The Athlete's Lawyer

Doug Landau checking out the transition area at the Broadlands Triathlon in Loudoun County, Virginia

Tomorrow is the Infinitive Sprint Triathlon in Loudoun County, Virginia.  This triathlon, which starts at Broadlands Outdoor Pool off of Village Drive in Broadlands Virginia with a pool swim, then heads out to Claiborne Parkway for the bike and on the Broadlands trails for the run. This is a great first timers event and a fun challenging course for those with experience.  Bike injury lawyer Doug Landau has done other races managed by Tri Performance at South Riding, Worldgate, Herndon and Loudoun County, and Brian and Alissa Crow do a marvelous job of creating and pulling off fun, safe fitness events.

Could this be the "Crow-mobile" for Coach Crow ?

Usually triathletes and endurance athletes take a day or two off before a competition.  Many long distance athletes “taper” before “the big event.”  However, for races under 90 minutes, triathlon trial lawyer Doug Landau will often train right up to and even after the race.  Swimming today helps “flush out” the waste byproducts from a hard week of work and training, and swimming after the race will reduce the post-competition soreness that often hinders older athletes’ resumption of training.  As an award-winning masters triathlete and road runner, Landau is careful not to “overdo it” in the days leading up to a race.  But, a little non- impact exercise the day before a short sprint race should not impair performance  or recuperation or lead to excessive post-race soreness.

TriPerformance Coach Crow at the Inifinitive Broadlands Triathlon packet pick up & bike safety inspection

Race Director and TriPerformance Coach Brian Crow runs a smooth race, which starts with a well-staffed pre race packet pick up.  Pre-Race Packet pick up, bicycle and helmet safety checks, and course tours and pre-race meetings all help triathletes and bikers avoid injury and crashes.  Broadlands, South Riding and Warrenton Sprint Triathlon prizewinner and cyclist Doug Landau of the ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. law firm in Herndon Virginia notes that there is a clear advantage to knowing the course.  “I can ride faster AND more safely on a course where I know the turns, hills, road conditions and transition area.  In over 25 years of multi-sport racing, I have seen too many cyclists and triathletes get hurt when they did not know when to turn, shift gears or slow down.”

A bike crash and still 3rd place overall !

[N.B. In the Broadlands Sprint Triathlon, a 16-year-old crashed, but managed to finish in 3rd place (see photo, left); another racer did an extra lap on the 2 loop course; and, another cyclist went off the course and may have received a penalty.]

Sunday’s race raises funds for the Infinitive Foundation, which was established to support programs focused on health and enhancing family life. Proceeds from the Infinitive Race Series will support local and US Military families. Infinitive Infinitive is a Northern Virginia based management consultancy that delivers Change Engineering expertise. Click for more information about Infinitive.

After hitting a bridge expansion joint on the Lee Bridge in Richmond and flatting out last month, Duathlete and bike injury lawyer Doug Landau noted with interest the case reported this month in the Hartford Courant. A Superior Court jury awarded a former mountain biker and children’s book illustrator $2.9 million for injuries suffered in a bicycle accident on land owned by the Metropolitan District Commission (“MDC”).   The jury ruled that the MDC had improperly placed a steel grate on a recreational path. According to the news report, the biker struck the steel grate and broke her neck.

The six-person jury awarded the money last week Friday to the injured athlete after finding that the regional water and sewer authority improperly placed a steel gate across a path within the Talcott Mountain Recreation Area. The 35-year-old Rocky Hill Plaintiff was biking on a trail in the area, also known as the West Hartford Reservoir, when she struck the gate, breaking four vertebrae in her neck in May of 2002.  The MDC had installed the gate to block motor vehicle access to the water. The MDC’s chief in-house lawyer said through a spokeswoman that the MDC was surprised by the verdict and intends to appeal.  For more on this interesting case, see tomorrow’s post

Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau supports Brain Injury Association programming and educational events for those suffering from head injury, loss of consciousness and traumatic brain injury ("TBI")

In recognition of March as Brain Injury Awareness Month and the Brain Injury Association’s ongoing commitment to sports and concussions, BIAA and its nationwide network of 44 State Affiliates is launching a year-long, nationwide education and advocacy campaign: “A concussion is a brain injury. Get the facts.”  The campaign will launch with public service announcements, awareness proclamations and special events. A state advocacy effort to introduce legislation to train coaches and protect youth athletes will continue throughout the year along with ongoing nationwide education.   Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau supports BIA programming and looks forward to sponsoring the BIA “Miracle Mile” event at George Mason University in September.

A concussion is a brain injury period. BIAA believes coaches of every school athletic team and every extracurricular athletic activity should be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of brain injury, including concussions and second impact syndrome. BIAA also believes young athletes who appear t have sustained a concussion should have written authorization by a health care professional before returning to play.

