As attorneys representing victims, we spend most of our time and energy thinking about our clients and their injuries. We investigate the negligence (usually just simple carelessness) that caused those injuries and we work hard to make sure our clients get the recovery they deserve. As a result, we often blog about the rights of victims and about issues important to the cause of helping those victims. This post is a little different. This post is about the unsung heroes: Physical therapists.

The American Physical Therapy Association describes physical therapy as "the science of healing and the art of caring." Physical therapists are the medical professionals who typically spend the most time with the patient managing the aftermath of an accident. They help broken bones to heal. They teach torn and twisted muscles to stretch and work again. They help cajole soft tissue out of inflammation and work hard to restore it to its original condition. They do more than simply treat the injury by rehabilitating the damage—physical therapists treat the pain, fear, and frustration that follows an accident by caring about their patients. We find that many of people we represent develop close relationships with their physical therapists. Most often, physical therapists are a source of support and understanding for the injured people they treat. The physical therapist helps the patients achieve maximum recovery.

But this is not all that a good physical therapist can do for you. Though the rules of evidence in a trial may prevent a physical therapist from testifying that the accident was the medical cause of a person’s injuries, they can still be critically important witnesses on behalf of victims. Physical therapists see first-hand the pain and discomfort which accidents can cause. They watch a patient struggle through the tedious and often painful process of recovery. A physical therapist can provide testimony that helps to frame a patient’s pain and suffering in medical terms using details and descriptions from the struggle that they witnessed first-hand. The limitations in use or range of motion of a shoulder, back, or knee are observed by the physical therapist. Also, a physical therapist can testify about a patient’s efforts and commitment to overcome the injuries. Because of their unique position, a physical therapist can play a critical role in defeating insurance company arguments that a patient is malingering (faking it), not trying to get better, or that the injuries are not that bad. Physical therapists see for themselves how difficult it can be to recover from injuries and as hands-on professionals they are in the best position to describe that truth to jurors.

If you find yourself with a serious orthopedic injury from an accident, you will likely go to physical therapy; it can be an important part of your recovery. If you do, please take a moment and thank your physical therapist for all of their tireless work on behalf of injured people.

Gerald Aloia was riding his motorcycle on October 22, 2006, when a Chevrolet Corvette struck him. The accident dramatically changed his life, leaving him paralyzed. However, a Lee County, Florida jury awarded him $44.9 million in his lawsuit against the late Deborah Veillux, the driver of the Corvette. Veillux, 45 years old at the time of the accident, died in 2007 of causes unrelated to the accident.

According to the lawsuit, Veillux was driving in Cape Coral, Florida when she struck Aloia on his motorcyle. The verdict represents one of the largest in the county’s history. However, both Gerald and his attorneys are unable to comment on the case because of pending post-trial matters.

Since the time of the accident, local motorcycle groups have held rallies to help Aloia and his daughter with medical bills and other related expenses. Aloia’s 20-year-old daughter, Holly, was also injured in a car accident right before her father and is working on her own rehabilitation. Both “Jerry” and Holly are wheelchair bound, however, they are described as “strong, resilient individuals”.

Harley-Davidson Inc. is recalling 111,569 motorcycles after discovering during testing that the motorcycles’ front fuel tank mounts may leak as a result of a front-end crash, creating a greater hazard for fuel leakage and subsequent ignition after a crash.

The recall affects motorcycles manufactured between June 6, 2008 and November 19, 2009. Furthermore, the recall also affects some 2009 and 2010 touring bikes including the CVO Touring and Trike models.

As part of the recall, dealers have agreed to install left and right front braces to reduce the amount of leakage that may occur as the result of a front-end crash. Consumers affected by the recall are eligible for the installation free-of-charge and may contact Harley Davidson for more information.

When most people think of motorcycle accidents, they picture mangled bikes and motorcyclists without helmets thrown off their vehicles. But sometimes, the victim of a motorcycle accident is the person in the other vehicle, as this story from Cincinnati shows:

The motorcyclist who hit and killed a woman as she pulled her 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier into her driveway Sunday night was doing “wheelies” just before the crash, according to a 911 phone call released Monday morning.

[The victim] was turning left into her driveway in the 7000 block of Ohio 128 just before 5 p.m. when a 1999 Honda 900 RR motorcycle headed in the same direction hit the driver’s side, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the motorcyclist was thankfully unhurt in this story, his reckless actions still cost an innocent woman her life. Apparently, this man had a history of reckless driving on his motorcyle; before this accident, he had been ticketed for speeding more than once, as well as driving an unsafe, overweight vehicle.

This story serves to teach us a very important lesson about road safety- there is never a good time to drive recklessly, and it's not always our own lives at stake. Even if you drive a small, seemingly harmless vehicle like a motorcycle, you can ruin your own life, or the lives of others, if you aren't careful. Weaving in and out of traffic, speeding, or just goofing around could be the last thing you ever do.

Two trucks and a motorcycle narrowly missed hitting cyclists near the Herndon Post Office and lumber yard because the drivers were distracted by the construction vehicles and signs. While the speed limit is only 25 mph in the vicinity of the 7-11 and the W&OD Trail, cars and trucks coming from Eldon Street are confronted with signs on both sides of the street, a new light configuration and heavy construction equipment at the lumber yard building project. Small bikes and riders coming from Reston are not easily seen as they head West. And, with the noise, dust and confusion, motorists are surprised when a cyclist comes across their path. If you are riding or training on your bike in the area of the W&OD Trail, be careful. Distracted cars, trucks and motorcyclists are confronted by new traffic patterns, vehicles turning into the Post Office and out of the 7-11 gas station and bank. It is a busy and dangerous area next to the trail used by bikers, joggers, walkers, roller bladers and skate boarders. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident on or near the W&OD Trail, e-mail or call ABRAMS LANDAU (703-796-9555) today.