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LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 19, 2020 – SPECIAL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROTECTION FOR PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome back to another home edition of Legal Tip Tuesday. Vince Quatrini here today with you, and before I start, the subject today is Heart and Lung benefits and Act 532 634 benefits, two specialized workers’ comp programs. But first, we’re still open, we’re answering 24/7, working remotely, taking care of business for our clients. The Heart and Lung act and Act 532 634. These are specialized workers’ comp programs for certain occupations that are considered high risk: policemen, firemen, corrections officers. That statute has been in existence for a long time. It protects you, that worker in that occupation; 100% of your salary will be paid to you during your temporary disability from a work-related injury – not just heart, not just lung, any work-related injury. And Act 532 634 is a special protection if you’ve been injured by an occupant of a correctional facility, a mental health facility. Certain occupations, again, considered high risk, we want to protect that worker even more than under the workers’ compensation statute. I want to let you know that that statute has been amended just recently, the Heart and Lung Act, to include a presumption that if you have COVID-19 we will presume it came from your occupation. That is a firemen, a policemen, a corrections officer, and they’ve included the National Guard who is out protecting everyone. If you feel that you have been injured in the course of one of these occupations, you’re covered, and if it’s COVID-19, you have a presumption that it came from work and not from your neighbor or family member. We handle these cases all day, every day; I’ve been doing it for many, many years. Been to the Supreme Court and back with one of these prominent cases! So, give us a call if you need us. And remember the slogan, stay home, stay safe, stay calm. This is Vince Quatrini, for Legal Tip Tuesday, the home edition.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 12, 2020 – WHAT IS A LEGAL CHECKUP?
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to another home edition of Legal Tip Tuesday, with Vince Quatrini. Today’s subject? The unique QuatriniRafferty legal checkup! But before we start that, let’s remind everybody that we’re working remotely. We’re scheduling phone appointments, video appointments, conducting phone hearings, phone mediations, scheduling clients in to sign important documents with proper social distancing—we can also do it with DocuSign.
    
