Take a look at our newsletter this month.
JANUARY 2019 KunkelCase Files 800-467-5272 • www.KunkelLawFirm.com • GKunkel@KunkelLawFirm.com
FROM THE DESK OF
Gregory Kunkel, Esq.
As I write this month’s column, we are quickly
approaching the end of 2018 and anticipating the joys and challenges that the new year will bring. On a personal note, 2019 will mark my 31st year as a practicing attorney, and the sixth year since Kunkel Law Firm was established. I have been honored to represent clients throughout western Pennsylvania in workers’ compensation and social security disability cases this past year, and look forward to continuing to provide quality legal representation to injured and disabled workers in 2019. It is incredibly gratifying to help individuals, who have been struck down by injury or illness, obtain the benefits they are entitled to receive under the law. Most of all, I would like to thank our clients for the confidence with which they continue to anchor to our firm. I am especially honored and
Learning to drive is a rite of passage for teenagers, but it’s also a frightening time for parents. The child you’ve raised and loved since the moment they were born is about to get behind the wheel of a machine that contributes to 33 percent of all teenage deaths, according to DoSomething.org. You have every right to be terrified, and just like your parents did when you were growing up, you will have to let your child go. However, there are ways to help keep your teen — and the people around them — safe. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, distracted driving is the No. 1 cause of serious accidents among teens, and their age group is already more likely to speed and to ride without their seat belts fastened. Your child may be a responsible teenager, but don’t assume they will have the willpower to ignore their phone. Here are a few ways you can educate your child about safe driving and ignoring distractions. ROADWOES Help Your Teen Create Safe Driving Habits Have you ever caught yourself making a sandwich the same way your dad did or saying the exact same things to your children your mom used to say to you? That’s because we all inevitably pick up on our parents’ tendencies and traits, and your driving habits will likely be repeated by your kids. To lead by example, put your phone in your purse or center console. If you use your phone for GPS, install a phone stand in a safe location on your dashboard and turn your phone on airplane mode once you set your destination. Your phone’s GPS will work MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO
grateful for the trust so many of you have given in referring family and friends in their time of need. I wish all of our clients and friends a happy and prosperous 2019.
-Gregory
Continued on page 2 ...
Social Security Disability • Worker’s Compensation • Employment Rights
www.KunkelLawFirm.com • 1
... Cover story, continued
without cell service, and you won’t be distract- ed by pinging messages.
versation, the less your rule feels like the law, and the more it becomes a compromise.
giving them the freedom and privacy they yearn for and deserve.
You can even include your children on your mission to avoid distractions. If you’re driving and hear your phone going off, ask them to respond to the messenger or caller for you. If you’re traveling, emphasize safe snacking at a rest stop or in a restaurant, and keep yourselves entertained with a variety of car games, pod- casts, or audiobooks. Your kiddos will see your effort, and they’ll pick up your safe habits. Your child may have heard about the dan- gers of distracted driving, but make sure you confide in them about your own worries and make your rules clear. Talk to them about the dangers of all varieties of distracted driving, like putting on makeup or eating behind the wheel. If they feel they have to get ready or eat in the car, discuss ways their schedule might need to be cleared up. They might also have ideas for cutting out distractions in the car, so get their opinion. The more you include them in the con- ‘WE NEEDTOTALK’
Some kids respond better to statistics about multitasking and distracted driving, so check out DMV.org, DoSomething.org, or TeenDriver- Source.org. Additionally, local law enforcement agencies or hospitals may offer simulations and classes on distracted driving. These are activi- ties your whole family could participate in. Your child has a right to privacy, but they still need your parental guidance. There are a variety of apps you can install to make sure they’re keeping up their end of the driving bargain. Apps like LifeSaver, AT&T DriveMode, and TrueMotion Family all have a variety of features for parents, and they are compatible with iOS and Android devices. Some insurance companies also offer monitoring devices that can be installed in your teen’s car, if that’s more your speed. Regardless of what you choose, technology can give you an unassum- ing way to monitor your children while still TRACK THEM
Before you hand over the keys, take a look at your teen’s habits — and your own. Communi- cating your expectations and setting up these safety nets will give you more peace of mind as they drive away.
A Message of Universal Love Commemorating MLK Jr.
Inmany of his speeches and sermons, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about love. He wasn’t talking about the romantic kind, though. King often used the term “agape,” an Ancient Greek word used to refer to the unconditional love of God for man, to talk about universal love for all people, regardless of race, religion, or circumstance. We commemorate King on Jan. 21. It’s a celebration and a National Day of Service, so take the opportunity to honor King’s message of universal love. Here are three ways to put agape into practice. 1. PAY AVISIT TO A HISTORICAL SITE. Immerse yourself in King’s message this month 2. EDUCATE YOURSELF
else’s shoes, like Maya Angelou’s“I KnowWhy the Caged Bird Sings,”or Rebecca Skloot’s“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” 3. SHARE THE MESSAGE OF NONVIOLENCE AND GIVE BACK TOYOUR COMMUNITY. At the center of King’s message was the principle of nonviolence. Consider how you can advocate for nonviolence in your community. You could donate your time or money to a local shelter for victims of abuse, or volunteer your home to foster abandoned pets. If you’re part of a PTA or another school organization, encourage students to put an end to bullying. The Mix It Up program has anti-bullying lessons and activities that support King’s message. Take some time to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision this month and take part in the universal message of love. Don’t we all want more of that?
