TheAthletesLawyer

Loudoun, Fairfax and Leesburg bike injury lawyer Doug Landau at the Herndon Bicycle festival2 blocks from the Landau Law Shop on the corner of Station and Center Streets

Having had too many “close calls” with cars, trucks and vans that do not keep a safe following or passing distance, I was hopeful that the major piece of legislation supported by cyclists in this year’s Virginia legislative session was the bill that would require motorists to allow three feet when passing bicyclists.  This proposed legislation was spurred by a desire to bring the Code of Virginia in line with contemporary safe separation practices.  In addition, cycling advocacy groups like the Virginia Bicycling Federation had hoped to make some progress in addressing incidents in recent years where Virginia’s criminal justice system turned its back on bikers.  Recent posts about bicycle riders who have been struck, ridden off the road, injured and knocked unconscious and then ticketed, charged and prosecuted suggest that cyclists in the Commonwealth are at risk on the roads, the courts AND the legislature.  As stated in the Virginia Bike Organization’s web site, “If you think that running over a bicyclist or pedestrian is illegal in Virginia, think again. The above legislation would not have totally fixed this, but the changes would have helped.”

The Senate version of the bill, SB566, passed by a vote of 40-0. The House version, HB1068, made it out of the Transportation Committee, but in the full House it was defeated on a partisan vote.  All the Republican delegates voted against the bill, including Del. Rust from Herndon who had earlier voted for the bill in committee.  The W&OD Trail goes through the heart of Herndon, and the Reston Bike Club Thursday night rides start and end in the center of the Historic Downtown District of Herndon.  There are bikers constantly getting on and off this wonderful Trail.  For the Delegate from the Town of Herndon to not be a proponent of bike safety flies in the face of reason.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau appreciates the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (”FABB”) MARCH-APRIL 2010 FABB News

See the Virginia Bicycle Federation analysis of the issues involved and some of the reasons for the bill’s failure this year.

Winter sports and traumatic brain injury lawyer Doug Landau notes increasing use of helmets by skiers, snowboarders and other cold weather sports enthusiasts

It used to be rare to see helmets on the slopes; snowboarders, skiers thought they were “uncool, dorky,” and for wimps.  But serious injury and stylish helmet design have caused those wearing head protection to be in the majority.  Winter sports injury lawyer Doug Landau noticed all colors of helmets during recent trips to New England ski, snowboard and tubing hills.  Commending the increase in winter sports head protection, Landau hopes that the increasing use of helmets will lead to a concomitant decrease in traumatic brain injury and head trauma in injured winter athletes.

According to NBC Sports, Helmets, one of the fastest growth areas in the snowsports industry, have moved over the hump and are no longer considered too niche or dorky for the masses. Safety is the driving reason to wear them, of course, but improved styling and comfort may be what make them a no-brainer.  “In the last couple of years, you see a big movement toward helmets — it just makes sense,” says Ted Ligety, the U.S. Olympic skier who has been sporting a bright orange helmet in Vancouver. “I started wearing a helmet when I was 4 years old. I feel super naked if I’m not wearing a helmet. My parents did a good job engraining it in my head.”  Wearing helmets for recreational skiing and snowboarding often starts with the kids, and then parents.
To read the rest of the news report.

Tomorrow’s post about a winter athlete who sustained a career ending brain injury (”TBI”) struck a note with me, as I and my family members have had several serious winter sports injuries.  While this TriathlonTrialLawyer has never ridden in a bobsled or luge, I spent many winter days, when I wasn’t making money shoveling driveways, sledding, bobsledding, skiing and discing in the snows of Jersey and New England.

Injury lawyer Doug Landau's broken bones healed after his sledding crash

One incident stands out.  My best friend and I had fashioned a “bobsled run” along our neighbor’s horse fence.  We had used the natural snow built up along the fence as a “wall” and built up snow on the other side to create our own “Olympic Bobsled Course.”  We were always concocting “Olympic Games” of our own, with unique events and creative scoring !  We did the run several times, and found that the higher up on the hill we started, the faster our top speed at the end.  So we started our last run above the “tube” that we had made and the sled had created.  Our sled took off, with me in front, my feet between he chains, and instead of following the tracks, we veered outside the course and smashed into our neighbor’s horse fence.  My friend’s body weight slammed into me, and our combined mass broke the bones in my lower leg.  Only I did not know it at the time !  The fence was electric, and I received a jolt of enough electricity to stop a horse.  When my buddy ran for help, I rolled off the sled and buried my leg in the snow, so it was doubly “numbed.”  I even got back on the sled and rode down to get a lift home !  That week, we thought it was a bone bruise, and I was pushed around the house i a chair that slid over the smooth carpet.  When I finally tried to stand, the leg would not support my weight and I fell.  We then went to see an orthopedic surgeon, and I was eventually casted, given crutches and healed over that winter.

