THE LEGAL LEADER

Here at QuatriniRafferty, we are committed to educating the community on how to handle legal issues that we see at the firm every day; to do this, we started a video series called “Legal Tip Tuesday.” Every Tuesday we post a short legal tip video to our social media accounts, as well as on our website. Read on to learn about five legal tips that attorneys Jeffrey Monzo, Brian Bronson, Michael Quatrini, Jim Horchak, Peter Gough and Vince Quatrini have recently shared.

Iam Jeff Monzo. Today we’re discussing situations where you are injured in a car accident or a fall, and the entity you have a claim against is related to the government. These situations may exist if you’re in a car accident with a driver who is a government employee, if you slip and fall due to a dangerous condition outside of a state office building or a courthouse, or if you’re on a roadway with a defect that causes you injury, whether that be the result of a pothole, improper signage, or something else. While you can still make a claim even though the “other side” is the government, these cases present unique challenges. Most importantly, you need to know that the deadline to notify the government agency, or the government employee, of your injury is 6 months from the date of your accident. That notice must include the injuries you suffered, when and where exactly the accident happened, and witnesses to the accident. If you do not present all of this information within 6 months, you will lose your right to sue and recover from your injuries or damages. The other unique issue in these cases is that recovery is limited to $250,000 for each person involved in the accident, or 1 million dollars for the total claim if there are multiple people involved. We at QuatriniRafferty are prepared to address these challenges for you. If you, a family member, or a friend is involved in an accident with a government agency, please reach out to us so that we can evaluate your case.

Iam Brian Bronson, and today we’re talking about recent scams related to the Social Security Administration. There have always been people who scam others out of money, benefits, or property, and that goes for Social Security benefits too. What we see most commonly are people receiving calls from spoof numbers or numbers they do not know, and someone saying “I am with the Social Security Administration” We can tell you 100% - they are not! These scammers are after your personal information, your Social Security number, your birth date, etc, so that they can steal your benefits. If you receive a call from somebody reporting to be from the Social Security Administration, please do not give them any personal identification information. If it is a legitimate call from Social Security, they will send you a letter. If you receive a call that you think is a scam, call your local Social Security office and report the call. If you have any questions regarding these scam calls, please give us a call - we’d be glad to help you!

Iam Michael Quatrini, and today we are talking about Veteran’s Disability Benefits. Recently, the Veteran’s Administration announced that a ruling - which stated that all Vietnam Veterans exposed to Agent Orange would also include those Veterans who were 12 miles off shore or less – is being suspended. And, no claims will be decided until after the beginning of January 2020. While this is disappointing news, 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, we feel that you should still apply - or reapply - if you’ve been denied in the past for conditions related to Agent Orange. Check our website and our Legal Tip Tuesday videos for new VA Disability procedures.

Iam Jim Horchak, Attorney and CPA, at QuatriniRafferty. Along with Peter Gough we are here to talk to you about how important it is for your Workers Compensation Attorney to double check the accuracy of your weekly disability check from Workers Compensation. Pete is one of our certified Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. We work together to make sure your benefit is accurate. With the thousands of calculations that we have done, we estimate that Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers accurately calculate your benefit approximately ONE THIRD of the time. The majority of the time, they are wrong – and our clients are being shortchanged. If you are unsure if you are receiving your correct benefit amount, contact us to review your Workers’ Compensation benefits. If we find that you are being underpaid, based on your paystubs from the one year prior to your injury, we can file a review petition, go to court, and collect the underpayment – all the way back to your first check - as well as insure that you are paid accurately in the future.

I’m Vince Quatrini and today we are talking about psychological injuries in the workplace. There are three distinct categories of psychological injuries. In legal terminology they are known as - physical/mental - mental/physical - and mental/mental injuries. The first, a physical/mental injury, is when a physical insult to your body results in an emotional disability. For example if you develop depression and anxiety as a result of the financial and emotional stress that occurs after a work related heart attack. The medical treatment that you need for both the heart attack and the psychological care for the depression and anxiety must be paid under Workers’ Compensation in that scenario. Now let’s flip that. The second category, a mental/physical injury, is when you suffer an emotional upheaval at work which results in a physical injury. An example is being told you’re losing your job and must train your replacement before they send you out the door. If this overwhelming emotional event causes you to suffer a heart attack, the heart attack, and the medical treatment for your depression and anxiety, and your loss of wages, are going to be covered under Workers’ Compensation. The third category is more complicated. This is a mental/mental injury, which occurs when a psychological stimuli causes a psychological disability. An example is working as a clerk in a gas station when somebody walks in with a gun, points it at your chest, and says, “Give me the money.” The fear that you immediately feel, and anything that develops afterwards, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are both related to the workplace. Unfortunately, the law has made it harder to recover in this scenario. You also have to prove that what happened fits the criteria of an “abnormal working condition,” or an “extraordinary work event.” In the situation described above, and with the right medical support, reports, and your testimony, I feel confident we can help you obtain Workers Compensation benefits and medical treatment. In summary, there are three types of injury categories, physical/mental, mental/physical, and mental/mental. If you think you fall into one of these categories, give us a call and we can help you determine if you are eligible for benefits.