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donahoekearney.com
July 2020
DON’T PUT YOUR EYE OUT — FUN WITH FIREWORKS A Different Celebration for a Different Era
For countless reasons that would fill far more than one newsletter, the late 1970s was a different era — to put it mildly — but a great time to be a kid. Few days of my childhood years made that more apparent than the Fourth of July. When I was a kid, my friends and I chose to honor our great nation’s independence by blowing things up starting around 9 a.m. How exactly we got our hands on some of the fireworks we had back then, I can’t really divulge. But a friend of mine was like an international arms dealer of firecrackers. We used to build a lot of models when I was a kid and build forts to play war games with them (because mothers didn’t allow their kids to be in the house during the day, which was a universal neighborhood law). Model ships, model airplanes, model tanks … you name it, and we probably built it, mostly to blow it up with firecrackers on the Fourth. If we had done stuff like that any day besides the Fourth of July, we would have been labeled as juvenile delinquents. But on July 4th, it was downright patriotic. Our poor mothers probably didn’t realize the full extent of what we were doing but figured they had it covered when they yelled, “Don’t put your eye out!” as we rode off on our bikes. Suspect grammar aside, we heeded that warning. No one ever lost an eye or a finger. We took it seriously by carefully stuffing the models with firecrackers like they were kamikaze planes, lighting a fuse and running away. Another way my friends and I got creative with our Fourth of July explosives was by sticking bottle rockets inside glass Coke bottles and lighting them off to, in theory, send them careening through the sky. Sometimes, however, the Coke bottle would tip over and shoot in another, less ideal direction, like at Mr. Hinchey’s roof, causing panicked screams of “Run!” which we all obeyed, never looking back (Mr. Hinchey had grown daughters and no patience for 11- and 12-year-old boys with explosives and poor aim).
As dangerous as some of this stuff was, however, the mo ther of all firecrackers on the Fourth of July was the (very likely illegal) M80s we would occasionally get our hands on. If some of my childhood friends were to be believed — and I’m not saying that they should be — an M80 was equivalent to one-eighth of a stick of dynamite. Even though that probably wasn’t true, I do remember those M80s making a pretty big boom when we dropped them in a sewer drain. By the time it was dark, we all headed back to our houses to watch some neighborhood dads put on a firework show, which, given the amount of drinking involved, were probably more dangerous than our blowing things up ourselves. I’m surprised no one ever got hurt with those fireworks, except for one guy who lit a firecracker and threw it from his porch, thinking that the fuse was long enough to delay the explosion until it was safely out of range. It wasn’t. Instead, it blew up and reverberated on the porch, giving him some minor hearing damage and some major teasing from the other dads every year after that. Today’s home fireworks and bigger fireworks displays are more controlled and not super dangerous, which is probably a good thing. As a dad myself, I would light off fireworks with other dads for the neighborhood kids, but we always had hoses and water buckets, and only responsible, sober dads lighting the fireworks with kids sitting a safe distance away. It was all totally legit, safe, and legal. But never quite as exciting … Happy Fourth, and if you have to watch fireworks on TV this year, at least you won’t put your eye out. -Frank Kearney
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240-621-0559 rad@reginademeo.com
Resolving Family Tension and Conflict When You’re Stuck at Home
Donahoe Kearney
WEBINAR: FAMILY IN QUARANTINE WITH REGINA DEMEO
Like many of you, Donahoe Kearney has been taking the time during quarantine to branch out and do new things. Many of you have tuned into our webinar series, and here’s a good one in case you missed it. Frank interviewed local family law attorney Regina DeMeo about a lot of the things people have been dealing with recently — especially family tension and conflict at home during quarantine. We had a fantastic time. The interview with Regina was casual, and we learned a lot about how to navigate relationships during the constant togetherness of quarantine. They gave great advice to help manage the stress that’s been brought on by COVID and the rapid changes we’ve all had to grapple with. And, of course, we had to get into some family law! Separation and divorce are difficult any time, but especially now. For people who are separated, divorced, or dealing with custody issues, we got into some do’s and don’ts. For example, you could get into big trouble if you violate a custody agreement. Even if courts are more or less closed, it will still catch up with you!
Frank asked Regina a few pointed questions about how she thinks the family law legal scene will change in the long term because of COVID-19. Regina suspects that the technology is here to stay; for the first time ever, uncontested divorces are being handled by phone. We are seeing similar trends in our cases. Formal hearings in workers’ comp cases are now being held via WebEx, and we are teaching our clients how to testify by video (the subject of a recent webinar with award-winning photo journalist and video storyteller Jerry Santos). You should definitely check out the entire webinar on Donahoe Kearney’s YouTube channel, especially if you are dealing with some family issues right now. And of course, if you have questions about workers’ compensation, car accidents, long- term disability, or medical malpractice, we have a lot of great video content on those subjects. You can find us on YouTube by searching for Donahoe Kearney or visiting YouTube.com/user/ DonahoeKearney.
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CONGRATULATIONS CORNER ALEJANDRO ROBERTS
Alejandro Roberts is a client for life. We’ve known him for 20 years now, so it’s official, and he knows he can call us for anything. He’s one of those people who says, “ Let me call my guy, Frank.” So, when he was hit on the way to drop his son off at school last fall, he called us right away. We resolved his case quickly, and we were thrilled to send him his settlement check within six months of the accident. We’ve had the pleasure of helping some of his friends and family, too, and we appreciate the trust of a personal referral.
from college football to social justice. He’s been a social worker in some form or another for many years. He's worked with psychiatric patients, at-risk kids, and older adults on a wide variety of issues. His most recent work is as a residential coordinator for seniors at a local housing opportunity commission. Most of all, he is a committed family man. He has one of the absolute best family photos of all time, taken at Easter a few years ago. As any parent will attest, that he got all those kids looking so perfect at exactly the same time is a true parenting miracle.
Mr. Roberts is outspoken, with thoughtful takes on a lot of important subjects,
Congratulations, Alejandro!
BROOKE BIRKEY’S FAVORITE PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM BURGERS
Recipe from The Food Network
One of my favorite things about the summer is that Aldi starts carrying large portobello mushroom caps again! You can make these portobello mushroom burgers baked or on the grill. Yields 4 servings.
INGREDIENTS •
4 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• • • • •
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
4 oz mild blue cheese, room temperature
• • •
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 oz spinach leaves (about 5 cups)
5 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 burger buns, toasted
DIRECTIONS 1. Lay mushrooms on greased baking sheet with gill sides up. Whisk together garlic, sherry, 2 tbsp oil, and 2 tsp salt. Pour the mixture over the mushrooms. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. 2. Preheat oven to 400 F. Divide cheese evenly among marinated mushroom caps. Roast until mushrooms are fork-tender and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve any cooking juices in the pan.
3. Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil over high heat. Add onion and cook until charred and tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and reserved cooking juices from mushrooms. Cook until spinach wilts. Season with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. 4. Place the mushrooms on the buns and top with the spinach and onions.
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TONIQ́ MARSHALL WINNER OF THE NOMINATE A HERO CONTEST
Thanks to everyone who nominated a hero — someone who was helping others even though affected by the shutdown — through our Facebook page and email contest. Our winner is a young lady named Toniq́ Marshall, who was nominated by her mother, Erica Marshall. Here’s what Erica had to say about her daughter: Toniq́ Marshall is a very giving and caring young lady who dedicates her time between offering great service at Clyde's as a waitress and caring for her paraplegic brother. Toniq́ was once a college student but dropped out to care for her grandmother who suffered a stroke. She didn’t want her grandmother to wake up in a nursing home. The COVID-19 pandemic has truly affected the family finances. She has been out of work since March 12. Although I cannot provide money to her at this time, Toniq́ is a young lady who never complains and has a heart of gold, and that is why I feel she should be chosen. Turns out Toniq́ is just as lovely as her mother said! Toniq́ lives in Maryland with her brother, Torian, who just turned
31. When asked how she came by her heart of gold, as her mother put it, Toniq́ explained she has always enjoyed taking care of other people. Right now, she’s in her last year of school studying business management and enjoys interior design, party planning, and makeup, which she does for family and friends. She also loves visiting her grandmother. Toniq́ worked at Clyde’s in Georgetown, a real Washington institution, but like so many restaurant workers, she was furloughed in March. She says Clyde’s is wonderful; she loves the customers and learns something new every day. One of the great things about her job is seeing the regulars whom she loves, especially Tim, an older gentleman who visits her during lunch Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With a smile in her voice, Toniq́ explained that Tim has been coming to Clyde’s since the 1970s and always asks to sit in her section. Toniq́ didn’t know her mom had nominated her, which made it even more fun to give her the $100 gift certificate to Chick-fil-A. Congrats, Toniq́ !