    So, what is the QuatriniRafferty legal checkup? Well it’s a unique comprehensive evaluation of your disability and injury rights. Let’s take fictional Sammy Smith, 51, an Iraq Vet. He’s now become a home healthcare nurse. He’s driving from Mary’s house to Jane’s house when he gets T-boned by the UPS truck. He makes an attempt to go back to work. He’s fired with no cause. What is the legal checkup going to do for Sammy? Well, let’s look at what he has. PTSD—that would allow him to file for service-connected disability. Workers’ comp—well of course. He’s in the course of employment, going from Mary’s house to Jane’s house. Social Security Disability— Sammy’s 51; if his injuries do not allow him to transfer those skills to another employment, yes, we will file him and get him SSD. Personal Injury action? The answer is yes again. It’s the UPS truck that caused the accident, so we would have a personal injury claim. And finally, retaliatory discharge—he was fired executing his workers’ comp rights. So, we would use our employment law specialist to explore that claim. And when we’re all done, to give Sammy complete peace of mind, we’re going to write his will, do his power of attorney, and do his living will. I want to brag for a moment that I think we might be the only firm in western and central Pennsylvania that can offer this unique comprehensive evaluation and then implement it. So, until next time this is Vince Quatrini with another edition of Legal Tip Tuesday at home.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 05, 2020 – OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN THE WORKPLACE
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome to yet another home edition of Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Vince Quatrini. Today I wanted to talk to you about occupational diseases. But before I do that, I want to remind everybody that QuatriniRafferty is open. We go into the office periodically, the attorneys, if we need to see you in person—we’re permitted to do that on a limited basis. And we’re available by phone, or email, or text, all the time. Occupational diseases. About 35 years ago I represented Frank Polowski who worked at the Latrobe Brewery and developed an asthma aggravation of his lungs. Twelve years later, in front of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, I was able to convince the court – that’s a work injury. Up until then it was just considered an occupational disease, but now it’s both—injury, or occupational disease. So, if you’re in a work atmosphere where your lungs are impacted or you develop hepatitis, or in today’s world – COVID, or you have black lung—these are all work injuries under the separate category also of occupational disease. Good example? The nurse in the emergency room or on the floor who gets stuck with a needle and develops hepatitis. If it’s a certain kind of occupational disease, hepatitis, you get a presumption. I’m a nurse, I have hepatitis, it’s presumed I got it while working. Those are the advantages we have with certain occupational diseases. Our firm of course has been handling this for the many years that I’ve been there, and we do it for individuals at a mental health facility, a corrections facility, our policemen, our firemen, our nurses, and our coal miners, and many other occupations. So, if you think that you have an occupational disease, as well as an injury, give us a call. We’re here 24/7. So, as I like to end with the governor’s statement, stay home, stay calm, stay safe. Until the next edition of Legal Tip Tuesday, this is Vince Quatrini. God bless you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 28, 2020 – MAKING A WILL & QR NEWS
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to another home edition of Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Vince Quatrini. Today, two topics. One is talking about making a will in greater depth, and two is to let you know about a proud moment in QuatriniRafferty history that’s about to occur. So, let’s talk about making a will. Why do you need one? Well, if you don’t have it you don’t get to decide who gets your assets, what percentage they’ll get of your assets, whether you had a special gift you were wanting to give – that’s gone, appointing a guardian – that won’t happen, and what I can tell you will happen, is a lifelong fight amongst your heirs. Here’s some popular names who forgot to write a will: Prince, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Curt Cobain, and none other than Sonny Bono from Sonny and Sher. 25 years later, they’re still fighting about who gets what.
    Make it easy, give us a call, come in, and write that will. We’ll also prepare the financial power of attorney, the health power of attorney, and the living will to decide what care you’ll get and not get near death. Remember, your will does not go into effect until you die and it doesn’t have to be recorded at the courthouse. One other thing on this, please, don’t go out and just set up a trust. There’s more involved than people realize and it’s much more expensive than preparing the estate documents that I’m talking about. My second subject: QuatriniRafferty is establishing a permanent fund for the community at the Community Foundation of Westmoreland Country. It will be called the QR Community Fund. We’re depositing $10,000 and from that fund we will be making gifts into the community for nonprofits. It’s been part of our DNA from day one, the community is who we are and to whom we owe a lot. So, we’re very happy to tell you that it’s being set up, let us know if you have an organization with a need. And like we like to be leaders, we’ll be the first law firm, and the first business, to set up such a fund at the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. So, as I always say, stay safe, stay calm, stay home. This is Vince Quatrini for Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 21, 2020 – COVID LEGAL RIGHTS/ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to another home edition of Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Vince Quatrini. Today I wanted to do a COVID legal rights in review with you. Let’s start with workers’ compensation. If you’re working in a restricted duty job because of an injury and you are laid off, you are entitled to have your workers’ compensation benefits reinstated. Secondly, if you have contracted COVID in the workplace, you’re entitled to be covered by the workers’ compensation statute. In fact there’s a bill in the legislature as we speak that would provide a presumption to a number of occupations like firemen, policemen, National Guard workers, corrections officers; if they contract COVID, it’s presumed it came from the workplace. Unemployment compensation, there’s no waiting week. Secondly, there’s a $600 supplement from the federal government. Third, it covers gig workers, independent contractors, self-employed. Be aware, there’s a special portal to use with unemployment so that you can get your application in. Sick leave, two weeks available to many employees now – paid, because of the COVID-19 crisis. Family Medical Leave Act, there is paid coverage under that act for certain individuals in certain occupations, depending on the size of the employer. Discrimination, if you have been discriminated against in the workplace because of COVID-19, you should be protected. The Small Business Association disaster loan of $10,000 is still available, apply for it. The payroll protection act, phase two is coming out. Check with your bank, check with your accountant, see if you can qualify for that coverage. The second part of my conversation today with you is about essential legal documents you need in these scary times. First, you need a will so that you can decide who gets your assets upon death. Secondly, you need a durable power of attorney, a financial one, for you to designate another individual to act for you. Likewise, you should have a medical durable power of attorney for someone to act for you in a medical circumstance, combined with what we call the living will, where you have given instructions ahead of time on what medical care you want, and what medical care you do not want. So, I invite you to follow our newsletter; we’re putting out a special edition that will cover a lot of these subjects in more detail. And if you aren’t on our mailing list, please get ahold of us so we can get you on it. So, as always, I say to you, stay home, stay safe, stay calm. This is Vince Quatrini for Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 14, 2020 – LIFE TIPS
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to another home version of Legal Tip Tuesday. This is Vince Quatrini with you. Today I wanted to talk about life tips. You know, now that we’re confined at home it makes me appreciate even more the stress of being chronically injured or disabled. These individuals, our clients, experience this all the time. I did a series of legal tips on the effective habits to live with a chronic injury or disability – they’re on our website, I commend them to you now, especially. Some of the tips include reducing food intake—boy is that a challenge when the refrigerator is only 10 feet away. Exercise, it helps the mind as well as the body. Spirituality, finding a purpose in life. This is a time for reflection for us. Do we find our joy in helping others? In helping family? Donating? Volunteering? And keeping a routine, boy is that a challenge for me as well. I’m used to having a whole day planned. I have to get up now and get myself started, and it’s really different than knowing that I have to be somewhere.
    So, as we go forward, I’m hoping that all of us have a greater empathy for those who are confined to home because of a chronic injury or disability. This will be over for us, but for all of them this is their new normal. A couple other thoughts today are what can we do to fill the day to find things that are important to us? Pulling photographs out, sharing them with family. Taking a picture of them and emailing them off or texting them. Reading! A couple of books that I want to share with you are inspirational books. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Frances Perkins, the first woman cabinet member. She was Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. These are people who rose to the challenge, who were inspirational and leaders for us when we needed them. They didn’t worry about them, they worried about what they needed to do to save the world. And of course, Winston Churchill, famously “never, never, never give up.” And the penultimate leader, the inspiration is of course Fred Rogers. Fred told us, “In times like this, look for the helpers. You’ll find the helpers.” So, I hope that you and I will be those helpers in this time of need for those around us. This is Vince Quatrini; this is Legal Tip Tuesday. Stay home, stay safe, and stay calm. Until the next home version, have a great day.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 07, 2020 – 3 ESSENTIAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday. Vince Quatrini with you in my new background—my home office—complying with the governor’s order. Today I wanted to talk to you about three essential legal documents you should have in these scary times: the power of attorney, the durable medical power of attorney (known as a living will), and a last will and testament. These three documents in combination will give you the peace of mind that you need if something happens. Let’s start with the power of attorney. It simply is you giving the right to someone else to act for you—that can be a significant other, it could be a friend, it could be a bank or a financial institution. No special requirement, but it needs done before you become mentally unable to make that decision, otherwise you need a guardian. If you need a guardian we have to go to court; if we have to go to court, it’s much more expensive.
    The second document is called the living will or medical durable power of attorney. The point of it? If you are unable to make a decision, if you are in a vegetative state or in an irreversible medical condition, somebody’s been appointed to act for you—to make those medical decisions that need made in conjunction with your medical provider. “I don’t want tube feeding.” “I don’t want extraordinary measures to be done to keep me alive.” Those are the kinds of things that we check off in our living wills with our clients when we sit across the table from them and think out loud about all of these life important decisions. The final document is your will. Do you have a will? Is it up to date? Have you changed it since you’ve had a child? Have you changed it since someone in the will has passed away? It needs updated. Do you have a guardian for your minor children? What if your parents need a guardian at this point and you want to leave them money? Have you made provisions for that? A will is an easy document to prepare; we do it all the time of course at our law firm. And we’re doing it now with COVID-19 all around us. We’ve made arrangements to do a phone interview with you, get all the information we need, prepare the document, and figure out a way to get it notarized without the in-person face-to-face that we typically do, so that you feel safe. And you then have the peace of mind that all of these documents are in place for you and your family. So, at QuatriniRafferty we’re here for you 24/7 by text, by telephone, by email. We wish you a very blessed Easter, and a very happy Passover holiday this coming Sunday. Stay safe, and until the next time, this is Vince Quatrini for Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MARCH 31, 2020 – A COVID: 19 WORKPLACE RIGHTS UPDATE
- Video Transcript
  - Good afternoon, and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. Vince Quatrini with you today, in a different background – I’m at home! Complying with the governor’s order, this is my home office so welcome in! You’re listening in the background to my favorite pianist George Winston. Today I wanted to share with you some of the ramifications of the new stimulus act that was passed and how it affects your legal rights, especially in the workplace. Paid sick leave is covered by the new act, up to 80 hours. FMLA coverage, Family Medical Leave Act, is expanded as well as the paid sick leave requirements. If you are at home because you have to care for someone because of COVID, or you’re at home because the kids are out of school, you may be entitled to FMLA coverage for that circumstance, and/or paid sick leave. Also, short-term disability, long-term disability: your company may have a policy like that. If you or someone you know is medically unable to work because of COVID 19, you can be covered by your short-term or long-term coverage. Of course, workers’ compensation. If you’ve acquired COVID in the workplace, you are entitled to coverage under the Workers’ Compensation Act of Pennsylvania. Our challenge will be to prove the connection, but that’s what we do here – every day, all day. There’s another aspect—the Americans with Disabilities Act—that may come into play because you’ve been discriminated against or unfairly treated because you have a COVID-19 diagnosis. These are just some of the highlights of the new act. Unemployment compensation has been expanded. It includes a greater benefit and will extended up to 39 weeks from 26 weeks.
    Follow our emails and our marketing that we’re doing. We’re trying to inform the public as best that we can, because we’re here 24/7 by the way. We’re working remotely, you can reach us at our regular number, you can email us, you can text us. We’re here to help you. That’s what we do, that’s what we want to do, in a pandemic crisis like this. So, as the governor has said to us, stay home, stay calm, and stay safe. Until next Tuesday when we talk about things to do while you’re confined during this time, this is Vince Quatrini for Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MARCH 12, 2020 – TAX IMPLICATIONS AND WC BENEFITS
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody, welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Jessica Rafferty, I focus my practice the areas of Family Law, Estate Planning and Civil Litigation. Today I wanted to talk to you abut a question that I often get in the area of Family Law. And that’s regarding grandparent rights. So, the question is “do grandparents have a legal right to custody in Pennsylvania? And the short answer to that is, yes. There is actually a particular statute that deals with this issue. And the statute is giving grandparents the ability to apply for partial physical custody. And partial physical custody is something less than 50%, so a lot of you will refer to that as visitation. So, this statute is designed to allow grandparents to see their children and spend time with them. And there are three circumstances under which the court will hear these cases. The first is if the parent of the grandchild passes away. So, for example, if mom dies, maternal grandma would be able to file for custody of her grandchild. The second circumstance is if the grandparents have had a relationship with grandkids, so mom and dad were allowing the grand parents to spend time with their kids, and now mom and dad have filed for custody through the court – that’s the first one. And two, the parents are disagreeing as to whether grandparents can spend time with their grandkids. In that circumstance grandparents would be able to intervene, in that case, and ask the court to be able to spend time with their grandchildren. And the third circumstance, is if the grandchildren have been residing with grandparents for at least 12 consecutive months. And if that’s the case, and then parents remove the children from the home – or somebody else removes the children from the home, grandparents can file for partial physical custody within six months of the child’s removal. So those are the three circumstances, there are other circumstances under which grandparents would be able to file for custody, but these are the three sort of designed by the court to allow grandparents to just spend time with the grandchildren. It’s not like there’s and emergency situation or something like that. So, if you guys are interested in this and you want to hear more custody rights or anything like that, just comment bellow and I’d be happy to do more of these. And if you have a particular question about your own personal circumstance, just give me a call I’m happy to talk with you! Thanks!
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 18, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – FINAL
- Video Transcript
  - Hello again! It’s Vince Quatrini, back with Legal Tip Tuesday. This is a final in a series of highly affective habits to incorporate into your life if you’re experiencing a chronic impairment and or disability. Let’s recap. Take charge of your emotions realize that you are going to have a significant change in your emotions because your life has been turned upside-down. Share those feelings with a professional, join a support group of other injured workers or disabled individuals. Reduce your personal and family expenses immediately, you’re living on less, you have to spend less. Use this unexpected time in your life to do something you always wanted to do, including switching roles with your significant other and getting to be that dad or granddad that you always wanted to have more time to do. Go learn to play the guitar, be a mast chef, be a master gardener. Contact your local community college. Find a new program down there that helps you learn a new skill you always wanted to have or didn’t know that you had. Change your eating habits, reduce your food intake as soon as you can, reduce or eliminate your alcohol intake. Find healthy activities to substitute for those, including smoking. I know it’s difficult, you’re already under stress but it adds another layer of stuff on you. Exercise every day, even if it’s a little bit and a little bit at a time. Think about mindfulness and spirituality. Volunteer anywhere, anybody that you can help will make you feel better about you. And all of these habits, use them to reduce your medication intake immediately. Talk to your doctor about other ways to cope with the pain. And finally, remember this adage, out of life’s greatest pain comes life’s greatest blessings. This is Legal Tip Tuesday. This is Vince Quatrini. Have a great day.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 11, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 6
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday with Vince Quatrini. We’ve been talking in a series of programs on highly affective habits to live with permanent physical and emotional impairments. Today I want to talk about mindfulness – spirituality. Adding it to your life at this time and incorporating it into your daily routine will again, be another way to cope with the pain, the change in your life, the loss of self-esteem, give you a purpose going forward and it grounds you. You feel that you are in charge of your emotions. We highly recommend a physiologist or a counselor, somebody who can help you with the coping mechanisms. For instance, if you have anxiety, breathing exercises are very affective in getting your mind off of it and having your mind over matter in regulating your breathing and how you feel. Volunteer at a church or a homeless shelter – I don’t care where you go, volunteering will make you feel good about you, helping somebody who is less fortunate than you. Work at a food bank, go down to your local churches. All of these habits we’ve been talking about. They unequivocally help you in looking forward in your life with a chronic medical condition. We want to see you be able to incorporate a number of these highly affective habits into your life as you go forward. This is Vince Quatrini, and this is Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 28, 2020 – SOCIAL SECURITY SCAMS
- Video Transcript