AND OTHERS ABOUT THE STRUGGLES PEOPLE HAVE FACED. Learning about the experiences of others cultivates empathy. When you interact with someone across cultural or subcultural
by visiting the places where these historic events occurred. Our nation is full of opportunities to become better acquainted with the
boundaries, it helps to reduce prejudice. Promote positive interactions in your community by hosting a film night or book club focused on the civil rights movement. You can feature a movie like“Selma”or “13th.”For a book club, select an autobiography or biography that puts yourself in someone
birth of the civil rights movement, from the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to Selma, Alabama, where protest marches were held in 1965. After all, if we don’t know our past, we are doomed to repeat it.
2 • 800-467-5272
Social Security Disability • Worker’s Compensation • Employment Rights
Putting the ‘Pain’ in Champagne Spontaneously Ejecting Cork Causes Lawsuit
For many people, preparing for the New Year’s countdown is the most exhilarating part of the holiday season. You tune your TV to the Times Square ball drop, hand out party hats, confetti, and noisemakers, and meticulously line up some champagne flutes. What’s left to do? Pop open the champagne! There are many partiers who pop the cork with enthusiastic and careless abandon, while others point the bottle away from their faces and anxiously twist the cork until they hear those bubbles surge to the surface. Turns out, while the latter practice may be slightly less fun, it’s certainly the safer approach. On April 8, 1978, Charles J. Murray was injured when a natural cork stopper spontaneously ejected from a bottle of previously unopened Almaden Blanc de Blancs champagne and struck him in the left eye. He was preparing to serve the bubbly to a party of 40 people, so he placed 12 bottles on a rolling cart and removed the foil and wire retainer from three or four bottles — including the one that eventually injured him. Once he started to roll the cart toward the guests, the cork shot out of the bottle all on its own. Due to the severity of his injury, Murray sued Almaden Vineyards, Inc., National Distillers and Chemical Corporation, and Carbo, Inc., alleging that they were responsible because they failed to include a proper warning label on the bottle. The defendants, however, argued that the cork stopper
did not and could not spontaneously eject unless Murray had handled the bottle improperly. The case was argued by both sides for two years, but eventually, Murray won. Almaden Vineyards now prints the following on its bottles: “WARNING: THIS BOTTLE IS UNDER PRESSURE. THE STOPPER WILL
EJECT SOON AFTER THE WIRE HOOD REMOVAL. TO PROTECT AGAINST INJURY TO FACE AND EYES, POINT AWAY FROM SELF AND OTHERS WHEN OPENING.” When it comes to bubbly-induced mayhem, the greatest potential trouble lies in the eye of the beholder — literally. With an estimated velocity of 60 miles per hour, uncontrolled corks do in fact fly faster than the blink of an eye. To avoid having to explain a not-so- fashionable eye patch at work on Monday, handle those fizzy drinks with care.
Take a Break!
CHICKEN CHOP SUEY
Ingredients
•
2 large or 4 medium chicken thighs
•
2 teaspoons sugar
•
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 tablespoons water
•
3 pounds bok choy, cut into 3–4-inch ribbons
•
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
•
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
•
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
•
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. In large pot, boil three cups of water. Add chicken and reduce to simmer, cooking for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool. Once cooled, remove skin and bones, chop, and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquid. 2. In a large skillet over high heat, heat vegetable oil. Once simmering, add bok choy and cook for 1 minute, stirring throughout. Add half of reserved cooking liquid, cover skillet, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer bok choy to a plate. 3. Add remaining cooking liquid and chicken to the pan, maintaining high heat. Heat chicken, then add oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch-and-water mixture, sesame oil, and bok choy. Season to taste, toss together, and serve over rice.
Recipe courtesy of The New York Times
Social Security Disability • Worker’s Compensation • Employment Rights
www.KunkelLawFirm.com • 3
Kunkel Law Firm 800-467-5272
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant Street, Suite 4300 Pittsburgh, PA 15219
INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Gregory Kunkel, Esq. PAGE 1 Talk to Your Teen About Distracted Driving PAGE 1 Put MLK Jr.’s Message of Love Into Practice PAGE 2 Watch Out for Rogue Champagne Corks This Year PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Chicken Chop Suey PAGE 3 The Best Skiing Destinations in the World PAGE 4 BRECKENRIDGE, COLORADO John Denver’s anthem“Rocky Mountain High”is about the freedomhe felt here. Where there are great mountains, there’s even better snow. The ski resort boasts five peaks, 187 trails, 34 lifts, four terrain parks, and a renowned cross-country trail. After a day on the slopes, head into the town of Breckenridge for dining and activities that ditch the glitz and glamour of Vail or Aspen and take you straight to the heart of fun. WHISTLER, BC, CANADA A destination that looks like a cross between Nordic paradise and Olympic-level runs, Whistler is filled with true magic, winter activities, and a town that captivates the senses. When you see the mountains of British Columbia, you’ll understand why they hosted the 2010Winter Olympics. The location’s beauty is only part of your stimulating experience, because every
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
3 OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST WINTER SPORT DESTINATIONS
Who’s Ready for Some Powder?
The sound of the first carve through fresh powder is the anthemof all winter sports enthusiasts. Here are three of the world’s best places to experience that powder you’ve been craving all year.
than the Tyrolean Alps. Nestled in a valley between perfectly moldedmountains, the Austrian landscape provides a beautiful backdrop for your winter excursions. The densely wooded areas and the bright reflection of the snow frame the vibrant town that’s just waiting to be explored. When you’re ready for world- class runs, hop in one of the 11 gondolas and zip down the hills that hosted the 2001 AlpineWorld Ski Championships.
curve of fresh powder makes your pupils dilate. Once you’re done flying down the hill where Bode Miller took the bronze, head over to the winter wonderland of the old Olympic Village for a cozy night in a picturesque town. ST. ANTON, AUSTRIA If you want a great location for next year’s Christmas card photo, there’s no better place
4 • 800-467-5272
Social Security Disability • Worker’s Compensation • Employment Rights
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter