Malloy Law Offices, LLC - July 2021

Malloy Law Offices, LLC - July 2021

Malloy Monthly

MALLOY LAW OFFICES, LLC

Alexandria 5680 King Centre Dr. #600 Alexandria, VA 22315 (703) 337-3328 Bethesda 7910 Woodmont Ave. #1250 Bethesda, MD 20814 (202) 999-3898

Clinton 9135 Piscataway Rd. #215 Clinton, MD 20735 (301) 889-9950 Baltimore 400 E. Pratt St., 8th Flr. Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 498-6085

July 2021

A SOBER LOOK AT JULY FOURTH FESTIVITIES How Do We Celebrate Our Liberties?

As wonderful as summer can be, it’s also a strange time of year in some regards. We get nice weather and the chance to socialize with others for the first time in a while, but we also see an increase in DUIs and car accidents every summer. This year, with the additional excitement surrounding pandemic restrictions lifting, that’s even more so the case. The Fourth of July seems like the holiday where a lot of those things come together. Certainly, the celebrations this year are bigger than they might be in a “normal” time, and that’s to be expected. I love the idea of people getting out with family and friends, especially if there’s a barbecue involved. In practice, though, you have a situation where spirits are high, and often alcohol is part of the mix. Add in cars, and you have a good reason to use caution. Don’t even get me started on fireworks … I’m kidding, of course. Mostly. The injury risk with fireworks is certainly there, but it’s the fire hazard that really has

me worried. It’s hard for a person with fireworks to hurt other people — unless that person starts a fire. I don’t mean to come across as a downer, and I’m certainly not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. I am so thrilled we’re finally spending time together once more. But as someone who also helps injured people receive some measure of justice every day, it can be hard to turn off that part of my brain, especially when I see the way some people “celebrate” the holiday. It’s important to follow the laws regarding alcohol, fireworks, and vehicles. It’s important to stay safe when playing in and around the water. It’s important to keep the kids from running around the hot grill. These things don’t make you down on fun, though — in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Being safe and careful as we enjoy ourselves keeps things fun, because nobody wants to see a tragedy unfold out of a holiday weekend. Least of all me.

As Americans, we enjoy a wider array of freedoms and rights than almost any other nation. The Fourth of July is about celebrating that, and the work I do in getting justice is similarly related. Our ability to turn to the law when we’re wronged is something that should always be treasured and honored. There are millions of people around the world living without a tenth of the rights and privileges we have. When something bad happens to them, there is literally nothing for them to do about it.

That’s not the case here.

I just hope we manage to celebrate those rights and freedoms this year without having to exercise them in court later because of recklessness, foolhardiness, or negligence. We started summer with a reminder of the cost of our American privileges: Memorial Day. The price of liberty is truly high, and it’s paid for by our military. It’s also paid for by the average American, banding together to weather crises, which is what we’ve been doing for the past year. We did the hard things so we could enjoy this time together during summer. And I’ll be the first person to tell you that you can’t control everything; bad things happen to safe, careful people, and I talk to them all the time. But you can mitigate risks, and that’s what I suggest we all do this month. And then enjoy ourselves — because after the last year and a half, we’ve earned it.

—Sean P. Malloy

(202) 933-7277 • 1

Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death

After a year delay, the Tokyo Olympics are once again gearing up for two weeks of action and excitement. Athletes from around the world are descending on Japan to give it their all and, hopefully, walk away with gold. This year, however, the games will be folding five new sports into the mix. Four of these sports have never been part of the Olympics, while one sport hasn’t been part of the games in over a decade. Here’s what to expect: SURFING Both men’s and women’s competitions will be held on Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba Prefecture. Officials say due to the nature of the competition (being in open water), they’ll be generous with the scheduling. Depending on weather and waves, the preliminary round heats and head-to-head competitions may shift around as necessary. SKATEBOARDING There are two categories: park and street. The street competition takes place on a linear course featuring “real world” elements like stairs and handrails, benches, planter boxes, and curbs. The park competition takes place within a more structured environment with a variety of slopes, curves, and other obstacles that will test skaters. 5 New Sports Join the Olympic Roster in Tokyo

Watching Olympians’ feats of strength, agility, and speed may have you looking at your own body, disappointed, but the steps these athletes have taken to compete for a coveted gold medal are not unlike the process necessary to relieve pain or improve mobility. If you’re ready to get back to the activities you love, heed the advice of Olympians. FOCUS ON BALANCE. When our bodies are not balanced, that’s when we tumble, fall, and get injured. Olympic water polo player and triathlete Julie Swail Ertel told Fitness HQ that she has a simple solution for that. By incorporating more one-legged exercises into her routine, her balance steadied and her time improved. Try It: Like Ertel, focus on exercises that target your body’s balance, like strength training or leg and back exercises. A physical therapist can help you develop a routine and treatment regimen to specifically target your balance deficiencies. DON’T FORGET DIET AND NUTRITION. Movement and exercise are powerful tools for building strong muscles and staying active, but what fuels your body can be just as important. Eat lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and full fats to protect your body’s muscles and give you enough energy. For those in pain, water can also improve the flexibility of your muscles and joints. Try It: Soccer athlete Morgan Brian doesn’t like vegetables, but she incorporates them into a smoothie with fruit and a small amount of yogurt to create a tasty drink with many essential vitamins. Copy Brian and find a trick that works for you! Always forgetting to drink water? Set a reminder on your phone. Need more protein? Try adding salmon to your salad. QUALITY IS KEY. Athletes like skeleton racer and powerlifter Katie Uhlaender practice for countless hours, but it’s not the total number of reps they are watching. Instead, Uhlaender told Fitness HQ that athletes get better results when they pay attention to their form rather than race through reps. You Are an Athlete! FITNESS TIPS FROM OLYMPIANS

Try It: A physical therapist can provide you with the knowledge you need to correct your form, and then you can practice

it at home. Try working out in front of a mirror or videotape yourself. It may feel awkward, but you will be able to watch for improvement.