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‘DEEPWATER HORIZON’ M O V I E R E V I E W
Who can forget the 2010 oil spill from rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast? The Deepwater Horizon rig was owned by a company called Transocean, which was hired as a contractor with British Petroleum (BP). The oil juggernaut had been steadily gaining power, money, and influence all over the world, and like the insurance companies we deal with every day, BP was more concerned with paying dividends to shareholders than it was with the safety of its rigs, platforms, and workers . At $500,000 a day and 40-plus days behind schedule, the rig was not cheap to lease. The Deepwater Horizon spill, like a lot of the injuries we see at Donahoe Kearney, was entirely preventable. At the beginning of the film, BP oil executives were shown meeting with a Transocean worker, Jimmy Harrell, who warned them about the state of disrepair of the rig. Harrell had to fight with the oil executives to run a much-needed test on the integrity of the cement because of concerns about the pressure that can routinely build up on the oil drill. Unfortunately, the oil executives decided to move forward with the drilling even though the pressure test was ambiguous. And that decision had horrific consequences. As the greed of the executives propelled the oil mission forward, the pressure that had been building on the drill resulted in a “blowout.” Pressurized gas, oil, mud, and water escaped from the well and traveled up the drill pipe, expanding, igniting, and exploding. A mechanical failure aboard the rig meant that the blowout could not be contained. And the whole rig exploded. It was an enormous tragedy resulting in the deaths of 11 men and the serious injury of 17 others. As a result of the explosion on the oil rig, millions of barrels of oil were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico and did untold damage to the environment, wildlife, and local economy.
The oil executives who pushed for moving forward with drilling despite safety concerns were initially charged with manslaughter, but those charges were later pleaded down to a violation of the Clean Water Act and an assessment of billions in fines. When a worker is injured or dies on the job, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits or death benefits from the workers’ compensation insurance company.
Since BP was a third-party contractor, the injured worker and their families were able to file a civil suit directly against BP for their negligence. At Donahoe Kearney, we see cases like this on construction sites or sometimes on the road: If third parties, like BP, are negligent and cause a worker’s injury, they can be held responsible. There is no happy ending for the Deepwater Horizon story. The spill had huge and long-lasting effects on many people and the local economy; seemingly everyone except for BP struggled to survive the terrible accident. But the movie was very well-done. They did a great job of framing the issues, portraying the characters, and remaking the scene of the explosion and mayhem. I highly recommend the film — if you have a chance, check it out!
-Brooke Birkey
WARNING ABOUT YOUR CAR INSURANCE
We’re predicting more and more drivers out there will be decreasing the amount of insurance coverage they have or won’t be able to pay for it at all as the economy gets worse. Plus, everyone seems to have forgotten how to drive during the shutdown. We have a number of cases where people have serious injuries and need expensive medical treatment, but the accidents were caused by drivers with limited insurance coverage. The only thing you can do to protect yourself from these drivers is increase your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage
on your auto policy. This coverage is usually not very expensive and pays for the damages if you’re hit
by an uninsured driver or one with limited coverage. So, check your auto policy and review it with your insurance agent or company. And if you’re reading this newsletter, we already have a connection, so we’re happy to review your insurance coverage with you or answer any insurance question you have — just ask! No charge, of course, and totally confidential.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Don’t Put Your Eye Out — Fun With Fireworks
2
Family in Quarantine With Regina DeMeo
3
Congratulations Corner: Alejandro Roberts
Portobello Mushroom Burgers
4
Toniq́ Marshall Is Our Hero
5
‘Deepwater Horizon’ Movie Review
Warning About Your Car Insurance
6
Frank’s Column: Keep Reaching Out
FRANK’S COLUMN Keep Reaching Out
One of the unintended side effects of the coronavirus and social distancing was that it gave us all a chance to reach out to people we hadn’t seen in a while or who needed us. Many people had more time or were quickly focused on what was important because of the economic downturn, health concerns, or just by having so much change so quickly. And most of us don’t realize how powerful that is. I heard from many of you I hadn’t talked to in years, and I loved it. We don’t know what will happen next — hopefully nothing, but let’s keep the one side effect that will help us all, no matter the situation. Keep reaching out to your
relatives, friends, and neighbors (and, yes, even your lawyers). Unless they owe you money, people want to hear from you!
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