2012 February Archive

A CNBC report states that nationwide foreclosures are increasing again following a year-long reprieve. A new report from RealtyTrac states that one in every 624 households in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing notice during January, indicating a three percent increase from the previous month. The previous year found foreclosure activity frozen in many U.S. states due to processing delays after fraud was uncovered in 2010, also called “Robo-signing,” but the RealtyTrac CEO expects the pattern of increasing foreclosures to continue in upcoming months.

This increase is in large part due to the finalized mortgage and foreclosure settlement reached in early February between five of the country’s largest lenders and 49 state attorney generals. Following this settlement, foreclosure activity increased for the first time in 12 months and more bank repossessions and foreclosed properties will be heading to the re-sale market.

Bank repossession, which is the final stage of the foreclosure process, increased an estimated 30 percent year-over-year in several states. In addition, bank-owned and real estate owned (REO) activity hit a high in certain states, including Illinois with a 16-month high and Indiana with a 15-month high. Default notices, the first stage of foreclosure, spiked in judicial states (such as Connecticut and Pennsylvania) and non-judicial states (like Maryland), though they were flat nationally in January.

Despite an eight percent drop in foreclosure activity, Nevada still has the highest foreclosure rate with one in every 198 households receiving a filing. California’s foreclosure activity also dropped, specifically to a 50-month low, but still has the second highest foreclosure rate in the U.S.; more than 51,000 borrowers received a foreclosure filing in January. RealtyTrac also reports that cities in the Golden State account for nine of the top ten metro foreclosure rates.

The CNBC report asserts that until banks work through the extensive backlog of foreclosures, prices for homes will not hit a firm bottom, and distressed property sales continue to lower the value of homes around them. This pushes borrowers into a “negative equity” position, meaning owners will owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently valued. Foreclosures are, essentially, still standing in the way of recovery.

If you are a Tennessee home owner facing foreclosure, the foreclosure attorneys in Tennessee with Massey & Associates, P.C. can help you through the complicated and difficult process. We have years of experience helping home owners who may possibly lose their home either contest the foreclosure or avoid it altogether. Please don’t hesitate to call our skilled legal team for assistance at (423) 697-4529.

In any season, biking is an exhilarating way to exercise and enjoy the beautiful Tennessee scenery. However, riding a bike can present dangerous and unique hazards, particularly when motorists are not cautious or mindful of those on two wheels who may be sharing the road with them. The Tennessee Department of Safety reports that there has been a decrease in the number of bicycle accidents in the state, with a total of 480 in 2008 and 333 in 2010 (according to preliminary data). Though this is excellent news for biking enthusiasts, anyone involved in a bicycle crash knows that even one accident on TN roads is one too many.

To ensure that those who travel the open road by bike stay safe, the following is a list of four common types of bicycle accidents with tips on how to avoid them.

1. Wrong-way wreck: When a bicyclist rides the wrong way, as against traffic, and a car makes a right turn from a side street or driveway and collides with the biker. It is crucial to not ride against traffic to avoid this type of crash.
2. Crosswalk slam: Occurs when a bicyclist is crossing at a crosswalk and a vehicle makes a right turn and hits the biker. To avoid this type of TN intersection crash, equip your bike with a headlight and slow down to make sure you have time to stop.
3. Door prize: A common type of crash, this happens when a driver opens his or her door in front of a bicyclist. Bikers should ride far enough to the left to avoid running into an open door.
4. Right cross: The most common way to get hit, this happens when a car is pulling out of a driveway, parking lot, or side street on the right and either the biker is in front of the car and gets hit or the car pulls out in front and the biker slams into it. To prevent this, slow down, ride further left, and wave to alert the driver that you’re there.

Injuries from a bicycle accident can be very severe and may involve a lengthy recovery. Any biker injured in an accident caused by another’s negligence should seek legal assistance immediately to ensure you get the compensation needed to recover from the collision. The bicycle accident lawyers in Tennessee of Massey & Associates, P.C. are committed to helping accident victims hold at-fault parties responsible. Call (423) 697-4529 for a free consultation.

Each day, more than 2,000 children die from an injury that could have been prevented. In addition, child injuries are a major source of hospital and childhood emergency department admissions. There are a number of causes of childhood injuries, but accident statistics from quite a few sources, including the National Safety Council and National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, reveal some of the more common causes for injuries to children. The following are five noteworthy highlights:

1. Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries for children. Kids ages 14 and under account for one-third of fall-related visits to emergency rooms.
2. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children 14 years or younger. The majority of drownings, or near-drownings, occur in either residential swimming pools or open water sites.
3. For infants under the age of one, airway obstruction injury is the number one cause of unintentional injury-related death.
4. An estimated 45 percent of unintentional injury deaths occurred in or around the home. The causes primarily include falls, choking and poisoning, fire and burns, firearms, suffocation, and drowning.
5. Bicycle-related injuries can be very serious; 47 percent of kids 14 and under hospitalized for these types of injuries were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. In 2003, almost 300,000 children in this age range were treated for bicycle-related injuries.

For parents and child caretakers, being aware of the more common causes of childhood injuries can aid in prevention, as extra safety precautions can be taken when your young one is participating in certain activities and families can be more cautious around the home as well. The statistics, however, show that childhood injuries unfortunately happen on an everyday basis, and when another party is responsible for your child’s injury, he or she can be held legally accountable.