A concussion is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Most concussions occur without a loss of consciousness and according to the CDC, a lack of proper diagnosis and management of concussion may result in a serious long-term consequences, or risk of coma or death. Signs and symptoms may be noticeable immediately, or it may take days or weeks before they are present.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United State each year. Of that estimate U.S. emergency departments treat approximately 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.  To support year-long education and awareness efforts, click on the downloadable materials to distribute throughout your community today! BIAA encourages the use and distribution of these materials throughout 2010.

After DUathlon Nationals, TriathlonTrialLawyer Doug Landau went to a spin class and learned of SportFit's FREE triathlon cycling seminar TODAY at Worldgate Sport & Health

As part of the 2010 SportFit TRIATHLON CLINIC SERIES Doug & Beth Baumgarten will once again hold a free clinic at the Worldgate Sport & Health Club in Herndon, Virginia.  If you are a first time (or novice) triathlete or an experienced multisport competitor, SPORTFIT LAB is a source for information on training, equipment, and race preparation.   Educational and bike safety seminars such as produced by the Baumgartens will hopefully increase the skills of participants in local triathlons, duathlons and bike races, and decrease the number of bike crashes, athletic injuries and sports accidents.  The husband and wife team has scheduled concise 90-minute sessions for athletes learn the latest science of triathlon training.

NEXT CLINIC: FRIDAY MAY 7th- 5:30-7:00 P.M. AT SPORTFIT LAB (Worldgate):

“THE BIKE IN TRIATHLON”

For more information, contact: SPORTFIT CONSULTING LLC of Northern Virginia

Email: db@sportfitconsulting.com   Phone: 703-657-7609   Mobile: 301-448-5499   Fax: 888-750-2869

Doug Landau, WITH HIS SHOES, the day before his now infamous "bare footed effort" at the USAT National Duathlon Championships

After his bare foot 5k effort at the USAT Duathlon National Championships, Doug Landau got e-mails, calls and “shout outs” from other multisport athletes.  Some, who saw the Triathlon Trial Lawyer “in action” in Richmond, wrote him afterwards.  Others, seeing his bike split time, wondered if the Herndon, Reston and Dulles Airport region injury lawyer got lost on the National Duathlon Festival race course !   Even his out of state family members wondered if he had been in a bike crash, sustained a sports injury or broken his racing bicycle or helmet.

• One athlete wrote, “If you’re the Doug Landau who was totally kick-ass at yesterday’s Duathlon National Championships–by running barefoot at 7-minute pace after you flatted–I’d love to be your friend. I’ve been telling everybody about you. Hope you’re not any worse the wear and tear for your amazing effort.”
• Another sent this message, “Looks like you had good runs – but did something happen on the bike ?”
• Lastly, “You are my hero. Seeing your response to the bad luck of a flat is a big part of what multi-sport is to me. You get to learn what you’re made of–or, as in your case–you can see what others are made of, too. Hats off. I’m sure I’ll be thinking of you as I swim those icy waters of SF Bay. Never say die.  And just keep going, no matter what.  Thanks for the inspiration. Best of luck in your season.”

As part of a seminar for football coaches from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC reported in yesterday’s Washington Post, high school educators also learned that only 10 percent of concussions involve loss of consciousness.  These educators (because learning continues on the playing field) learned that a CT scan might not show any objective physical damage.  At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we see challenges to concussion and traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) claims because of this “lack of objective medical evidence.”  However, because a concussion is more of a functional deficit than a structural one, it is hard to “see” the damage caused by an impact to the skull and the interior crashing around of the teenager’s brain.  Often there is no obvious change in behavior.  Yet a concussion that is not properly managed could result in neurological symptoms that last a lifetime, even though players themselves do not fully weigh those consequences.  Permanent brain damage from a sports injury is something that teenage athletes do not often fully consider.  Herndon head injury lawyer Doug Landau recognizes that teen impulsiveness and intense athletic competitiveness can create a dangerous condition when the dangers of brain trauma Read the rest of this entry »

“Prep football coaches get an education on concussions” was the title of today’s excellent “Varsity Letter” high school sports column by Preston Williams.  High school football coaches were exposed to current theory and practice with concussions at Redskins Park.  Secondary school coaches from Virginia, Maryland and the District filed into a tent at Redskins Park on a recent Saturday morning for a seminar on concussions.  The coaches watched a presentation, questioned Dr. Peter Gonzalez, an assistant professor of sports medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk and watched a Redskins practice.

There are an estimated 43,000-67,000 concussions — really just a fancy word for injured brains — per year in high school football.  About 50 percent of concussions are suspected of going unreported by young athletes.  Football coaches, particularly those at schools without full-time certified athletic trainers — which in the Washington area includes Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties — are the first responders to injured players. So these coaches often either make, or help make, the decision about whether a player, including one who is possibly concussed, is fit to remain in a game or continue to practice.  The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, determined that more than 40 percent of high school athletes who sustain concussions return to action too quickly.  Two high school football players in North Carolina died in 2008 from concussion-related injuries.

