How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? Every year, most of us make resolutions about how to improve our minds, health and lives. And each year, around this time, most of us tend to lose steam. Lasting change is hard, but we have some easy things you can do to substantially protect your financial well-being in 2025. Read on for 3 easy resolutions. Continue reading
Yesterday, former New York mayor and disbarred lawyer Rudy Guiliani was found in contempt of court. By way of background, Mr. Guiliani lost a defamation trial and now owes $148 million dollars to two poll workers he falsely accused of helping to steal the 2020 election. Following the judgment, the lawyers for the poll workers have tried to determine the nature and extent of Mr. Guiliani’s assets so that those assets can be seized and sold to pay them for the sums owed. To date, the judge has not yet ruled what penalties he will impose on Mr. Guiliani for his contempt, but he could face jail time. In addition, the judge could strike his defenses in a January 16th trial over his Florida condo and whether it is a primary residence thereby exempting it from seizure. All this legal maneuvering provides a great opportunity to remind anyone who is involved in litigation of some Dos and Don’ts. Continue reading
Do you have plans to go out for New Year’s Eve? As you celebrate the end of 2024, be sure to start 2025 safely and responsibly. According to the National Safety Council, on New Year’s Eve, 42% of fatal car crashes are alcohol-related, which is triple the rate of other days throughout the year. The Murfreesboro office of the Law Offices of John Day wants to help get you home safely. For the 8th consecutive year, we are offering Uber rides home on New Year’s Eve. Read on for details and the Uber code. Continue reading
Auto manufacturers must comply with a lot of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards designed for the protection of the occupants inside the vehicle, but with a recent new proposal they may soon have to also design and manufacture vehicles that protect individuals outside the vehicle – bicyclists and pedestrians. The reason for the new proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that cyclist and pedestrian deaths continue to increase alarmingly, up more than 75% since 2009. A pedestrian is killed roughly every hour in this country and more than 60,000 are injured each year. And, there are a lot of near misses. In Tennessee, 1 in 4 drivers say they have almost hit a pedestrian. Continue reading
This happens more than you might expect. Each year, there are over 57 million medical office visits, and 40 million emergency room visits related to injuries. A tremendous amount of malpractice happens during those visits. According to John Hopkins, 795,000 patients each year will suffer serious harm from a misdiagnosis alone. Medication errors and health care-associated infections are also leading causes of harm to patients. Roughly, 250,000 patients will die from medical errors. So, what happens when you get injured by a vicious dog or injured in a car wreck, and then a medical professional makes a mistake that makes it worse? Continue reading
On Sunday, we were at Percy Warner Park walking the 6-mile loop at the same time as a small marathon. About 3 miles into the loop, we crossed paths with the former soldier in the photo above. At this point on the route, you might see an owl in a tree, or a deer might cross your path, but we were not expecting to see a man dressed in fatigues carrying an enormous American flag. It was a lovely sight. The golden leaves of the park juxtaposed against the American flag. I took a picture as he was approaching. We stopped and talked briefly, and we learned that, during a tour in Iraq, he had been gravely injured and spent 9 months recuperating in medical facilities. He was told he would never walk again. This past Sunday was his 72nd marathon. And he always carries the flag. As we walked away, we wished him a Happy Thanksgiving and remarked that he had a lot for which to be thankful. As we walked on, we realized that we did too.
To keep the spirit of gratefulness going, we asked the Law Offices of John Day team to share three things they are grateful for and to assume that family, friends, health and faith were already included. We got some great responses:
Car accidents are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic numbers. In fact, the United States performs poorly compared to other developed nations because our traffic injuries and deaths are increasing instead of decreasing. The United States Department of Transportation estimates 18,720 people died in traffic-related deaths in the first 6 months of 2024. Nearly 72 million people are driving for the Thanksgiving holiday, so now is the time to do some safety preparation and planning that includes vehicle maintenance as well as an insurance check-up amongst other things. Continue reading
In subdivisions all around Middle Tennessee, you routinely see teenagers driving golf carts with their friends. At lake communities, neighbors use them to get down to the water and to get to the neighborhood get-together. In downtown Franklin, residents use them to go to dinner. And while golf carts are fun, they can be dangerous. And depending upon how you are using them, you could be breaking the law. In fact, Tennessee law has different requirements depending upon the speed capabilities of the vehicle. Read on to learn more about Tennessee law regarding golf carts and how to protect yourself if there is an accident. Continue reading
This image shows what happens if you are involved in a car accident and your front airbag deploys with your feet on the dash. Ouch! The result is ugly: two femoral hip fractures which are serious and painful and will require surgery to repair followed by a 4 to 6 month recovery period. The owner’s manual of every vehicle with airbags warns of this danger. Assuming the accident was the fault of someone else, can you still recover compensation for your injuries in such an accident if you failed to heed the airbag warnings and that failure caused your injuries in the accident to be worse? Continue reading
Halloween is one week away, and October is Pedestrian Safety Month. That is probably not a coincidence. Of course, pedestrian safety is not just for Halloween or October. The simple truth is that we are all pedestrians. When you drive to Target and get out of your car to walk into the store, you are a pedestrian. When you park in a parking garage in downtown Nashville and then cross the street to go to a Predators game, you are a pedestrian. When you are out for a walk in your neighborhood, you are a pedestrian.
Unfortunately, we have some bad news for all of us. Pedestrian accidents continue to rise. In fact, pedestrian accidents are increasing faster than any other type of traffic death. Almost every hour, a pedestrian is killed in this country and more than 67,000 are injured each year. Read on to learn more about pedestrian accidents and how we can prevent them. Continue reading