So what became of the 2 “geniuses” who got into this crash ? One became a lawyer for people injured and disabled as the result of broken bones, crashes and sports injuries and the other a superb doctor, scientific researcher and the Chief of Rounds at Brown University Hospital.

Loudoun, Fairfax and Leesburg brain injury lawyer Doug Landau and former DC Trial Lawyers Association President Charles Parsons attend the annual Association for Justice Convention in San Francisco in order to learn more about head injuries, neurocognitive research and neurorehabilitation

In his continuing efforts to help those with traumatic brain injury (”TBI”) and disabled from head trauma, Herndon Reston lawyer Doug Landau receives and reviews materials from the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Brain Injury Services, the Brain Injury Association and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Brain Injury Retreat. The NRH Press latest book offering is “Managing Brain Injury: A Guide to Living Well with Brain Injury.” This is the fourth book in a series of useful guides to help people face the challenge of life following brain injury. The NRH guide is intended to help make sense of the roller coaster ride of emotional and physical changes that can overwhelm patients and health care providers. To order this helpful book, visit NRH Rehab or call 202-877-1776

Actress Natasha Richardson died after suffering a head bump that seemed no worse than those that my son had as a child when he would jump or crash into hard objects. After Richardson’s death, the question on a lot of minds is what distinguishes one kind of head trauma from another–and how you can tell before it’s too late. According to the TIME magazine Health report, head injuries are very common–with some 1.5 million in the U.S. last year. While many injuries to the head are superficial and short-lived, many others have long-term and even permanent consequences. The signs of a serious blow to the head include:

• headache that gets worse,
• confusion,
• disorientation,
• vomiting,
• slurred speech,
• sleepiness,
• a droopy eye,
• clumsiness, and
• any kind of amnesia.

The signs of traumatic brain injury can be subtle. “They gradually progress,” says Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, director of the neuroscience critical-care unit at Duke University. “Then suddenly it gets to the critical point that a person can’t be woken up.” Clients family members tell me that the signs and symptoms are not always obvious.

The outlook for a patient depends in part on acting fast: call 911 or drive the victim to the hospital; do not wait to reach your own doctor. The rest turns on the type of injury. Richardson died of an epidural hematoma, an accumulation of blood between the skull and dura, the tough tissue covering the brain. A subdural hematoma is blood between the dura and brain. Both injuries have a mortality rate of about 50%. Intracerebral bleeding, which occurs within the brain, is even more serious. “Patients get redlined to surgery in 15 to 30 minutes” if they have any of these injuries, says Dr. Neil Martin, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at UCLA.

Other head injuries include skull fractures, which can lead to brain bleeding, and concussions, which typically don’t–but which can lead to swelling and potentially permanent brain damage. As a general rule, doctors say that any head injury should be treated within the so-called golden hour after it occurs. In some cases, hospitalization and drugs may resolve the problem.

This was the crux of a notice Loudoun, Fairfax and Leesburg brain injury lawyer Doug Landau received in Charlottesville while preparing for the appeal of a brain injury case.

The Stroke Association wants people to know that strokes are the #3 killer in this country, yet many people don’t even know what they are. They don’t know that more of the brain can be saved if a stroke is detected and treatment is received immediately. Strokes begin when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked or bursts. Blow flow is cut off. Tissue is starved for oxygen, and parts of the brain die. If not treated quickly, abilities and productive life can be lost. Learn to spot the warning signs of a stroke or call 1-888-4-STROKE, and act quickly. Your brain is your most prized possession. Guard it with your life.

While riding his bicycle eastbound on Clarendon Boulevard, just past the intersection with Edgewood Street, another innocent biker was struck by a careless motorist today.  The cyclist was in the designated bicycle lane, as was the case with our client who was injured by a taxi turning into the Starbucks. See post.

