How the new workers’ comp laws will look By: Darrell Castle July 2014 will bring reform to the Tennessee workers’ comp process, and according to the Nashville Business Journal, it features two major changes. The first change – the process is getting streamlined into one system. Currently, there are two courts hearing workers’ comp issues – an administrative system and regular trial courts. Previously, when issues weren’t settled in administrative systems, the issue would enter the court system, which ultimately led to “a race to the courthouse.” Now, having a court solely devoted to workers’ comp cases will result in a quicker process, and potentially reduced legal costs for employers by the removal of traditional court litigation costs. A workers’
Last week, Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law a new workers’ comp overhaul for the state of Tennessee. According to The Tennessean, the law “moves disputed cases from the courts to a new state agency, overseen by an administrator appointed by the governor.” In addition, it will authorize “the creation of medical treatment guidelines and changes how disability payments are calculated, among other things.” As a workers’ comp lawyer in Memphis I have concerns about how this new law may affect injured workers in the state. You can read some of those concerns here in a previous blog post. But my concerns aren’t as important as yours. If you’ve been injured on the job in TN, you may be wondering
By: Darrell Castle In most cases, you CAN get rid of your payday loans through bankruptcy. You’re being lied to if you’re told otherwise. Payday loan providers will tell their customers that it’s illegal to include their loans in a bankruptcy. They tell the customers they can go to prison. They’re telling lies! Don’t fall for these lies. If you take out a payday loan and you aren’t able to pay it back, don’t be scared to file for bankruptcy. If you owe money to a payday lender, then that debt is treated like any other unsecured debt – a debt not backed by collateral – in your bankruptcy. It can be included in a Chapter 7 for complete discharge
According to FoxNews, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that a widow was given sufficient notice of her unpaid $6.30 of interest before her $280,000 house was sold at a tax auction three years ago. “I paid everything, and didn’t know about the $6.30,” the woman said. “For the house to be sold just because of $6.30 is crazy.” And I agree with her – it’s outrageous. The woman, Eleen Battisti, said her husband handled all the paperwork for the property’s taxes before he passed away in 2004. “It’s bad – she had some hard times, I guess her husband kind of took care of a lot of that stuff,” Joe Askar, the county’s chief solicitor, said. “It seemed that she was
It’s already frustrating enough to get your paycheck and see the huge sum taken out for taxes, benefits, etc. If you’re dealing with wage garnishment, you’re losing even more every time. But a new trend might be even more frustrating: You might have to pay to receive your check in the first place! These days, a growing number of employers are giving their workers a prepaid card instead of a traditional check. Employees use these cards like ATM cards to withdraw their pay from the bank. The cards are particularly popular with retail businesses and restaurants, though their usage is growing in other industries as well. The catch? The cards come with fees. And those fees can skyrocket pretty quickly.
If You’re Denied Social Security Disability Benefits If you’ve been denied Social Security Disability benefits, you may be feeling pretty frustrated. But remember, up to 70% of initial claims are denied, so you shouldn’t be discouraged. Here’s how to appeal your Social Security Disability claim and get the benefits you need. Why Your Claim Might Have Been Denied Your disability application could’ve been denied for many reasons, especially if you filled it out yourself. Some of the most common reasons include: Lack of medical records Missing documents Failure to follow your doctor’s treatment plan (or failure to prove you did) And many other details that go wrong all the time At this stage, keep in mind the SSA denies the
Filing for bankruptcy comes with some benefits By: Darrell Castle Roughly one-third of all Americans have a debt in collections reported on their credit. This figure, from the Urban Institute, implies what we already know – that many people are harassed by debt collectors on a regular basis. “I’m not a deadbeat – it kind of sounds like I am – but I just got ill, and that was a long time ago, and I’m barely staying afloat. I wasn’t able to pay other bills either, and then I had no credit. I know that I’m getting close to losing it, which would mean going to a hospital and, you know, a recovery period.” The quote above was from a
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hat a bankruptcy can do for you By: Darrell Castle “Money doesn’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you freedom.” Do you agree with that quote? I do! Money DOESN’T buy you happiness. I’ve heard many stories of people pursuing careers in order to become rich, but they chose work over the people they love and ended up regretting the life they’d lead. Now, that’s not to say there’s something wrong with having money – a lot or a little. After all, money is essential to living – it serves as trade for our necessities of shelter and food. But, it’s when money starts to control your life that you can lose control of your happiness. When you have
By: Darrell Castle Are you in debt this holiday season? Well, you aren’t alone. In total, American consumers owe over $11 trillion in debt. That seems stressful to me. As a bankruptcy attorney, I’ve had plenty of conversations with people who are struggling with debt and the inability to pay their bills. I’ve heard their stories and seen their cries. They’re stressed out. Christmas is supposed to be a time full of joy and peace – not a time of stress and fear. There’s a way to relieve yourself of that debt that’s eating away at your life and enjoy your holidays with the comfort of financial stability. By filing for bankruptcy, you can discharge all of your dischargeable debt