  - Hi this is Brian Bronson, I’m here for QuatriniRafferty’s Legal Tip Tuesday! Today we’re going to talk about social security and scams. As long as we’ve been alive there have been people scamming people out of money and benefits or property and as far as social security benefits go, there are scammers looking every day to try and affect your benefits and get money into their pockets. So, what we see quite often in our practice is that people receive calls from either spoof numbers or numbers that they do not know, and they answer the phone call and it’s someone saying they are with the social security administration. These people are after your personal information, they are after your social security number, your birth date, so that they can take that information and translate that into dollars in their pocket at your expense. So, if you do receive a call from someone reporting to be someone from the social security administration, which happens these days as hackers and scammers are very sophisticated at the manner in which they call people – it actually looks like you are receiving a call from either the social security administration or the department of treasury, we would ask that you please do not give your personal identification information over the phone to people that call you. If it is a legitimate call from social security, they will either call back or send a letter. If you do receive a call that you think is a scam call, we would ask that you call your local social security office and contact them with the information and proceed accordingly. If you have any questions regarding these scam calls, please call us directly, we’d be glad to help you. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 21, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 5
- Video Transcript
  - Good afternoon, it’s Vince Quatrini back with my series on highly effective habits for living with a chronic and permanent medical condition. Today we’re going to talk about eating. I feel a little bit like one of those people on TV talking about diets or changes in lifestyle, well here’s what happens. The reality is you’re not going to work, you’re not bringing off the same number of calories, so right away start to change you eating habits. Reduce your food intake. You’re not as active, as I said, before the injury when you were working. If you maintain the same eating habits as you had before, I can tell you from many clients, you’re going to put on a significant amount of weight and unfortunately, you’ll feel even worse. You’ve always taken pride in your physical stature and once you add a lot of weight it just adds another layer of anxiety and depression. Another important thing: reduce your alcohol intake immediately. You’ve got enough working against you, you don’t need that added concern. Find some healthy addictions, some healthy activities where you get immediate satisfaction on a regular basis. We all need that. A healthy substitute to medication or alcohol or smoking, is critical to your long-term mental health. Exercise a total of one hour every day. Make it in ten-minute intervals because I know you can’t manage to do more, but if you go out five or six times, you’re going to feel better physically, you’re going to feel better emotionally. So, for today, have a great day. This is Legal Tip Tuesday, Vince Quatrini.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 14, 2020 – FILING A CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday, my name is Jeff Monzo. What I’d like to talk to you about today are the situations where you may be injured in a car accident or a fall down, and the person or thing you have the claim against is the government. Those types of situations may exist where you’re in a car accident and the person that hits you was a government employee, or you may be involved in a situation where you are outside of the state office building or a court house and you slipped and fell on a dangerous condition. Or a situation possibly where you’re on a roadway and there’s a defect in the roadway, whether that be a pothole or improper signage and you suffer injuries as a result of that. In those situations, you can still make a claim even though that other side is the government. However, that kind of case presents unique challenges that you need to know about. And most importantly, you need to know that we have to provide notice to that government agency, or the government employee, within 6 months of the date of your accident. And there’s specific requirements of that notice, including what type of injuries you suffered, where exactly the accident happened, when the accident happened, potential witnesses that exist, and we have to provide all that information to the government entity that we are bringing the claim against within 6 months of the date of the accident. If you do not make that notice or present that notice within 6 months you may lose your right to sue and recover from your injuries or damages. The other unique part or issue in those types of cases is we are limited to being able to recover $250,000 for each individual person involved in that accident or 1 million dollars for the total claim if there are multiple people involved in the accident. So those types of cases present unique challenges to us but we’re prepared to address those challenges for you, but if you, or a family member, or a close friend is injured as a result of something connected to the government; like I said, an employee, or a state office building, or a possible defect in the road, we can help you but there’s some unique challenges and requirements that we have to meet, and we’re prepared to do that here at QuatriniRafferty.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 7, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 4
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome back! It’s Vince Quatrini with Legal Tip Tuesday. This is our fourth in a series of highly effective habits to implement if you’re experiencing a permanent or chronic medical condition. We talked about emotions in the past, we talked about ways to switch roles, to be more in charge of your finances. Today I’d like to talk about opportunities to rebrand yourself. I always like to say to clients, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Well, we have community colleges that have excellent programs for you to find the new you. And we are recommending that you just pickup the phone and call down to the community college near you. They have counselors who are prepared to talk to people who have disabilities. They work in conjunction with the office of vocational rehabilitation, talk to them about that as well. I always think about how fun it would be to go down and take a course in photography. You’ve got the time, again you’ve got all these worries, and pain, and problems. Well the next weeding you go to, if you get to be the photographer taking those candid photos and putting together that memory book to give to the bride and groom, you’ll see how much fun it is – how rewarding it is, to be that person. They’re going to have those memories for life, because of you. Next time we’re going to talk about eating habits, effective eating habits, if your life has changed. So, for today, have a great day. This is Legal Tip Tuesday, Vince Quatrini.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 17, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 3
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome back! This is Vince Quatrini, It’s Legal Tip Tuesday and I’m going to continue my series on highly effective habits to implement after you are experiencing a permanent or chronic injury or medical condition. You went to work every day, worked overtime, you didn’t have those moments to get up in the morning and greet your children, or go see your grandchildren, or go to the park. Well, now you do! No, you don’t want to be away from work, but you are. So, let’s use this unexpected time out of the workplace, as an opportunity. Let’s see the cup half full. You always wanted to do something, well now you have the opportunity to do it. Before you never had the time. How about being a stay-at-home parent? Learning to play the guitar? How about being a master chef? Or a master gardener? The community college at Westmoreland county, and surrounding counties, have great programs for you to take advantage of. Switch roles with your significant other. He or she can take on some of the task that that you were doing, and vice versa. There’s a lot of satisfaction, a lot of self-worth, especially after you’ve been out of the workplace, that you can find by switching roles. I often talk how, as a parent, as a father, I didn’t get some of the moments with my kids that somebody who’s out of the workplace, would have the opportunity to do. So, take advantage of it. Look at is as an opportunity, because you’re struggling with pain, you’re struggling with financial worries, you need something to feel good about. Well these are some ways that you can feel good about you, and your family can see you in an effective role and somebody that they can continue to look at as a role model. It’s Legal Tip Tuesday, have a great day.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 10, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 2
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, welcome back! This is Vince Quatrini with Legal Tip Tuesday. Last time I talked about the emotions that a chronically injured or disabled individual experiences, and we talked about ways that you can cope with those changes and live with them in a healthy way. Today I want to talk about some of the financial impacts of a permanent change and the ability to earn a living. What we know is that once you go off work and your paycheck stops, and your injured worker benefits haven’t started yet, very quickly bills add up. Worries financially, so, what do you do? Well we recommend that you immediately sit down with your family and look at ways to reduce your personal and family expenses. I know it might sound a little harsh, but maybe you need to look at that cable bill and all of the things that go with it. And just say to yourself, look, we don’t know how long this is going to last, let’s cut it in half, lets find ways to reduce it. You know, maybe we were going out to dinner so often, maybe we need to stop that. Look at each item in your personal expense list. You’re living on less, you need to spend less. And the sooner you reduce the amount going out the door, the better chance you have of avoiding financial disaster. And again, more importantly maybe all of the worry and stress that comes with it. We see it constantly. Next time, we’re going to talk about what can I do with this new-found time that I have in my life? So, for today, find ways to live on less while you’re trying to work through a chronic or permanent injury or disability. It’s Legal Tip Tuesday, and this is Vince Quatrini.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 3, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 1
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday, this is Vince Quatrini, from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty. Today I wanted to talk about a subject that impacts all of our clients who experience a permanent or a chronic work injury disability. Over the years we’ve found that there are certain habits that you can do that are highly effective in helping you cope with a permanent change and the way your life is going to be going forward. I’m going to talk about a few of them today and I’ll be back again to talk about others in the future. Let’s start with the emotional side of what you experience. You need to accept the new emotions that you experience, the feeling of vulnerability, loss of control over your life, anxiousness, uncertainty, depression, loss of self-esteem. Who am I now? I’m not the same person I was before. You need to know that it is very normal to have all of these emotions. Your life has been turned upside-down. You’re not in control. In fact, you’re probably in my office at some point trying to get some direction of your life going forward. So, what we also know is that you need to share these feelings with a professional. Your significant other, your wife, your husband, your close friend, even the priest, or your minister, is not the person that is probably going to be able to understand and guide you forward. We’ve seen how psychologist or psychiatrist or a counselor can help our clients understand what’s happening, deal with it, and very importantly, develop coping mechanisms to live with these new changes, these new emotions. Another way to share what you’re experiencing, and you realize, “oh, you know what? I’m not alone” is to join a support group. There are other injured workers, who you can share your experience with. Even if it’s in a group that some of your friends who you know are injured and/or are disabled from a medical condition and they can’t work anymore. Get together, it’s very effective to know you’re not alone. The next time we’re going to talk about how to change the financial picture going forward. How to be ready for a chronic or a permanent in your income. So, for today, don’t be afraid of those new emotions, embrace them. Get help in dealing with them going forward. Have a great day, this is Vince Quatrini with Legal Tip Tuesday.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 15, 2019 – VETERAN’S DISABILITY BENEFITS
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday! I’m Michael Quatrini and I’m here to talk a little bit about Veteran’s Disability Benefits. Recently, it was indicated by the secretary of the Veteran’s Administration that the big ruling that happened in January of 2019, that all Vietnam Veterans exposed to Agent Orange will now include those Veteran’s that were at least 12 miles off shore or less, that that ruling will be suspended and no claims will actually be decided until at least the beginning of January 1st of 2020. Unfortunately, that’s disappointing to our firm and other clients. That doesn’t mean that claims shouldn’t be filed if you fall into those categories. Just to review, if you are a Vietnam Veteran, and you served on a blue water ship that was within 12 nautical miles of the cost of Vietnam, you should apply, or reapply, if you’ve been denied in the past for conditions related to Agent Orange. We will continue to update you on any of the VA procedures going forward. I wish you the best Tuesday going forward, have a great rest of the week.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 8, 2019 – UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday! My name is Nicholas Kennedy and I’m an employment attorney of Quatrini Rafferty. I’d like to talk today about unemployment compensation. Many employees often find themselves in this situation of being unemployed and have to apply for unemployment compensation. And it’s very important if you are denied and you received a service center denial, that you appeal within the time period that is laid out, which is 15 days. That is a strict deadline. And oftentimes employees, once they appeal will attend what’s called a referee’s hearing. And at a referee’s hearing, there are certain rules and procedures that need to be followed and that can make or break your unemployment case. That’s why I’m here to say that it is very essential that you consult with legal council and you have legal council attend the referee’s hearing with you because you might fall prey to certain rulings by the referee, or not have certain exhibits or evidence that you want to have introduced, allowed in by the referee. And it can make a huge difference in order for you to be granted unemployment compensation. One important rule that is considered in unemployment compensation hearings is the rule of hearsay. And if you seek to introduce documents, statements by other individuals, and those individuals are not present, that evidence could be excluded. And that evidence could be vital to your unemployment compensation case. So, I’m here to advise that you strictly follow all statutory guidelines that are laid out for you in the unemployment compensation paperwork that you receive. Epically the timeline to appeal. And then when you receive a date for your referee’s hearing, you should immediately contact an attorney to provided you with assistance to prepare and attend the hearing with you, in order for you to help insure a much more successful and smoothly run hearing to help better pursue your unemployment compensation rights. Thank you.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 01, 2019 – WELCOME NICHOLAS W. KENNEDY, ESQ.
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday! This Tuesday we have a really fun announcement. I’m here with our newest young associate, and one of my friends, Nick Kennedy. Welcome to the firm, Nick! Thank you very much, I’m very happy to be here! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Sure, I’m actually a Greensburg native, I was born and raised here, I went to Hempfield High. And I stayed in the area for college, and law school, I’m a Pitt grad and I still live in the area. Nick, what specifically do you do in the legal world? I do Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability, Veteran’s Disability, what do you do? So, I specialize in Employee Rights & Discrimination and I cover all aspects of Embayment Law. So, I came to Quatrini Rafferty to help their clients in matters such as unemployment, with appeals, and helping with the paperwork. I represent employees in employment discrimination lawsuits, I review employment agreements, and I litigate all matters related to employment. When you talk about employment discrimination, what are some of the general topics where people could be discriminated against. Absolutely, a number of areas: age discrimination, disability discrimination, there’s discrimination if you take FLMA leave, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and there’s a range of other areas including also religious discrimination, and under disability discrimination there’s a subset of different groups that fall under that. So, it’s a range of topics that we provide if you believe that you’ve been discriminated against. I’m happy to talk to you, consult on any questions that you have so I can evaluate whether there is a possible legal action. Well thanks, we’re really excited to have you here and Quatrini Rafferty is always trying to put together the best team to protect any of the people out there in the workforce when they’re injured, even when they’re not injured, if they’re not being treated fairly. It’s fun to have Nick here to protect you. So, thank you, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday. Thank you.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Vince Quatrini, and I’m Michael Quatrini, and today we’re going to talk about life after an injury or disability. In my word of Workers’ Compensation, when we represent somebody that has suffered a permanent injury, it’s devastating in many ways. Beyond the physical pain, the loss of income, there’s often a loss of “who am I?” because I can’t go back and do what I used to do. So, Michael one of the things that you know we do here at Quatrini Rafferty is talk to our clients about retraining if they’re in an age bracket where that makes sense. You are going to talk about Social Security Disability and what happens for those individuals after they’ve been approved for Social security. Yeah, sometimes when people get to a certain level of impairment they can’t go back to work on a part-time or full-time basis. In that circumstance, if we’re lucky enough to get them awarded Social Security Disability Benefits usually I have the same conversation with each one of my clients. And that’s this, this is the time in your life you’ve been waiting for. You get to take all of that expertise that you have, you have the time to go help your community with any of the nonprofits around by volunteering. And the best part about volunteering, if you don’t feel well one day you can always reschedule to go back the next week. And so, for those individuals that are able to go back to some level of work, we want to help them retrain. There are resources out there for you. We know of them and we talk to our clients about them. For instance, one of the primary rescores, and best resources, is your community college. We have the Westmorland County Community College, Allegany County Community College, Butler County Community College. We want our clients to go there and see combining with the office of vocational rehabilitation, know as OVR, “can I start over again? What can I do?” and we’ll help you along that way. So, retraining, volunteering, life after injury and disability; here at Quatrini Rafferty we want to help you in all of those ways. Moving on is always difficult, our goal at the end of the day is to put you in a position to move past everything that has devastated your life and onto brighter futures. Good Luck.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 – WHY AM I NOT GETTING MORE MONEY
- Video Transcript
  - Hi I’m Peter Gough, a certified Workers’ Compensation Attorney at QuatriniRafferty and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m here today with my friend and colleague, James Horchak. “Hello,” That’s great Jim. Today we wanna talk about Workers’ Compensation benefits and whether you are receiving the correct Workers’ Compensation benefits you should be. So, with that in mind, I’d like to again introduce you to Jim because as I call him slash. As he plays two roles in our firm, and both of which help with the calculation of the average weekly wage. Jimmy, why do I call you slash? Well I’m not only an attorney but I’m also a CPA. And just like Kordell Stewart, of the old Steelers, you do two roles that help in the calculation of the average weekly wage for our clients, is that correct? Correct, I not only know the law of how the average weekly wages are calculated but I can also look at the numbers and accurately calculate it for clients. Jim, I’m not aware of any other firm in Western Pennsylvania that utilizes both an attorney slash an accountant to see if our clients or any Workers’ Compensation claim is receiving correct Workers’ Compensation benefits. So, are you aware of anybody else who does that? No, I’m not aware of any. Biggest question: of the thousands of calculations that you’ve done, how often does the Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier get it right? Probably if I had to guess, probably a third of the time they get it right. Are they getting it right in favor of the client or are they short changing the clients? Most of the time they are short changing the clients. So, my pitch is, come to us, let us review your Workers’ Compensation benefits and we’ll see if you are being paid correct benefits. Jimmy, if they’re being underpaid, what can we do to help? Well, first of all if we could get you paystubs from the one year prior to your injury, we could figure out if you’re underpaid at that point. And then we could file a review petition and go to court and get back you’re benefits, and future benefits. Is that right, Jim? That’s correct. Alright. Well, Jim thank you for being with me today, and we’ll see you again soon!