In the area of this bike crash there are two lanes of eastbound traffic, then the bike lane, then a parking lane to the right. The parking lane was filled with parked cars so the cyclist was blocked to the right, and traffic was moving on the left. Suddenly, and without any warning, the BMW swerved from the traffic lane, across the bike lane, trying to get into a set of two open parking spots (So as to drive through the rear of the two and park in the forward one, without having to back up into a spot).

The BMW cut the biker off and flipped the cyclist over his handlebars.  Striking the cement, the cyclist had injuries to his face, hands, elbows and leg.  Eye witnesses immediately called the police and an ambulance.  The BMW driver was ticketed at the scene, but as many drivers well know, this does not mean that he will be found guilty, convicted or made to pay any restitution.  The biker has lacerations on his face, pain and difficulty seeing.  In addition, his bicycle sustained damage that will form the basis of a property damage claim.  Everyone at ABRAMS LANDAU wishes the innocent cyclist a speedy recovery.  We hope that he is able to get back “in the saddle” soon and resume his enjoyable cycling.  If you, or someone you know, has been injured while riding their bike, please call us or e-mail us at once.  Experienced bicycle crash lawyer Dog Landau notes that “after the Traffic Court trials, it is very hard to properly investigate and prepare these claims for successful resolution.”

When a friend showed up at the offices of ABRAMS LANDAU after an adult ice hockey match with a fractured orbit and impressive shiner, Ashburn and Reston sports injury lawyer Doug Landau looked into the injury, frequency and steps to prevent such head and facial trauma.

Orbital blowout fractures are cracks or breaks in the facial bones surrounding the “socket” that houses the eyeball. Orbital fractures of the facial ones surrounding the eye can result from such blunt trauma as getting hit by an ice hockey stick, puck or opponent’s elbow. Blows to the face and head can result in concussion, loss of consciousness and orbital fractures and eye injury. Wearing face masks has dramatically reduced the risk of eye injuries, including orbital lacerations and facial fractures. In players wearing partial or no protection, eye trauma resulting from a stick, puck, or elbow can cause hyphema, orbit fracture, retinal detachment, or globe rupture. According to The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine, no blinding eye injury has ever been reported in a hockey player wearing full facial protection.

Total head and face protection is essential for any collision sport. In ice hockey, the risk of eye injury is not so much from collision as from a flying puck. The use of face masks in amateur ice hockey in Canada led to a 66 percent reduction in eye injuries, as reported in the Textbook of Orthpaedics, Trauma & Sports Medicine

Bottom line: players should wear head and face protection in ice hockey games and practices in order to prevent eye, face and head injury.

The Annual Goblin Gallop at Fairfax Corner feature a fast field, with Masters road runners showing late season running speed in this popular race.  Linda Foley, Steve Robinson and Neal Reimenschneider  (shown here with Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau).  Reimenschneider was the co-director of the hugely popular Winchester Triathlon and he still puts on and covers a number of events in the Shenandoah Valley area while still racing at a high competitive level.  Both Reimenschneider and Landau copped Age Group Awards.  The Goblin Gallop 5km raises funds for the non-profit John Quadrino Foundation, which helps families fighting childhood cancer.  The Foundation responds to grant requests made by health care professionals on behalf of patients’ families.

"Mr. Incredible" (a.k.a. "Super Lawyer" Doug Landau) and exceptionally fit international W&OD Trail skate tourists in Herndon

International skate tourists rolling over the W&OD Trail from Maryland and D.C. and a “Super Hero” “Super Lawyer” were both spotted in downtown Herndon at Great Harvest. A couple from Denmark have been incredibly skating the famous trail, covering more miles than most cyclists ! And Herndon injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau, who was once again named to the region’s list of “Super Lawyers,” celebrated Halloween as “Mr. Incredible.” Mrs. Landau made his costume (as well as her “Mrs. Incredible” outfit for their daughter’s high school’s annual costume parade !). The staff at ABRAMS LANDAU would not let “the big guy” get out of “uniform,” so he spent the day visiting with clients, much to the delight of their children.

In addition to this being a “causal dress day,” the staff was treated to chair massages by client Dee Schools, who has her own wonderful practice and comes to offices and private homes in order to make people (and “Super heroes”) feel better and return to work reinvigorated and relaxed. We know that everyone at ABRAMS LANDAU enjoyed her skills and spirit.