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JANUARY 2023
Growing Together with You
This New Year’s Resolution Is for You Listen Up, Parents of Teens!
When I was a teenager, I got my driving practice in at my dad’s gas station. I drove hundreds of cars from the repair shop to the parking lot so customers could pick them up easily. I had one rule: “Don’t hit anything.” If there was an award for “World’s Best Back-in Parking Done by a 16-year-old,” I would have swept it! When I learned that January is National Teen Driving Awareness Month, it immediately brought back those memories. I wouldn’t change my experiences behind the wheel, but when I had kids of my own I didn’t give them as much leeway as my dad and mom gave me. I would never have let them drive a stranger’s car! Instead, Marjorie and I raised our four teen drivers with strict rules. 1. No texting and driving. If I caught one of the kids with the steering wheel in one hand and their cellphone in the other, they immediately lost their car and driving privileges! In fact, we asked the kids to put their phones in the back seat to avoid temptation. They were allowed to use hands-free calling, but that was it. No exceptions. 2. No alcohol. This should go without saying, but we had a zero- tolerance policy for alcohol in a car or drinking and driving. The consequences would be devastating. 3. No friends in the car for one year. We didn’t want our kids to be distracted by other teenagers horsing around in the back seat or asking them to film TikTok videos at red lights (yes, people really are that stupid). So, we required them to drive alone or with us for the first 12 months after getting their licenses. No exceptions. 4. No night driving without permission. Our kids had to earn the ability to drive at night. Every three months, they got to stay out a little bit later. Adjusting their freedom gradually helped them appreciate it and drive more carefully in the dark. Set a curfew and follow it. 5. “Find My Friends” must be on while you’re driving. We’re an iPhone family, and this app helped me and Marjorie keep track of
our kids while they were on the road. The kids didn’t mind doing it because it gave us peace of mind and would help us find them if anything happened. Maybe those rules seem like overkill to you, but they didn’t surprise our kids. I guess when you grow up hearing car wreck
horror stories from your personal injury attorney dad, you take the risks of driving seriously! I’ve handled a lot of car crash cases
involving teen drivers who either seriously hurt themselves or hurt/ killed other people. The Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition reports that “teen drivers were involved in approximately 911,483 crashes resulting in 3,833 fatalities and 364,095 serious injuries in 2019.” It tears me up inside to see bright young lives so badly messed up because of something that was preventable. When I’m behind the wheel, I always point out other drivers breaking the rules of the road. Texting while driving is the worst — the number of people who do it drives me bonkers! That’s why I taught my kids to protect themselves by driving defensively. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen drivers are more at risk in the car than any other age group, but that risk isn’t always their fault. As my dad liked to say, “Always expect other drivers to do something stupid.” If you’re a parent, it’s up to you to teach your kids how to drive safely and set a good example when it comes to things like texting. While they don’t always listen, they are always watching. Do me a favor and add those things to your list of New Year’s resolutions (and feel free to steal my rules). If some yo-yo wrecks your car and injures you or your teen driver, you know how to reach me! –Carmen Dellutri
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Our clients describe their motorcycles as sexy, a bit dangerous, part of their persona, therapeutic, and the list goes on. Florida is too beautiful a place to be stuck indoors, especially when it’s not blazing hot. There is no better way to see all that Florida has to offer than on the seat of a motorcycle with the sun and breeze in your face. Many towns even have “bike night” events to celebrate their riders. However, being a motorcyclist in the state of Florida certainly comes with its fair share of dangers. If you were to do a Google search for “motorcycle accidents in FL,” you would find pages and pages of news stories. No Florida county is safe from this either — Ocala, Marion County, Orlando, Sarasota, Bradenton, Crystal Springs, Polk County, Jacksonville, and Tampa are all listed on that page-one search (at least from the time we searched). We know if you kept looking, you’d find your own town or county. When a motorcycle accident occurs, the results are often catastrophic. Unlike in a typical auto accident, the motorcyclist doesn’t have the protections that the driver of a car would have. There is no steel frame, no front or side airbags, and no seat belt (or a cager, as riders call them). The only protection a motorcyclist has is (hopefully) a helmet and protective clothing. As a result, motorcyclists are susceptible to catastrophic injuries, like spinal cord injuries, brain trauma, severe road rash, broken bones, and more. No one wakes up, hops on their motorcycle, goes out for a ride, and expects to be in an accident. Still, even though motorcyclists may not expect to be involved in a crash, we know they are FLORIDA WINTER IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR RIDING
often diligent about keeping an eye out for danger. We have represented many motorcycle enthusiasts over the years, and they are alert and courteous drivers. But sadly, years of driving experience, driving defensively, and abiding by all traffic laws is not always enough to protect you from another motorist. In our office, many of our team have taken a firm-sponsored motorcycle accident scene management course in case they ever find themselves at the scene of an accident where they can assist until the professionals can take over. We also talk about what we do to protect the riders in our communities (besides representing them when they need us). One thing we have discussed with each other is that if we see a rider on the road, if we can, we will drive behind them. We know that we aren’t as distracted as some other drivers who aren’t sure where they are headed or maybe a new driver who has a false sense of overconfidence, or people who think it’s safe to text and drive. Because of this, we hope that we can potentially protect them better than one of those drivers might.