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 – SLIP AND FALL
- Video Transcript
  - I want to talk to you today about the possibility of you getting hurt in a grocery store or in a department store and what steps you should take if that happens or if that happens to some member of your family. Fall down cases are very difficult sometimes because of the lack of information that is essential to the case. For example, the first thing that we need to know is what caused the fall? If it was a substance on the floor, whether it’s water or a soapy substance, grease, extra. You need to know that, and you need to take notice of it at the time that it occurs. If there are people with you, that witnessed it, you want to bring those names to the attention of your lawyer. If there are employees nearby, even though they might be reluctant, you want to get their name because they have information on perhaps what causes your fall. Whether it’s carpet that has rolled up, whether it is a piece of something that has fallen off a display rack and is in the way, whether it’s ice, snow, grease, extra. Witnesses are important because they can fill in some of the gaps you may not know. I think it is probably a good idea to have somebody go back to the same place and get some photos of the area as soon a possible after the accident happens. They maybe necessary to show that the store has taken corrective actions, that they out up warning signs, or they blocked off the area, or have done something to prevent injures to other people. And all of that can be important to you when and if your case goes to court. One of the things you shouldn’t do is give a recorded message or recorded statement, either at the store or over the phone. Lots of times the store’s insurance carrier will call you and say something like, “we just want to give you a chance to tell your side of the story,” mhmm, that’s not exactly true. What they are trying to do is get you to say things like, “I don’t know what caused me to fall” extra, or something to that effect, that will completely block you from having a case a that unwhich you can recover. So, don’t give a recorded statement or a written statement, whether it’s that day or someday later when they call you. Lastly, on the damages part of it. Once you’ve been injured, it is important that you follow medical advice. Defendants can often take advantage of the fact that you have done something that the doctors didn’t advise, or wish that you hadn’t done something, that the doctors told you, you should be doing. It is a defense to them that you have not done your best to minimize the impact of the injuries. So, you don’t want to do that. If the doctors tell you that you need physical therapy, get the physical therapy. If the doctors tell you you should be taking a certain medication, take the medication. Follow the advices precisely and it will help you and your lawyers to obtain just compensation for what you’ve been through, (pain suffering, inconvenience, your loss of any earnings, extra). All the things that could win you a successful lawsuit. So be careful, watch where you’re going, but if you fall and get hurt at a grocery store or at a department store or someplace like that, be prepared. Follow these rules, and it will help you. Thank you and have a good day!

