance Stretch Tubing, Everlast Pilates Stretch Tubing, Sportline Resistance Stretch Tubing and Pineapple Pilates Stretch Tubing, used for exercise and stretching. The tubing comes in yellow, blue or black with black handles. The words “2404″, “2001 EB Sport Group” and “Made in China” are molded on the handles. A list of affected lot numbers is available on the EB Sports Group’s website.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.  For additional information, contact EB Brands at (800) 624-5671.  A picture of recalled stretch tubing can be found at the CPSC recall website.

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 »