The Chattanooga child injury attorneys with Massey & Associates, P.C. are dedicated to helping families recover from the devastating event of a child injury. For more information on how our experienced law team can help, please call (423) 697-4529.

Two men recently died in unrelated but tragically similar Tennessee workplace accidents in two Middle Tennessee counties, according to The Tennessean. The fatal first incident involved a 50-year-old worker at the Nissan Plant in Rutherford County. The victim was a driver for a company that delivers materials to Nissan Motor Company, and while making a delivery to a nearby storage yard, his truck’s gears engaged and rolled the truck toward him, ultimately pinning him between his truck and a set of parked trailers. No other employees were involved in the incident, and it is currently unknown why the truck’s gears engaged.

The second industrial accident involved a 52-year-old Prospect man who was a driver with Venture Express. The worker was hit with a 40,000 pound coil of steel being removed from his truck by a crane operator at Steel Summit in South Nashville. Regrettably, the crane operator did not realize the victim was outside of his truck until a few minutes before the coil swung from the crane attachment, subsequently hitting the victim and pinning him against the trailer of the truck. The victim was taken to a local hospital for medical care, but later died. The Metro Police Department is expecting to rule the death accidental.

Investigators with TOSHA, the Tennessee Division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, were called to both accidents and a thorough investigation will be conducted. Officials with both companies involved, Nissan and Steel Summit, have agreed to work with investigators.

Both of these very tragic accidents highlight the dangers workers may face on the job, particularly those in industrial or construction-related fields. It is important for any workers in Tennessee to understand they have the right to receive compensation if they are injured at work. At Massey & Associates, P.C., our Tennessee workers’ compensation lawyers are committed to helping injured workers get the compensation they need to recover from a workplace accident, or help surviving members of a deceased victim’s family obtain compensation to help them with costs like funeral expenses. For assistance with a workers’ compensation claim, please call (423) 697-4529.

For any person who has used any type of air travel, the thought of being involved in a dangerous aviation accident may have crossed their mind. Though aviation accidents are very rare and air travel is one of the safest means of transportation, with the odds of being on an airline flight with at least one fatality being one in 5.4 million for the top 25 airlines, when they do occur they are often deadly for the passengers onboard. The causes for aviation accidents are all different and depend on the circumstances and problems that develop during a flight, but there are very common types of accidents that can occur while in the air.

The following is a list of the most common aviation accidents and causes:

• Descent and landing accidents – This is the most common type, accounting for 36 percent of all general aviation mishaps.
• Defective landing gear – Mechanical problems can compromise a pilot’s ability to land safely.
• Preflight and taxi/takeoff accidents – Failure of the pilot or airline that has the responsibility to complete a thorough inspection before takeoff can have disastrous results. Taxi and takeoff accidents may not be as visually dramatic as other accidents, but can certainly result in injuries and fatalities.
• Mechanical failures and electrical malfunctions – As no machine or technology is completely reliable, severe accidents can result. Defective gauges and instruments can lessen the ability for pilots to gauge speed, fuel supply, or power. Additionally, engine failure can easily lead to an accident.
• Pilot error and negligence – A mistake made by a pilot can endanger hundreds of lives. Pilot error accounted for 37 percent of all commercial airplane accidents from 1950 through 2004.
• Inclement weather – Can include rain, snow, wind, or lightning, all of which can be very dangerous for aviation.
• Air traffic control errors – Reports of air traffic controllers acting dangerously has brought more attention to this issue and their actions.

Any person that has been affected by an aviation accident should understand that they have legal rights and can take action against any parties responsible. The aviation accident lawyers in Tennessee with Massey & Associates, P.C. can help any TN resident who has endured injuries, or even lost a loved one, in an aviation accident. Please call (423) 697-4529 for a complimentary review of your case.

Birth asphyxia occurs when a newborn’s brain and other vital organs do not receive enough oxygen either before, during, or right after birth. For a number of infants born each year, birth asphyxia can be a devastating condition that can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. However, an interesting new study conducted by the Imperial College in London shows a new type of therapy may increase an infants’ chances of survival. Brain cooling therapy, which involves applying a “coolcap” hat filled with water to the head of newborn, done immediately after birth, can significantly improve the survival rate of a hypoxic infant.

The Imperial College study revealed that brain cooling can reduce brain swelling and also lower the child’s body’s metabolic rate, which allows the baby’s organ to function healthily with less oxygen. Infants whose brains were “cooled” were shown to have a 25 percent greater survival rate than those who did not. The head of the study declares that this new study builds upon a 20-year body of research, but for the first time offers “irrefutable proof” that brain cooling therapy can be effective in reducing brain damage in a baby who has suffered from birth asphyxia. In addition, the study shows that brain cooling has proved to be the most effective of all the treatments intended to remedy brain damage.

This study is excellent news for parents whose future newborn may suffer from birth asphyxia and subsequent brain damage, which can lead to life-altering conditions such as cerebral palsy. Certain causes of brain damage and other types of birth injuries are not preventable, but others – such as the proper treatment being administered by medical staff – are. When a child suffers a birth injury that was caused by the negligence of a medical professional, the news can be that much more devastating for families, as it could have been prevented. The birth injury attorneys in Tennessee at Massey & Associates, P.C. are dedicated to helping families obtain compensation for their child’s injury. Please call (423) 697-4529 for a complimentary consultation.