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Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability •

SPORT CLIMBING This event combines three different disciplines on an artificial climbing wall: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. In the bouldering competition, climbers will navigate a fixed route to be completed within a specified time. In lead climbing, climbers aim to reach the high point

An Olympic Medal — For Arts

within a specified time. Finally, in speed climbing, two climbers race against one another. Men and women, 20 per gender, will compete against each other, with the top eight advancing to the final round. KARATE This martial art was developed in Japan in 1868, so it’s only appropriate to make its debut during the Tokyo Olympics. On top of that, the competitions will be held in Nippon Budokan, the site of the very first World Karate Championships in 1970. The Games will test two disciplines: kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). The sport will also be separated into men’s and women’s categories with three weight classes for each. BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL These aren’t new sports to the Olympics, but they were removed from the Games after Beijing in 2008. Baseball is hugely popular in Japan. This year, only six countries will take part in the baseball and softball competitions.

From 1912–1952, the Olympics awarded medals for arts and sculpture, though most people do not remember this. In 2012, the first book in English on the topic was published, “The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions” by Richard Stanton. Stanton dug through decades-old, crumbling files that were packed away in Switzerland in order to uncover the origin of this forgotten Olympic tradition. Apparently, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the modern Olympic Games, saw art competitions as integral to his vision of the Olympics.

Stanton told Smithsonian Magazine of Coubertin, “He was raised and educated classically, and he was particularly impressed with the idea of what it meant to be a true Olympian — someone who was not only athletic, but skilled in music and literature.” Coubertin thought that without the arts, it couldn’t be a true Olympic event.

However, Coubertin had no luck convincing local organizers from Athens, St. Louis, or Paris that art competitions were necessary. At the 1912 Stockholm Games, Coubertin finally secured the Olympic fine art competitions. There were categories for architecture, music, painting, sculpture, and literature, but every work had to somehow be inspired by sports. Judges didn’t have to award gold medals if they were disappointed by all the submissions, but 1912 was a success. With 33 artists in participation, a gold medal was awarded in every category. (Coubertin even won for his poem, “Ode to Sport”! He disguised it with a pseudonym.) As the Olympics exploded into a beloved international event, the fine arts competitions rarely caught people’s attention. Not all categories won gold medals, if any at all. There were significant winners, however. John Russell Pope (the architect of the Jefferson Memorial) won a silver at the 1932 Los Angeles Games for his design of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium, constructed at Yale University. Other famous participants include Italian sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti, American illustrator Percy Crosby, Irish author Oliver St. John Gogarty, and Dutch painter Isaac Israëls.

Even if the art competitions are not a part of the games anymore, they are fascinating to learn about! We’ll definitely think about them the next time the Olympics (finally) roll around.

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• Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death

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7910 Woodmont Ave. #1250 Bethesda, MD 20814 (202) 933-7277 • www.malloy-law.com

InsideThis Issue

1

A Sober Look at July Fourth Festivities

2

Take It From the Olympians: Fitness Tips for Anyone

2

5 New Sports Join the Olympic Roster in Tokyo

3

An Olympic Medal — For Arts

4

Straight Talk: Vaccines and Shoulder Pain

Published by Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com

Straight Talk: Vaccines Shouldn’t Cause Long-Lasting Shoulder Pain

With vaccines on everybody’s mind these days, it isn’t a surprise that there’s been a renewed interest in topics like SIRVA, which stands for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. It’s a legal term for pain, weakness, swelling, and other localized side- effects that occur after a vaccine injection in the shoulder.

SIRVA is not normal. True, some vaccines are more likely to be tender than others (tetanus shots are the most infamous, and the COVID-19 vaccine is reported as being relatively tenderizing as well), but these symptoms should subside after a few days.

They shouldn’t get that bad, and they shouldn’t get worse after 24–36 hours.

Now, the question that might be arising from SIRVA is: Are COVID-19 vaccines covered by the NVICP? Well, everything related to the coronavirus is relatively new, so things might change next month. Scan the QR code above to know more about COVID-19 vaccine injuries. And if SIRVA is the result of almost any other vaccine injury, you could have legal options that you’re not aware of yet. Don’t hesitate, scan the QR code that accompanies this article and find every answer to your questions about SIRVA, vaccines, or any other personal-injury-related topic.

And it’s more common than you might think.

Every day, thousands of people in the United States are safely vaccinated against diseases and illnesses. However, sometimes rare and debilitating reactions to vaccinations might happen. As a result, Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) to help victims of adverse vaccine secondary effects. So you are entitled to compensation available from a $3 billion vaccine trust fund approved by the U.S. Congress.

A little pain and swelling is normal, although we’d argue that most vaccine shots should feel “tender” instead of actual pain. But that’s the thing: Sometimes, patients get the shot and do feel pain — real pain. They get numb and tingly all up and down their arm. Discomfort can spread to the back, neck, and upper chest, resulting in a “regional” condition generally referred to as SIRVA.

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Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death