One coach wondered if players would be better served by being subjected to more hard hits in practice, because they would perhaps build up a tolerance and resistance to the shots that result in their brains colliding with their skulls. No, Gonzalez said tactfully. The fewer hits to the head, the better.  Other coaches had never heard of the ImPACT program, in which athletes take a 30-minute computer test that gauges their neurocognitive functions. That provides a baseline of information. The athletes are re-tested after a suspected head injury.  Howard, Fairfax and D.C. schools, among others in the area, use ImPACT.  Other coaches were unaware that athletes who sustain a concussion are two to four times more likely to sustain another, with 80 percent of those repeat concussions occurring within 10 days of the first one. A Time magazine article from 2009 cited a study that found from 2005 to 2008, 41 percent of concussed athletes, at 100 high schools nationwide, returned to play too soon, based on American Academy of Neurology guidelines.  “We can’t prevent this first concussion,” Gonzalez told the coaches. “What we can prevent is the sequella of that concussion, the second-impact issues, worsening or delaying recovery.”

Virginia high school half milers line up at SportsBackers Stadium waiting for the gun. David Allen is on the outside

What better thing to do on your “day off” than to take in a high school track meet ?  That’s exactly what Sterling Virginia injury lawyer Doug Landau did while resting up for the USAT National Duathlon Festival.  Landau attended the Elite Track Classic at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Virginia.  This sports event appeared to be the largest track meet in the Commonwealth of Virginia this season with a total of 1,400 athletes entered to compete representing over 70 different schools.

David Allen after breaking 2 minutes at the Elite Track Classic with his proud father Ted Allen (the Collegiate runner's time was not "wind aided," unlike his dad's hairdo !)

Sports injury lawyer Landau hoped to catch the running of the 800.  His friend David Allen, a senior at Collegiate, had a seed time of 2:02.09.  Allen is a talented distance runner who had injuries after visiting with Landau at the 2009 Duathlon Nationals.  This was David’s last track meet, as he is headed off to Duke University in the Fall, and his goal was to break 2:00.

As usual, lawyer Landau was working in between appointments in downtown Richmond, catching up on e-mail at Virginia Commonwealth University, when Allen’s parents called and told the Triathlon Trial Lawyer toy get his butt down to SportsBackers Stadium, as the half mile race was set to go off earlier than had been anticipated.   It was an overcast, sometimes rainy day, but Landau got to the venue in 10 minutes, at exactly the same time as Allen’s parents, and they cheered lustily as the racers lined up.  When the gun went off, the rain held, the wind was not too severe, and a good, clean race ensued.  Cheering, “Run like you stole something,” and “Make your Momma proud,” and “Use your arms and lean into the turn,” the high schooler’s multi-sport fan kept up the noise for both laps around the track.  David Allen was in the middle of the pack in the fastest heat, and was moving up at the end of the race.  His time ?  UNDER TWO MINUTES.  His parents, coaches, fans and friends were thrilled.  What impressed fellow runner Landau was the fact that David Allen could run a sub-2 minute half and then stop at the finish line without keeling over or having to continue running.  When Landau finishes any hard race of any distance, he has to keep jogging.  Stopping “on a dime” is something he finds impossible to do.  Congratulations to David Allen on his superb race in Richmond and good luck at college.

Bikers get ready tosort themselves into groups 1-5 & start out on a Thursday night Reston Bike Club ride in Herndon

Instead of riding with the Reston Bike Club tonight, Doug Landau went, cowbell and bicycle helmets in hand, to speak to the assembled cyclists about safety, crashes, speeding, stopping and avoiding peleton accidents and car crashes.  Landau showed the bikers smashed helmets from cases he has won on behalf of injured cyclists and asked them to keep their speed reasonable on the W&OD Trail, where pedestrians, strollers, joggers and bladders would be foreseeably encountered.

The ABRAMS LANDAU sports injury lawyer furthermore suggested that the faster bike riders use the Trail portion of the evening workout as their “warm up” before hitting speeds of 20-30 mph on the open roads of Loudoun County.  While other cyclists and runners had talked about “near misses” and accidents on the Trail, Landau was willing to “bell the cat.”  The Triathlon Trial Lawyer was thanked for his remarks by the Reston Bike Club President and other safety conscious bikers.  While sports injury lawyer Landau will not likely ever win a popularity contest among competitive road cyclists nor a bicyclists’ fashion show, safety on the roads and trails of Herndon is important.  These popular Thursday night rides start within sight of the Landau Law Shop; so we hope that our friends and training partners will not have to use our first aid, nursing or other bike crash accident and injury related offerings.