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 03, 2019 – INSPECT AND RECEIVE MEDICAL RECORDS
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody it’s Adam Quatrini, here today is Legal Tip Tuesday. Today we’re going to talk about your right to inspect and receive your medical records. A lot of you have to see your medical records, order them, and have gone through the almost impossible scenario of talking to your insurance carrier, your medical provider, and not being able to receive them, receive them timely, or paying way too much money in order to receive them. And I’m here to tell you that you have an absolute right to inspect medical records and your bills from your insurance carrier and from your medical providers. That’s a right garmented to you under the federal law. And usually they can do it electronically so it’s much cheaper than most carriers and insurance companies will charge you. And a very good information source www.nihit.gov has an even further rundown about what your rights are, and how to go about receiving your medical records at a cheaper cost and what your rates are under the law.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 27, 2019 – AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COVERAGE
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday at Quatrini Rafferty. My name is Joyce Novotny-Prettiman and I want to share with you today an important tip in regard to your automobile insurance coverage. Please check your coverage and make sure that you’ve chosen both un and underinsured motorist coverage for your motor vehicles. This coverage is something that you are not required to carry under Pennsylvania law but it’s very important that you do carry the coverage because it protects not only you, but also any member of your family that lives in your household who might be seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. So, you want to make sure that you’ve selected un and underinsured motorist coverage, you want to make sure that the policy limits for those coverages are the same or equal to your liability coverage, which is the coverage that you carry in case you’re at fault and someone else is hurt in an accident. You also want to make sure that you stack those coverages. These things are all every important, most of all because they are going to help you in a situation where someone might be seriously injured, and the other driver doesn’t have enough insurance or has no insurance. We talk to many people who have that situation and they can’t make those changes in the policy after they’re hurt. So make sure that you do that, check it right now, we’re happy to help you if you have any questions about that coverage, but it’s the thing that makes sure that you have the protection in an event that you’re insured seriously in a motor vehicle accident. So take that preventative measure, we’re happy to help you with any questions. Thanks.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 13, 2019 – BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHERS DRIVING
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, It’s Legal Tip Tuesday and this is Dick Galloway. And I want to talk today about a question I have had asked of me in the past. If I’m driving a car and it’s owned by somebody else, and they’re in the car, and I’m speeding, does it affect them at all? And the answer is yes, there’s a little know prevision in the vehicle code called Permitting Violation of Title. And it says that if you’re the owner of a vehicle, and that you knowingly permit and/or otherize somebody to operate your vehicle in violation of any of the previsions of the motor vehicle code then you’re as responsible as they are. So that, if you’re in the car and you’re in the passenger seat and somebody else is driving your car because you’re tired and they’re speeding or they run a stop sign, you can be caused to pay the same fine and suffer the same penalties as they do. So, the moral of the story is when you’re in the car and somebody else is driving it, make sure they drive properly because you suffer the same penalties as they do and that’s not in your best interest. You don’t want to accrue legal fees and points and fines and all those things for something somebody else did. Now mind you this only occurs if you are the owner of the car and in the car at the time. In theory you could be held responsible if you knew somebody was going to go out and speed your car, but it’s pretty hard for the police to prove that. However, when you’re in the car and it’s going 70 miles an hour in a 55 zone, it’s not very hard for them to prove that you knew or should have known that your driver was violating the law. So be careful, drive carefully, we do a lot of accident cases and we don’t want to see you get hurt and we certainly don’t want to see you get in legal trouble. So be careful and make sure your driver is careful.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 6, 2019 – MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT
- Video Transcript
  - I’m Mike Routch, one of the Workers’ Comp attorneys here at Quatrini Rafferty. Sometimes when you treat for your injuries following a work accident, you have to treat with a doctor or get physical therapy far from your home. The Workers’ Compensation Act allows you to be reimbursed for your mileage as long at the travel to the treatment center is not local. Local travel is defined as where everyone in your community generally goes for treatment. So, if you’re in a rural area and you have to travel to a city in order to treat for your work injury, if it’s a place where people in your community generally travel for treatment of that type, it might not be covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act. However, there are acceptations, such as if your employer or the Workers’ Comp insurance carrier directs you to seek specifically that travel. In that case your mileage is more likely to be reimbursed. It can be complicated, so if you have any questions give us a call at Quatrini Rafferty. We can help you through it.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 23, 2019 – HOW TO HANDLE AN AUTO ACCIDENT
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, my name is Joyce Novotny-Prettiman, I’m an attorney at Quatrini Rafferty and I’m here today for a legal tip for your Tuesday. What I would like to talk about is how important it is if you’re in a motor vehicle accident to get information at the scene, if you are able to do so. It’s always a very stressful situation when you’re in an automobile collision and so hopefully these tips will help you get the basic information you need in case you need it later. If the police are called to the scene of a collision they usually will take care of gathering this information, but if it’s not you’re left to do that on your own and if it’s not something you do every day it can be something that gets complicated rather quickly. So first of all, make sure that you identify the other driver. If you have a smart phone and you can use your phone to take pictures, it will make the process a little bit easier, but you can always get out the pen and pencil. You want to know the name, the exact name of the other driver, their address, and their phone number. Again if you can take a picture of their driver license, that’s great. So you want to make sure to identify the driver, you also want to get the insurance information on the vehicle. Many people will have an insurance card with them and again, you can either take a photo of that or write down the name of the insurance company and the policy number, those are the most important things. If you can get a picture of the other vehicle, that’s great as well, including the license plate. Another thing that’s important to get at the scene of the accident is the name of any witnesses and their phone number. These folks are people that you can call on later if you need to get any additional information or any help in regard to identifying things that happened, people that were at the scene, and how an incident accrued. We’re happy to help you at any time with any questions you have when you’re hurt in an auto accident, so please give us a call here at Quatrini Rafferty.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 16, 2019 – AUTO INSURANCE CHECKUP
- Video Transcript
  - Good Morning, welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday at Quatrini Rafferty. My name is Joyce Novotny-Prettiman, and I’d like to talk to you a little bit today about your auto insurance. You may have received some paperwork from your auto insurance company in the mail and wonder why you received that. It actually maybe because of a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court Case that we talked about in a previous Legal Tip Tuesday. That case was decided in January of 2019 and it’s called Gallagher V. GEICO. It’s really important that you understand what that case stands for because the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a consumer-friendly decision that basically says that you have to understand what you are rejecting as far as your insurance coverage goes, and the insurance company cannot put language in a policy that takes away coverage that you purchased. So that decision is based on uninsured and under insured motorist coverage. And the paperwork that you get is going to ask you some questions about that type of coverage. So, it’s a good time to just hit the pause button and understand what you’re signing before you send that paperwork back to the insurance company. So uninsured and under insured motorist coverage is very important. It protects you if you or a family member is hurt in an auto accident, and the other person who’s at fault doesn’t have enough insurance coverage. Unfortunately, we’ve had many people come to our office who don’t have that insurance coverage selected on their insurance policy, and that means they don’t have the coverage they in in the case of a serious injury. So, if you get paperwork form your insurance company, don’t sign a rejection of stacking coverage or a rejection of underinsured motorist coverage without knowing what you are doing if you do that. We always recommended that you have uninsured and under insured motorist coverage in place and that it should be at least the limits of your liability policy and that you stack it. We’re always happy to help you understand that paperwork if you give us a call at Quatrini Rafferty. So it’s a great time for an insurance checkup, give us a call if you need help.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 09, 2019 – PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES IN THE WORKPLACE
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday. This is a service of Quatrini Rafferty that we really enjoy doing. Today, the subject I want to share with you is psychological injuries in the workplace. There are three district categories of psychological injuries in the legal parlance. The first is where you have a physical insult that results in an emotional disability. Let me give you an example. You have a heart attack, an you’ve been out of work for a long time. You have all of those worries that come with being out of work. Loss of money, loss of self-esteem. Over time you developed depression and anxiety, a very normal consequence. That’s a physical injury that has resulted in a psychological overlay, we call it, or a disability. That phycological treatment that you might need, will be paid for under workers comp, under that scenario. Both the heart attack, and the phycological care that you need for depression or anxiety. Now let’s flip that. The second category is when you suffer an emotional insult at work, that results in a physical injury. So, what might happen is that you’ve now been told that you’ve lost your job and that you have to train your replacement before they send you out the door. You’re so emotionally distraught that you suffer a heart attack. Well, that heart attack, and that treatment and your loss of wages because of it, are going to be covered under workers compensation. The third category is more complicated, it’s called a mental mental injury. A phycological stimuli, causes a phycological disability. Here’s an example. You’re working at a gas station as a clerk, somebody walks in with a gun, points it at your chest and says, “give me the money.” And you’re scared to death, of course. That fear that emanates from that, and what happens afterwards, the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, is related to the workplace. It’s related to being robbed, at gun point. But the law has made it harder to recover in that scenario. We as your lawyers have to prove that what happened is called an abnormal working condition. Well, another word for that is now an extra ordinary event. Do I think that I can obtain benefits for you under the scenario I just described? Yes, yes I do believe that getting robbed at gun point if you’re a clerk in a gas station, is an extra ordinary event. We would have to prove that to the judge, but with the right medical help, and reports, and your testimony, I feel confident we could help you. So those are the three types of categories, physical mental injury, a mental physical injury, and a mental mental injury. I hope this helps you as you go through life and go through jobs. If you need our help, give us a call. This is Legal Tip Tuesday, I’m Vince Quatrini, have a great day.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 02, 2019 – SAVING FOR AN EMERGENCY FUND
- Video Transcript
  - Hello, and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Vince Quatrini, and today I wanted to talk to you about a life tip that integrates with our legal tips here at Quatrini Rafferty. I have been representing injured workers, men and women, my entire career. And what I’ve found is that when that sudden unexpected event occurs, that puts you out of work, you’re not ready for it, emotionally or financially. So, what I thought I’d share with you are some concepts of what to do to prepare, at least financially, for a time when you’re not going to have no income. A rainy-day fund, otherwise called and emergency fund. Some steps to follow. One, set a goal. Pick a number, a dollar number, that you feel you need to set aside and then work on it on a regular basis. Use your payroll account to automatically deduct it, so you never see it. Two, the goal is to put away three to six months of your expenses. Your mortgage and your rent, or rent, your car payment, and your utilities and groceries. So, if you have an emergency fund that you’ve put away six months, you’re going to be in good shape if something unexpected befalls you. Three, keep that money immediately available. Don’t put it into some account you can’t take it out of when you need it right away. So that you can use it when you need it. Four, join a credit union, they have great accounts for something like this. You may already have a Christmas account, or a vacation account, create an emergency fund account. Finally, remember why you setup this account. For the unexpected, for the emergency when you’re out of work and out of a paycheck, for whatever reason, for a long time. It’s not your vacation fund, it’s not when you decide to buy a new couch. This is for that time when you will have to worry about “where am I going to get money to pay to pay my mortgage?” I hope these ideas, these concepts, will give you more piece of mind and more security as you go forward in life. Thank you for watching Legal Tip Tuesday, have a great day.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 11, 2018 – VETERANS’ DISABILITY UPDATE
- Video Transcript