“I’m not sure I can put into words how incredible my experience was with this law group. I had the pleasure of speaking directly with Carmen, the owner of the firm. It is very clear to me that he is not afraid to fight for you, but above all … he is not afraid to fight for what is right. It is clear to me that he is passionate about his clients and what he does. I highly recommend Carmen and his assistant, Lori. “I will use them in any future endeavors that I may need!” –K.W. GOOGLE REVIEW — NOVEMBER 2022 Testimonial Our Clients Say It Best
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ATTORNEY SPOTLIGHT Meet Nico Meet our newest attorney, Dominico “Nico” Palma. Nico started at our office prior to becoming an attorney, and he has a fun story about his transition here at Dellutri Law Group. We have to start at the beginning to tell his story. When Nico isn’t busy at DLG, he’s also an officer in the Florida Army National Guard. After graduating from Ava Maria, he registered for the first test he could and passed his bar exam immediately. After passing, Carmen and some members of our team went with Nico to his swearing-in ceremony at the courthouse. He was sworn in on a Friday during business hours. That night, he was called into active duty by the Guard due to the upcoming Hurricane Ian. His first week as an attorney was spent in a uniform instead of a suit and tie. Nico, we are so proud. And THANK YOU for your service. We are so grateful!
Air Fryer Roasted Salmon With Sautéed Balsamic Spinach Inspired by TasteOfHome.com
This recipe is healthy, affordable, and quick to make on busy nights when you need dinner in a pinch!
INGREDIENTS
• 3 tsp olive oil, divided • 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each) • 1 1/2 tsp reduced- sodium seafood seasoning • 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 garlic clove, sliced • Dash of crushed red pepper flakes • 10 cups fresh baby spinach (about 10 oz) • 6 small tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
DIRECTIONS
What’s the Good News ? “Everything should be done in love.” CORINTHIANS 16:14 flakes. Heat over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. 4. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Cook until vinegar is reduced by half, then remove from heat. 5. Arrange spinach on serving dish. Place salmon over spinach mixture and drizzle with balsamic glaze. 1. Preheat air fryer to 450 F. Rub 1 tsp oil over both sides of salmon, then sprinkle with seafood seasoning and pepper. In a greased air fryer basket, place salmon. 2. Cook about 10–12 minutes until fish flakes easily. 3. In a 6-qt stockpot, place remaining oil, garlic, and pepper
A referral is the greatest gift we can receive from a client or fellow business! Last month we had ... • 32 referrals from friends, family, or previous clients • 41 returning clients for a new matter • 23 referrals from other attorneys • 6 referrals from doctors and other professionals • We sent out 104 referrals to our trusted referral partners. A Huge Thank-You to Our Referral Partners!
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Inside This Issue
1 Carmen’s Rules of the Road 2 Florida Winter Is the Perfect Time for Riding 2 Testimonial 3 Attorney Spotlight: Meet Nico 3 Air Fryer Roasted Salmon With Sautéed Balsamic Spinach 4 Weird Florida Laws
What In the Florida Man?!
In case you don’t already follow us on social media (for reasons we just can’t understand), this post was pretty funny and we wanted to share with you the most random Florida laws we could find. Did you know in Tampa you can’t eat cottage cheese after 6 p.m. on Sundays? True story. Find another cheese, Florida Man. We don’t play around with curdled milk here. Hey, hey, hey! We know that parking tickets can be annoying and finding a place to park your elephant can be even harder, but you CANNOT tie that elephant to a parking meter. Sorry, pal. Okay, this one is actually not true (according to anything we can find). It appears to just be a rumor on some Florida websites about random laws. It still cracks us up though! While some are completely bizarre, some we can fully understand! Did you know that Statute 316.1945 says you can’t park in an intersection? It really makes us wonder what in the Floridian happened to cause a lawmaker to put that on the books. Why one would even consider parking there makes us scratch our heads.
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