This morning, I received a press release from Steve Hall, Candidate for TN State House of Representatives District 18 concerning a constituent with concerns of his Representative Martin Daniel. I have contacted a campaign representative of Mr. Daniel and as soon as he contacts me back and responds, I will report Mr. Daniel’s comments.
Press Release
Gerald Spencer is a man in a world of trouble – injured in a workman’s comp accident he found that he was unable to hire an attorney to defend his case while his company had the right to have an attorney present to defend their side of the claim.
Unable to work, he is on the verge of losing his house and reached out to elected officials to get the law changed.
The problem is a new modification of Tennessee’s workman’s comp law that was originally passed to simplify the workman’s comp process. But an interpretation of the law ended up denying claimants the right to an attorney when trying to pursue their claim.
There is an incredible video on YouTube featuring Spencer explaining the mess in which he finds himself.
A quote from the video: “My Representative is Martin Daniels. He saw me for the first time and he told me, “Yes, the system is flawed. We need to change it but I can’t do anything until the first of next year.” I went to him two days ago to try to get some help in understanding the ruling and he told me, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to run a campaign and I don’t have time to talk to you.” Again this was wrong.”
A quote from Daniel’s election challenger Steve Hall: “An elected official should never be too busy to help a citizen in trouble. Quite simply, that is their job. If elected to replace Martin Daniel, I will make changes to this law a priority when I get to Nashville.”
Spencer talked with State Senator Richard Briggs who was most supportive and asked Gerald to come to Nashville to testify before a committee. He also urged Gerald to get the word out about his situation.”