  - Hello this is Michael Quatrini and I have a veterans (disability) update for you. As some of you may have heard, the Veterans Administration is trying to totally overhaul their appeal system. What does this mean for your case if you already have one going or in the future? February 14, 2019 will the date when any decisions rendered after that will fall under the new appeal system. The problem? We don’t actually have regulations written by the VA and approved by Congress at this point as to how that new appeal system is going to work. This should make veterans nervous, but the good news is that you will have us to try to figure that process out. The long and short of it is this: if you already have a case pending on appeal through the VA, your case will stay in the same process that it’s already in. We can continue to handle that case just as we’ve been doing for the last year or even longer. If you receive a decision after February 14, 2019, we’ll be in the new appeal process. The good news is QuatriniRafferty is on the forefront of a) reading whatever proposed regulations have already been published and b) giving guidance to lawyers across the United States on what that appeal process is going to look like. I personally was in San Francisco about two weeks ago where I did a three-hour presentation on what, how, when and why of the new appeal system. I look forward to sharing these thoughts with you. Let’s hope that after February 14thof 2019, we actually have real regulations to be able to explain to everyone the process. I look forward to going over those with you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 5, 2018 – “STACKING” YOUR AUTO INSURANCE POLICIES
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody! I’m Jessica Rafferty. I’m one of the attorneys here at QuatriniRafferty and I handle our personal injury cases. I’m here on Legal Tip Tuesday and I wanted to share with you a tip regarding your auto insurance policy. There are many options, and we have probably talked about quite a few of those during our Legal Tip Tuesdays, but one that I wanted to mention today is “stacking.” If you’re in a household and you own more than one vehicle, you can select “Stacking” on your auto insurance policy. So if you’re injured in an auto accident and the driver that hit you does not have enough insurance coverage to cover all of your injuries, you can look to your own insurance policy (Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage). Now that’s a different topic, but what you can do with the Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverages is you can stack the coverages. So for instance if you have a policy that has $50,000 of Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage, but you have 2 cars in your household and you select “stacking,” you don’t just have $50,000 of coverage anymore. You now have $100,000 of coverage. So basically, you take whatever your Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage is and you multiply it by the number of cars you have in your household if you select “stacking.” It’s a really good idea to have “stacking” because a lot of times people that are driving out on the road do not have enough insurance to cover the damages they may cause to you and your family, and this is a nice way to protect you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 30, 2018 – THE MYTHS OF A LIVING TRUST
- Video Transcript
  - Hi my name is Jim Horchak and I’m here today with another addition of Legal Tip Tuesday. And today I want to talk about the myths of a regulable living trust. And the first myth is that by having a regulable living trust, avoids inheritance tax compared to if I just had everything in my will, and that is completely false. Your estate will be subject to an inheritance tax whether or not you have a living trust or if you have a will. So, a living trust does not avoid inheritance tax. And the second myth is my probate cost will be reduced, and that also is not true. If you have a living trust, you’ll still have to hire a lawyer – well your estate will have to hire a lawyer. There’ll still be probate cost at the courthouse. There’s a lot to do if you have your assets in a will or if you have your assets passing through a trust. So, there’ll be cost to pay either way, so that myth is simply not true. Another thing you have to think about is you still need a will, because what if you had some assets that you acquired after you drafted the trust and forgot to transfer them into the trust. So you’ll need a will that picks up some of these assets that simply weren’t tilted in the trust, and again you may have to occur the probate process which in Pennsylvania isn’t that burdensome. When we talk to our clients, we most the time if not all the time, recommend wills. If you have any questions about living wills or trust, just give us a call here at the firm. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 13, 2018 – KIDS’ CHANCE OF PENNSYLVANIA
- Video Transcript
  - Hi I’m Pete Gough, an attorney with QuatriniRafferty. I’m certified by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Workers’ Compensation. I’m here today for Legal Tip Tuesday to talk to you about an organization that’s near and dear to my heart: Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania. I’m on the Board of this special charitable organization – Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania – and have been for the past several years. The attorneys and staff of QuatriniRafferty are proud to be partners and sponsors of Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania. Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania is dedicated to helping kids who need assistance for college of vocational education because a parent was killed or seriously injured in a work-related accident. For the 2017/2018 year, Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania awarded 53 scholarships for a total amount of $175,000. Over the last 6 years, Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania has awarded over 330 scholarships totaling over $1 million to kids in need.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 – AUTO INSURANCE AND PROPERTY DAMAGE (Auto Accidents)
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to QuatriniRafferty’s Legal Tip Tuesday. Today I’d like to talk a little bit about your auto insurance and specifically the property damage portion of your insurance. So, a couple questions: what kind of coverage must you carry in Pennsylvania? Only $5000 of property damage coverage is required. What does that cover? Is the next question that people usually ask. And that’s damage to another vehicle that you might be responsible for damaging, or other property. If you run off the road into a mailbox or a light post or something like that. So, if you think about it $5000 is not going to cover a lot of damage and you can be held personally responsible if you’re at fault for damaging someone’s property. So, the legal tip for this Tuesday is check your auto insurance policy. You want to have more than $5000 worth of coverage and you want to make sure that you know about this before something happens to protect yourself in the future.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 – CONTINUING DISABILITY REVIEWS (Social Security Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Hello to all the fans of QuatriniRafferty. Welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday. Previously we had discussed maintaining your treatment with your doctors leading up to your Social Security Disability or SSI hearing. Now I want to tell you a little bit about after you’ve already won your case. As we’ve seen here at the office, there’s a dramatic rise in the amount of “Continuing Disability Reviews.” This means that Social Security is pulling more people to review their claims to try to cut off their benefits. What is important is that you continue to go to your doctors after you’ve been awarded. This includes your specialists. And even if your doctors indicate that they don’t need to see you again or only when needed, we still recommend making an appointment to check back in with them probably once a year if more, especially if you’re having an increase of symptoms or different types of symptoms. What we’re really concerned about as well is that not only has there been a dramatic rise in the number of CDRs already, but with the passage of a new executive order last week or the week before, there will now be the opportunity for the Social Security Administration to appoint these judges rather than have them go through rigorous testing to actually get a job as an Administrative Law Judge. We think this combination of Continuing Disability Reviews and appointed judges will make for a more difficult path in the future so that’s why it’s more important than ever that you maintain your treatment, always repeat and explain your symptoms with specifics, and that will allow you to continue to protect yourself going forward. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – THE GIG ECONOMY (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Hello and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. This is Vince Quatrini. I’m one of the attorneys from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty. Today’s tip? The “Gig Economy.” Oh, what is the Gig Economy? Let’s back up a step. So up until now, if you went to work for the local steel mill, you were an employee of the steel mill. You got a paycheck, fringe benefits, and protection if you got hurt from Workers’ Compensation. Fast forward to today. You’re the Uber driver who has just taken a suitcase out of the trunk of the car and hurt your back. Uh oh. Who’s going to pay if you can’t work? You’re not an employee of Uber if they have their way. You’re called an “independent contractor.” An independent contractor is not covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act of Pennsylvania. Now what do you do? You can’t work, and you have no income coming in. So maybe we need Uber drivers and we need a Gig Economy, but you also need protected. We have arguments that would make you an employee of Uber. They (Uber) tell you where to go. They set the terms of your payment. They control your activities. So maybe you really are an employee (of Uber). That’s the short version of the Gig Economy 2018. Thanks for tuning in! Come back soon to the lawyers at QuatriniRafferty. Have a good day.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 – JOINTLY HELD ASSETS (Wills & Estates)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, this is Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Dave DeRose. I’m an associate (Attorney) here at QuatriniRafferty and I would like to give you a tip on estate planning. Many people have assets that they own perhaps as a husband and wife, maybe a husband and a son, a wife and a daughter…they’re “jointly-held assets.” Between husband and wife, there is no problem and there is no tax when one spouse passes away. If, however, a widow or a widower owns an account with a son or a daughter, for example, there is a tax to pay at the widow or widower’s death. Many people don’t realize that and end up piling certain assets into their children’s names with them expecting there would be no tax. The other thing that sometimes occurs is that a child will put a parent on an asset that they own. Perhaps the child buys savings bonds and for convenience sake puts his mother or father on the bond with him. Well, if the child would die, the mother and father have a tax to pay. If the mother or father dies, the child has a tax to pay on his or her own money. These are things that we can discuss at any time in the course of an estate plan for you. Please feel free to contact us. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 28, 2018 – WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND MENTAL INJURIES (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday sponsored by the law firm QuatriniRafferty. I’m Mike Routch, and today I’m going to talk about mental injuries that may result from physical work injuries. Sadly, a serious physical trauma at work can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other serious mental injury. Sometimes the mental injury can be more debilitating than the physical injury that caused it. Establishing that a mental injury arose from a physical trauma at work can be quite complex. Questions may evolve regarding the nature of the mental condition, the cause of the mental condition, and notice as to when it arose. Additionally, there are many forms of treatment for mental injuries that can be quite costly if they’re denied by the employer or the insurance carrier as being work-related.
  - Because mental injuries that evolved from physical traumas are not always obvious to the worker, to their family, or to their friends, they may impact the statute of limitations and the notice requirements of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. If you believe that you’ve developed a major depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or any other mental illness as a result of a serious, physical work injury, you should call QuatriniRafferty. We can answer your questions and try and help you discover whether or not the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act covers your mental injury. I’m Mike Routch, thanks for joining us!
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 21, 2018 – STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (Auto Accidents)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody! I’m Jessica Rafferty and I’m at the law firm of QuatriniRafferty and I’m here today for Legal Tip Tuesday! I want to talk with you about the Statue of Limitations. In Pennsylvania, if you’re injured through no fault of your own and you want to bring a personal injury action, you have two years from the date of the accident to do so. If you’re a child or you’re injured in another state, even if you are a resident of Pennsylvania, that changes the Statue of Limitations. So if you have questions and you’d like to speak with us about that we are more than happy to talk with you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 14, 2018 – 3 WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DOCUMENTS (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, I’m Pete Gough from QuatriniRafferty and welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday. Today I’d like to discuss with you Workers’ Compensation cases and when you should really see a lawyer. After you get hurt (at work), the first thing you should do is you should report your injury to your employer through your supervisor. What can you expect next? Well, typically the Workers’ Compensation carrier will issue one of three documents.
  - The first is a “Denial,” meaning that the carrier is denying your Workers’ Compensation case. You should immediately see a lawyer because I’m sure you’d like to protect your rights, not only if you’re missing work now, but if you could miss work in the future.
  - The second document you may get is something called a “Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable.” This means that the Workers’ Compensation carrier is accepting your injury for a limited period of time…that does not mean that it’s an acceptance of your case. You should see a lawyer when you get a “Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable you need to be guided as to what strategy you should take to ensure your “Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable” converts to an accepted claim…what to do…what to say…what to expect…those are things that really help you in your Workers’ Compensation case and a place you can only get that from (is the) the legal representation at QuatriniRafferty.
