Ambulance chasers get a bad rap - why some of them may be very good and needed!

Ok, I'm sure I'll get a lot of people completely disagreeing with me on this, but take a look at it this way. First I'll say that I'm sure there are a LOT of attorney's (ambulance chasers) that pursue frivolous law suits, and I'm not defending them. What I am defending are those who go after clients after something horrible happens to them due to neglect (of business, government or personal/private individuals). There are too may possible "accidents" to give examples, but I'm not talking about ones where the injured party was injured due to their own negligence, lack of awareness or common sense (I mean TRUE common sense, like don't put hand into a hot deep fryer) etc.

So when a person is going to the hospital, or wherever after being injured, there are going to be a lot of attorneys lining up to work for the victim. Now some attorneys pay EMT's, hospital employees, doctors, firemen, police, etc to recommend their services and even give them their card. They may make a commission and talk up their services about how great they are. Now it is all a race against time for a "good" attorney to get in front of the victim, an attorney who isn't just in it for the $ but in it to get the victim a reasonable/appropriate settlement/judgement in relation to what happened and on top of that helping to prevent these types of things from happening again (this can be done in a number of ways, from a high settlement, setting precedent, to gathering evidence for criminal prosecution - possibly of negligence, etc). Now if the victim is immediately referred to a money grubbing ambulance chaser (who may be looking for fame as well), the "good" attorney may loose out because the victim thinks they are in good hands and trying to change their mind, in the situation that they are in, is a very difficult thing to do, So it all comes down to getting to the victim first and putting forth a great first impression.

So, the term "ambulance chaser" has come to mean "scum bag lawyer who sues over frivolous injuries, often the victims own fault, causing extreme hardship on those being sued and making a lot of money for themselves in the process". At least that is what I gather from the many times I have heard the term used, it may be many "definitions" put together, but you get the idea. But if a good attorney is an actual "ambulance chaser" or a "lounge lizard" (attorney waiting in the hospital lounge or waiting room) they may be doing this so they can be the first to offer their services because they want to hold the negligent parties accountable and get a reasonable settlement for the victim & possibly create a situation where these accidents/incidents won't happen again.

So, as with all things, there are exceptions to the rule and also stereotypes that are very often untrue.

So when you think of Ambulance chaser, you have to ask yourself if you know the motives of the attorney and not jump to conclusions as to why their is a need to be the first attorney to talk to the injured party.

/rant

I'm interested in others take on this as well.

Attorneys who actually SEEK OUT people who have been hurt are interested in gaining a client for the purposes of raising their income. That's all. They are not seeking to "right a wrong." Don't kid yourself.

What schulyer said.

Peoples contempt of Ambulance chasers is well deserved.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Did you just imply there are "good" attorneys, who aren't in it for the money?

Sir, that is a grave miscalculation.


There are maybe five in the world.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Of course there is a need for someone (attorney) who can make a person whole again after someone else has injured them.

When the big business fires all their lawyers then the need for the little guy needing representation may also be curtailed.

“You don’t need a criminal lawyer, you need a CRIMINAL lawyer.”

-Jesse Pinkman

originally posted by: atsgrounded
a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Of course there is a need for someone (attorney) who can make a person whole again after someone else has injured them.

That's not really in dispute. I have no issues with people wanting or needing to hire a lawyer to represent them. The issue here is lawyers who effectively prey on victims at their most vulnerable. When a lawyer shows up at your hospital bedside and says, "Here's my card." that is reason enough to refuse them.

Ambulance chasing is not just about chasing ambulances, it is about all sort of things, especially class action lawsuits. Frivilous lawsuits are often just settled by the attorneys and never get to court. The companies insurance company pays off the person to get rid of negative backlash. The cost is just passed on to the consumer in the long run, big corporations execs do not lose money.

originally posted by: DigginFoTroof
Ok, I'm sure I'll get a lot of people completely disagreeing with me on this, but take a look at it this way. First I'll say that I'm sure there are a LOT of attorney's (ambulance chasers) that pursue frivolous law suits, and I'm not defending them. What I am defending are those who go after clients after something horrible happens to them due to neglect (of business, government or personal/private individuals). There are too may possible "accidents" to give examples, but I'm not talking about ones where the injured party was injured due to their own negligence, lack of awareness or common sense (I mean TRUE common sense, like don't put hand into a hot deep fryer) etc.

So when a person is going to the hospital, or wherever after being injured, there are going to be a lot of attorneys lining up to work for the victim. Now some attorneys pay EMT's, hospital employees, doctors, firemen, police, etc to recommend their services and even give them their card. They may make a commission and talk up their services about how great they are. Now it is all a race against time for a "good" attorney to get in front of the victim, an attorney who isn't just in it for the $ but in it to get the victim a reasonable/appropriate settlement/judgement in relation to what happened and on top of that helping to prevent these types of things from happening again (this can be done in a number of ways, from a high settlement, setting precedent, to gathering evidence for criminal prosecution - possibly of negligence, etc). Now if the victim is immediately referred to a money grubbing ambulance chaser (who may be looking for fame as well), the "good" attorney may loose out because the victim thinks they are in good hands and trying to change their mind, in the situation that they are in, is a very difficult thing to do, So it all comes down to getting to the victim first and putting forth a great first impression.

So, the term "ambulance chaser" has come to mean "scum bag lawyer who sues over frivolous injuries, often the victims own fault, causing extreme hardship on those being sued and making a lot of money for themselves in the process". At least that is what I gather from the many times I have heard the term used, it may be many "definitions" put together, but you get the idea. But if a good attorney is an actual "ambulance chaser" or a "lounge lizard" (attorney waiting in the hospital lounge or waiting room) they may be doing this so they can be the first to offer their services because they want to hold the negligent parties accountable and get a reasonable settlement for the victim & possibly create a situation where these accidents/incidents won't happen again.

So, as with all things, there are exceptions to the rule and also stereotypes that are very often untrue.

So when you think of Ambulance chaser, you have to ask yourself if you know the motives of the attorney and not jump to conclusions as to why their is a need to be the first attorney to talk to the injured party.

/rant

I'm interested in others take on this as well.

Nope. None are good. Believe me. They chase us, monitor ER/POLICE channels and often get there before I do. P. D. will chase em away so we can focus.

These guys are scum... they can at least wait until we determine if someone is alive, injured... or dead... or just made a dumb mistake in a crash.

Ambulance Responder/EMT*

*to add? I've never been paid to inform nor anyone else, Rescue or P. D.