It’s called barratry, but most people know it as ambulance chasing.
We’ve all heard stories of lawyers who cross the line to solicit clients, but where is the line anyway, and how big a problem is it?
You lose a loved one in an accident, and in the midst of your grief and confusion, an attorney approaches you to consider filing a lawsuit over the incident. For starters, that’s illegal. And secondly, if you do have a justifiable case, this guy’s probably not very good.
It’s one of the few things that could bring trial lawyers and tort reformers together. And that is putting a stop to barratry. That is the solicitation of clients directly.
“The bottom line is you’re not supposed to go solicit someone in person to get their legal business,” says Austin attorney Mark Kincaid. “You can solicit with an advertisement. You can solicit through the mail. There’s a perception that those methods aren’t as coercive as someone just coming in.”
So, if you’re unscrupulous, you get someone else to.
In one case in Houston, pizzas were sent to the emergency room staff at a major hospital with the lawyer’s card tucked neatly inside. Hoping for referrals, doctors, EMT’s, ambulance drivers, cops and others have been used and paid by attorneys as so-called “runners.”
“Even funeral home directors,” Kincaid said. “There’s even a case of a group posing as a non-profit organization.”
The Texas Association of Trial Lawyers wants it to stop. And they say the tools are there.
And the punishment is stiff. “One thing is jail time,” Kincaid said. “It is a criminal violation. Another is they could lose their license.”
The irony is, if you really do have a case, this probably isn’t the right guy.
“Often the injured person gets less than they are entitled to,” according to Kincaid, “because someone who is unethical enough to run the case, probably isn’t a top shelf lawyer to begin with.”
The lawyers who do this are in some cases, pretty successful and can wield political contributions to stifle any real reform.
But several state reps have vowed to bring it up in the next session and add some real teeth to the state’s barratry laws.
These type frivolous lawsuits are one of the major contributors to the rising costs of medical care are drug developement.
Jim, Sorry to hear but Your friend should contact a Personal Injury Lawyer for a free consultation, here is a good one that I know http://bit.ly/aK73S0 wish she feels better soon
Wow- don't get me started ! I've seen one lawyer pose as a priest to get in the ER to talk to family members ! Another filed suit against a local flight school for a minor accident one student had using the student's name- without even talking to the student !
He said he did it "just in case they wanted to sue".
Lawyers are long overdue for policing their own.