  - The final “issue” or document that occurs in Workers’ Compensation cases is a simple acceptance of your claim through a “Notice of Compensation Payable.” Does that mean that you’re in the clear? That you should not see a lawyer? The answer is no, you should still see a lawyer even though your claim is accepted. The claim documents might indicate an incorrect description of injury. They may be paying you too less. So for these reasons, come see us at QuatriniRafferty. We’d love to have you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 7, 2018 – OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday, from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty. I’ve Vince Quatrini and today I want to tell you and talk to you about asthma in the workplace. Do you work at a place where fumes and chemicals are a regular part of your daily existence? Have you noticed that over time you’ve developed hoarseness? A cough that just won’t go away? Shortness of breath? Well, you may be developing what’s called “Occupational Asthma.” Yes, you know a cousin who has asthma from when he was born, but you can acquire asthma and you can do it in the workplace when you’re exposed to fumes or chemicals. If this is happening to you, give us a call. We’ll sit with you for a free consultation. That’s your tip for Legal Tip Tuesday from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 31, 2018 – HOW LONG DOES THE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY APPLICATION PROCESS TAKE? (Social Security Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody, it’s Adam Quatrini from QuatriniRafferty, here to talk about Social Security Disability on this Legal Tip Tuesday. One of the questions that I get most often is “how long is this (Social Security Disability) process going to take me?” The truth is it’s going to take a while. The initial application period is 3 months (on average). 85% of people are denied at that level. You come back in, we appeal you, and that puts you in line to go in front of a Social Security judge. To get to the judge right now is anywhere between 22 to 24 months, so the takeaway is it is a very long process and the sooner you get in, the sooner we can get you in the system and get you the money that you deserve.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 24, 2018 – MEDICAL COVERAGE AND YOUR AUTO INSURANCE (Auto Accidents)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi. I’m Joyce Novotny Prettiman from QuatriniRafferty and I’m here to give you a tip for our Legal Tip Tuesday. In regard to Auto Insurance, keep in mind that in Pennsylvania you have to purchase $5,000 of medical coverage. Most people don’t know that you can purchase more and it’s not terribly expensive. The reason you might want to consider doing that is if you’re in an Auto Accident and you’re injured, when you get to collecting a settlement on your Personal Injury case, many times your private health insurance can come back into that settlement to collect the bills that they’ve paid. So if you have more insurance on your own auto coverage, you’ll save yourself from that interesting situation.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 17, 2018 – PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BILLS AFTER A WORK INJURY (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday sponsored by the Law Firm QuatriniRafferty. I’m Mike Routch, and I’m going to talk today about payment of medical bills after a work injury. Often when someone is hurt at work, the employer or its insurance carrier will pay medical bills without formally accepting the work injury. While this may not be too significant for minor injuries, it can have major repercussions should the injury recur or should it require future treatment going forward. All workers’ comp. injuries have a three year statute of limitations, which means that an employer, if it doesn’t accept the injury, could stop paying medical bills after three years. Imagine having a back injury that persists and requires periodic visits to say a Chiropractor. After three years, if the employer or the carrier doesn’t formally recognize the claim, they could stop paying bills and then the worker is responsible to pay them after that.
  - Be aware. The mere payment of medical bills does not constitute the acceptance of an injury under the Pennsylvania workers’ comp act, nor does payment of short-term disability by an employer. If you’ve been injured at work and you’re not sure if your claim has been formally accepted by your employer, give us a call at QuatriniRafferty. We can answer your questions and make sure that your rights are protected for future payment of medical bills. I’m Mike Routch. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 10, 2018 – CONSISTENCY IS KEY (Social Security Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi this is Michael Quatrini and I’m back for Legal Tip Tuesday. Today’s theme is Social Security Disability benefits. With any claim for Social Security, consistent medical treatment is key. Basically when judges look at these cases, if a person is not treating for a condition, it doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s important that you consistently go to the doctor, you consistently always go over your symptoms so that it eventually gets in the records so the judge can read it and understand the impact it’s having on your day-to-day life.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 3, 2018 – TRANSFERRING A FAMILY HOME TO CHILDREN
- Video Transcript
  - Hi. This is Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m Dave DeRose. I’m an associate (attorney) here at QuatriniRafferty and I’d like to give you a tip about estate planning. Many people over the course of my career have asked me, “Isn’t it a good idea that I transfer my family home to my children?” And that might be a couple, that might be a widow or a widower. The answer to that is complex. There is no “one answer.” It has some advantages, and it has some disadvantages. One disadvantage is that your children could now own your home and if you have a disagreement with them, you may not be able to stay in your home. One advantage might be that you transfer your house to your children and you avoid inheritance tax if you live for more than one year. There are also some income tax issues, there’s an issue relating to nursing care if you would find yourself going into a nursing home and needing to apply for aid, and a host of other things. And that tells me that if you want this question answered, you need to come in, see me, and we’ll certainly talk about it and explore all of the pros and cons appropriately. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 19, 2018 – HOW MUCH LTD COVERAGE AM I ENTITLED TO? (Long-Term Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi this is Brian Bronson for “Legal Tip Tuesday” here at QuatriniRafferty. One of the questions we get very often is, “How much am I entitled to if I leave work and go on Long-Term Disability benefits?” And the question depends on the policy and the terms of the policy. Some policies give 60% of your benefits. Some give even about up to 80% of your benefits. What you really need to do, before you become disabled, is to become familiar with your particular product that either you or employer has purchased for you. You need to find out if there are potential offsets for Workers’ Compensation, for Social Security Disability, and for other benefits coming in so that you can determine “If I am disabled, am I covered to the point where I can survive the disability and get back to work, or is it enough money to cover me if I incur a serious disability?”
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 12, 2018 – COMMON AUTO ACCIDENT MISCONCEPTION (Auto Accidents)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody! I’m Jessica Rafferty. I’m here at the law firm of QuatriniRafferty for Legal Tip Tuesday. Today I wanted to talk with you about a common misconception. If you’re involved in an Automobile Accident and let’s say, for example, I caused the accident. I collided with your vehicle. If you file a claim against me, it would be, say your name is “Joe Smith”, so “Joe Smith versus Jessica.” Even though you have to name “Jessica” as the defendant in the case, it’s really my insurance company that would be paying for the damages to your vehicle or yourself/your injuries. So even though, under Pennsylvania law, it must be “Joe Smith versus Jessica Rafferty,” it’s really my insurance company that would be paying that. You would not be taking any money out of my pocket. I just wanted to clear that up. A lot of people ask that question and I thought it might be helpful.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 5,2018 – HOW LONG MUST I TREAT WITH A COMPANY DOCTOR? (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, I’m Pete Gough from QuatriniRafferty and welcome back to Legal Tip Tuesday. Today is a topic that is very dear to my heart and that is how long you have to treat with a panel physician or a company doctor. The answer is no time. Only on very limited circumstances…VERY limited circumstances…do you have to treat with the panel physician for 90 days. Yes, the employer is going to tell you that you have to…that is not the case. So if you get hurt and you feel that the panel physician is not in your corner, please see us at QuatriniRafferty. We’re here to help you. Thank you.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 29, 2018 – PARENTS: YOU NEED A WILL! (Wills & Estates)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi my name is Jim Horchak and I’m with QuatriniRafferty law firm. Today we’re here with another episode of Legal Tip Tuesday. Today I want to talk about why it’s important to have a will, especially if you have young children. It’s important because in your will you get to select who you want to be the guardian of your child in the event of your untimely demise. In addition, you actually get to select who you want to pick as the guardian. In the event you don’t have a will, it could lead to family members fighting about who gets to be the guardian of you child after your death.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 22, 2018 – SSD VS. SSI (Social Security Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi everybody! It’s Adam Quatrini from QuatriniRafferty here with your Legal Tip Tuesday. Today we’re talking about the difference between SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSD (Social Security Disability). The main factor that separates the two is work history. So if you haven’t worked much, or sporadically, you’re going to apply for Supplemental Security Income. And then if you have a long work history and you’ve been paying into Social Security Disability through your FICA tax, you’re going to apply for SSD. Many people apply for SSD when they come see me, but come to QuatriniRafferty, we’ll talk about it. There’s many nuances and we can either apply you for one or both.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 15, 2018 – AM I ELIGIBLE FOR LONG-TERM DISABILITY? (Long-Term Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - Happy Tuesday! This is Brian Bronson here for the QR Legal Tip Tuesday. Today I’m going to talk about Long-Term Disability, that’s what I do, and the question is, that we get most often is “Am I eligible for Long-Term Disability?” And the answer is “It depends.” So Long-Term Disability is a contractual benefit either you sign up for on your own or your employer carries as part of your employee benefit packages. So to find out if you’re covered by Long-Term Disability, you need to get in touch with either your insurance agent if you’re a private company or your Human Resources Department. You can qualify for Long-Term Disability benefits if you’re injured at work, if you are sick, if you have an illness – there’s lots of ways to qualify but in order to find out, you need to get in touch with your Human Resources Department and then you need to come in and see us to have a check to see whether or not you qualify for benefits.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 1, 2018 – GIVE NOTICE OF INJURY (Workers’ Compensation)
- Video Transcript
  - Welcome to Legal Tip Tuesday from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty. I’m Vince Quatrini and I’m here today to talk to you about giving notice when you get injured at work. So you tripped over a wire and you fell on the floor at work and you thought, “Oh, I’m okay. I just bruised my knee and my shoulder’s a little sore. I’ll just work through it.” Wrong decision! We advise all of our clients to report every injury even though at the time you may think it’s insignificant. Why? Well, if you go home and you report that injury a day later…two days later…your employer is going to assume it didn’t happen at work. And, if you failed to report that injury within 120 days, you cannot file a claim at all. That’s your tip for Legal Tip Tuesday! Have a good day.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 24, 2018 – AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGE (Auto Accidents)
- Video Transcript
  - Hi, I’m Joyce Novotny-Prettiman from QuatriniRafferty and I’m here to give you a tip for our Legal Tip Tuesday. In regard to your auto insurance, there are two very important decisions that you should make when selecting your own insurance coverage. The first is that you want to choose Full Tort. That’s extremely important because you don’t want to limit your ability to collect a settlement if you’re injured in an Auto Accident. The second thing which is almost as important is that you want to make sure that you’ve purchased Un- and Underinsured Motorist Coverage. This protects you if the person at fault for the Auto Accident doesn’t have any insurance or enough insurance. They’re two very important things. It’ll protect you and all the members of your family. Pick Full Tort and purchase Un- and Underinsured Motorist Coverage on your auto insurance.
LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 17, 2018 – VETERANS DISABILITY NEW CONDITIONS (Veterans’ Disability)
- Video Transcript
  - MVQ Vet Conditions
    “Hello this is Michael Quatrini and I’m here for the inaugural Legal Tip Tuesday. I have two different tips for you today. Mine today focuses on Veterans’ Disability Compensation. As many of you don’t know yet, the V.A. has finally that any marines at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987 were exposed to a chemical spill in the water supply that has caused a number of different conditions. So my tip for you, Number 1 today, is if you did serve at Camp Lejeune between the 50’s and the 80’s, I think you should look into whether it’s time to file an application for benefits. Even if you’ve had conditions in the past, I think that it’s important that you to go through the list which are easily accessible through an internet search* of “Camp Lejeune water conditions.” Right now, those include adult leukemia, liver cancer, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Myeloma, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and Aplastic Anemia. Those are the conditions that are currently being paid for benefits, but I expect, given the V.A.’s research, for that list to expand in the future. So the tip is make sure that you go and apply if you’ve ever had any of those conditions. And secondly, my tip for the day is “James Harrison, what are you doing signing with the New England Patriots? Tip Number 2? Bad idea James Harrison!”

