GM Recall for Ignition Switches On Friday, GM added 971,000 vehicles to their already extensive list of faulty vehicles affected by the GM recall for ignition switches. (Originally published March 29, 2014) GM’s faulty ignition switches suddenly shut off cars, which disables the brakes, power steering, and air bags. In that moment, you have no power steering or brakes. Airbags won’t deploy to soften the blow upon impact. As a result, investigators report 13 deaths so far and many more injuries. GM could have avoided such a high death toll. Instead, they waited a decade to make the recall. So why did GM wait so long? According to many people familiar with the automaker, the corporate culture affected their decision. Managers
Why the SSDI Numbers Have Changed In the past 40 years, the number of people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) increased sixfold, from 1.4 million people to 8.3 million. A report from the Congressional Budget Office helps to explain why. Changes in the Workforce First, the numbers reflect an increase of women in the workforce. More workers eligible for SSDI means an increase in Social Security claims. Along with women who boosted the workforce for the last 40 years, the baby boomer generation produced an influx of new workers in general. As people age, they become more and more qualified to receive SSDI, because older age can make training for a new type of work difficult. So successful
How Finances and Marriage Work Together Finances and marriage go hand in hand; and when one suffers, the other often suffers, too. In fact, nearly 80% of divorced couples say finances played a major role in their decision. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I see these problems firsthand all the time. A lot of couples begin marriage in debt and never establish a clear-cut plan on how to handle it. For those couples, debt becomes a natural way of life. Unfortunately, the debt forces the couple to live with stress of unpaid bills and missed opportunities. Sometimes one member of the couple wants to pay off the debt, but their spouse wants to spend. This imbalance in priorities can lead to
By: Darrell Castle Couples are letting money and debt destroy their marriage when they don’t have to! Nearly 80% of divorced couples say finances played a major role in their decision. Maybe your marriage began in debt and you didn’t establish a clear cut plan on how you were going to handle it. Maybe you want to pay that debt off now but your spouse wants to spend. Maybe you’re a saver and your spouse is a shopper. Maybe you lost your job or your spouse got sick and money just wasn’t flowing in like it needed to be. There are many possibilities that could explain why your family is in debt right now. But that doesn’t mean it has
**Update: We are no longer accepting Mirena cases but have included the following information for you to consider as you research this drug. If you have any questions about other dangerous drugs, contact us to discuss your situation with an attorney.** What We Know About Mirena You may have seen yesterday’s press release about Mirena, a popular contraceptive women use to prevent pregnancy for up to 5 years. This is what we know about Mirena: A medical professional inserts Mirena, and it lasts for up to 5 years to prevent pregnancy and heavy menstrual bleeding. As an intrauterine device (IUD), it slowly releases a hormone called levonorgestrel directly into the uterus. Mirena has numerous dangerous side effects, including serious problems during
Should student loans keep graduates from living productive lives? Video Transcript: Hello I’m Darrell Castle and I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee and one of the questions that comes up in my office quite often is “what should be done about student loans? What should be done to help students and ex-students who simply cannot repay these loans? The loan payment is so high they can’t afford it or it means a lifetime of debt for them. What should be done about that, if anything, to help those people?”Well, in my view the answer to that question is that they should be dischargeable in bankruptcy at some point. Perhaps if the person carries the
Why We Have Personal Injury Law When people find out I’m a personal injury lawyer, they often ask me why we have personal injury law at all. I understand. Personal injury cases have a bad reputation. People hear about claims that seem fraudulent, or wasteful, and they make a determination without accurate information. Mistakes happen all the time. Say you start the dishwasher but forget to put soap in it first. Your mistake might frustrate you, but it won’t hurt anyone. In personal injury law, we deal with mistakes that cause a great deal of pain, such as car accidents, medical malpractice, dog attacks, dangerous drugs, and more. These accidents cost a lot more than people realize: medical bills lost
Myth #1: Bankruptcy Ruins Your Credit. It’s common to hear people say bankruptcy will ruin your credit. But if you’re at the point of considering bankruptcy, they don’t understand the state of your credit right now. People consider bankruptcy because of debt they pay. And what hurts your credit score almost more than anything else? Missed or late payments on important bills. So if you’re deep in debt and considering bankruptcy, then your credit score probably already reflects that. Bankruptcy offers you the opportunity to get rid of that debt through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, depending on your specific situation. Then once the bankruptcy is complete, you have a clean slate to with which to rebuild your credit score the right
Why is a good medical malpractice attorney important? Video Transcript Hello, I’m Darrell Castle. I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee and this is the fourth video of our series about medical malpractice in Tennessee. And on this video, we’re talking about why it is necessary for you to hire an attorney – and not just an attorney but a good and experienced attorney – to handle your medical malpractice case. Part of it should be obvious – it’s a very complicated matter. It’s not like a traffic accident where some claims adjuster from the insurance company is going to call you and offer you money. It doesn’t work like that with medical negligence. No
Why You Need a Lawyer for Your SSDI Appeal We often meet with people who need disability but wonder if you really need a lawyer for your SSDI appeal. It makes sense: you want to save money and time. And if you can do it yourself, why not? Fortunately an SSDI attorney works for you and can ultimately help you win (and save) the money you really need. In this video, Memphis SSDI attorney Darrell Castle explains. If you’ve applied for SSDI and been denied, contact us today to get started with a free conversation. Video Transcript: Why You Need a Lawyer for Your SSDI Appeal Hello, this is Darrell Castle. I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the