What to do when you are in an accident?

Here's the perfect checklist to cut out and store in the glove box of your vehicle:


 http://www.qrglaw.com/Personal-Injury/At-The-Scene.pdf



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Tips to Help your SS Case

by Kellie Taylor, Paralegal

•  Your attorney, paralegal and secretary work together on your case as a legal team. You can be assured that all information you provide is shared with all members of the team.
• You know important information about your symptoms and your health history. Tell us so that we can better help you!
• Even if something makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, it is important that you relay all information related to your case.
• Please keep us up-to-date with any changes in your condition and/or treatment. It is not necessary for you to provide this information directly to the attorney or paralegal - you may provide it to the secretary.
• Remember to always bring an up-to-date list of your medications to all of your appointments.
• Bring to your appointments any information you have which is important to your claim such as copies of medical records, your resume or the statement you receive from the Social Security Administration setting forth your yearly earnings.
• We want to be sure we are handling your case to your satisfaction. If you don’t understand what you are being told, please let us know. It is OK to ask.
• It is helpful to write down your questions before you come for an appointment and to take notes so you can refer back to them when you get home.
• If you need to leave a message, please be detailed and provide your full name, telephone number and details of why you are calling. For example, tell us "Dr. Smith ordered an x-ray of my back and it was done on June 1st at Westmoreland Hospital." This detail is incredibly helpful.

The Compassionate Allowance List (CAL)

The Social Security Administration maintains a Compassionate Allowance List (CAL) as a way to quickly identify medical conditions that will likely qualify for disability benefits, lessening the wait time for a decision.


As of April 11, 2012, Social Security expanded the Compassionate Allowances List to include 52 new medical conditions. The 52 new Compassionate Allowance conditions are:


Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome
Alobar Holoprosencephaly
Alpers Disease
Alpha Mannosidosis
Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Site
Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
Child Neuroblastoma
Child Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Chondrosarcoma with multimodal therapy
Cornelia de Lange Syndrome-Classic Form
Ewings Sarcoma
Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma with metastases
Fucosidosis - Type 1
Galactosialidosis - Early Infantile Type
Glioma Grade III and IV
Hallervorden-Spatz Disease
Hepatoblastoma
Histiocytosis
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
Hydranencephaly
Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis
Hypophosphatasia Perinatal lethal Form
I Cell disease
Infantile Free Sialic Acid Storage Disease
Juvenile Onset Huntington Disease
Kufs Disease Type A and B
Lissencephaly
Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis Grade III
Malignant Brain Stem Gliomas - Childhood
Malignant Melanoma with metastases
Mastocytosis Type IV
Medulloblastoma with metastasis
Merkel Cell Carcinoma with metastases
Myocolonic Epilepsy and Ragged Red Fibers Syndrome
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
Obliterative Bronchiolitis
Ohtahara Syndrome
Orthochromatic Leukodystrophy with Pigmented Glia
Pearson Syndrome
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Classic Form
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease-Connatal Form
Peripheral Nerve Cancer - metastatic or recurrent
Perry Syndrome
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata
Schindler Disease Type 1
Smith Lemli Opitz Syndrome
Spinal Nerve Root Cancer- metastatic or recurrent
Stiff Person Syndrome
Tabes Dorsalis
Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome
Xeroderma Pigmentosum

To view the complete list visit:  http://www.qrglaw.com/Social-Security-Disability/The-Compassionate-Allowance-List-CAL.shtml

WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE ON DISTRACTED DRIVING?

Pennsylvania lawmakers have drawn the line as to what will soon be considered illegal driving practices. New provisions in the law will go into effect in March 2012 to attempt to limit the use of "interactive wireless communications devices." This term includes the use of wireless telephones, smart phones, portable or mobile computers or other similar devices, but does not include GPS or navigation systems. The changes to the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code will outlaw driving while using such devices to send, read or write a text-based communication.

This offense is a primary offense, which means that law enforcement personnel can issue a citation for the offense even if the driver is not violating any other section of the Vehicle Code. In contrast, the seat belt law in Pennsylvania is a secondary offense – this means that an adult driver must be cited for some other violation before an officer can add the lack of use of a seat belt to the citation. The fine for a driver who commits the new summary offense of using an interactive wireless device in violation of the statute is $50.

The new law makes no move to control the use of wireless communication devices for telephone calls which is something that was debated by the legislature. Thus the question arises: does the new legislation go far enough to discourage distracted driving?


Distracted driving includes activities such as:

• texting


• making phone calls


• eating and drinking while driving


• reading, including reading maps


• using navigation systems


• adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player


• grooming

While it is clear that texting while driving is certainly dangerous, there have been many reports that other activities, including the use of cell phones, reduce a driver’s attention to the roadway and greatly increase the chances of a collision. All of the other activities listed above draw a driver’s attention away from their most important task: watching the road ahead.

Why has Pennsylvania outlawed texting but allowed cell phone usage to continue? It is interesting to note a study by Carnegie-Mellon University which suggests that driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by as much as 37 percent. Additionally, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is pushing to eliminate distracted driving on a federal level. If the federal government regulates this area, less stringent state laws will be invalidated. You can review further information about the dangers of distracted driving by logging onto www.distraction.gov.

In the interest of safety, we at QR encourage everyone to place their cell phones and smart phones out of reach while driving. Safe driving is too important to allow for any distractions which go well beyond texting.

MADE IN THE USA

Does it seem that nothing is made in the "good ol’ U.S. of A." anymore? All one has to do is walk down the aisle at a local Wal-Mart to realize that the majority of the things we buy everyday are made in China and other countries, but many products are still American-made. Buying American stimulates the economy and keeps jobs right here where they belong. If you are not sure where something is made, there are numerous websites that can help you answer that question, such as www.americansworking.com.

Why buy American?

• Foreign labor standards may allow unsafe working conditions and child labor.
  


• Many countries have no minimum wage restrictions.
  


• The decline of American factory production makes us more dependent on foreign-made goods.
  


• Foreign manufacturing standards can be low, unregulated or non-existent, resulting in unsafe products such as children’s toys containing lead paint, and baby formula with dangerous additives.
  


• Choosing American preserves jobs for future generations.

Buy American - and help keep America working!

2012 Statewide AWW

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry recently announced that the Average Weekly Wage for workers' compensation benefits has increased to $888.00 per week for 2012. This is a 3.5 percent increase from 2011.

For more information on the AWW increase and a chart of past AWW's, please click the link below:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/claims_information/10431/statewide_average_weekly_wage/552650

2012 Notice of Rate Adjustment for Record Reproduction