Here For You When It Matters Most

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LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 19, 2020 – SPECIAL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROTECTION FOR PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 12, 2020 – WHAT IS A LEGAL CHECKUP?

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 05, 2020 – OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN THE WORKPLACE

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 28, 2020 – MAKING A WILL & QR NEWS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 21, 2020 – COVID LEGAL RIGHTS/ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 14, 2020 – LIFE TIPS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 07, 2020 – 3 ESSENTIAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MARCH 31, 2020 – A COVID: 19 WORKPLACE RIGHTS UPDATE

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MARCH 12, 2020 – TAX IMPLICATIONS AND WC BENEFITS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 18, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – FINAL

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 11, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 6

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 28, 2020 – SOCIAL SECURITY SCAMS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 21, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 5

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 14, 2020 – FILING A CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JANUARY 7, 2020 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 4

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 17, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 3

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 10, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 2

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 3, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY – THE SERIES – PART 1

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 15, 2019 – VETERAN’S DISABILITY BENEFITS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 8, 2019 – UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 01, 2019 – WELCOME NICHOLAS W. KENNEDY, ESQ.

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 – LIFE AFTER AN INJURY OR DISABILITY

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 – WHY AM I NOT GETTING MORE MONEY

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 – SLIP AND FALL

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 03, 2019 – INSPECT AND RECEIVE MEDICAL RECORDS

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 27, 2019 – AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COVERAGE

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 13, 2019 – BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHERS DRIVING

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 6, 2019 – MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 23, 2019 – HOW TO HANDLE AN AUTO ACCIDENT

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 16, 2019 – AUTO INSURANCE CHECKUP

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 09, 2019 – PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES IN THE WORKPLACE

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 02, 2019 – SAVING FOR AN EMERGENCY FUND

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 11, 2018 – VETERANS’ DISABILITY UPDATE

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – DECEMBER 5, 2018 – “STACKING” YOUR AUTO INSURANCE POLICIES

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – OCTOBER 30, 2018 – THE MYTHS OF A LIVING TRUST

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 13, 2018 – KIDS’ CHANCE OF PENNSYLVANIA

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 – AUTO INSURANCE AND PROPERTY DAMAGE (Auto Accidents)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 – CONTINUING DISABILITY REVIEWS (Social Security Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – THE GIG ECONOMY (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 – JOINTLY HELD ASSETS (Wills & Estates)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 28, 2018 – WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND MENTAL INJURIES (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 21, 2018 – STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (Auto Accidents)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 14, 2018 – 3 WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DOCUMENTS (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – AUGUST 7, 2018 – OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 31, 2018 – HOW LONG DOES THE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY APPLICATION PROCESS TAKE? (Social Security Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 24, 2018 – MEDICAL COVERAGE AND YOUR AUTO INSURANCE (Auto Accidents)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 17, 2018 – PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BILLS AFTER A WORK INJURY (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 10, 2018 – CONSISTENCY IS KEY (Social Security Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JULY 3, 2018 – TRANSFERRING A FAMILY HOME TO CHILDREN

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 19, 2018 – HOW MUCH LTD COVERAGE AM I ENTITLED TO? (Long-Term Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 12, 2018 – COMMON AUTO ACCIDENT MISCONCEPTION (Auto Accidents)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – JUNE 5,2018 – HOW LONG MUST I TREAT WITH A COMPANY DOCTOR? (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 29, 2018 – PARENTS: YOU NEED A WILL! (Wills & Estates)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 22, 2018 – SSD VS. SSI (Social Security Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 15, 2018 – AM I ELIGIBLE FOR LONG-TERM DISABILITY? (Long-Term Disability)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – MAY 1, 2018 – GIVE NOTICE OF INJURY (Workers’ Compensation)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 24, 2018 – AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGE (Auto Accidents)

LEGAL TIP TUESDAY – APRIL 17, 2018 – VETERANS DISABILITY NEW CONDITIONS (Veterans’ Disability)

Practice Areas