California Personal Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez
Yes you read the headline of this article correctly; I am sick and tired of ambulance chasers who give ethical personal injury attorneys such as me, a bad name.
An ambulance chaser has been defined by an online dictionary as:
“A lawyer or entrepreneur who hurries to the scene of an accident to try to get the business of any injured persons.”
First of all let me tell all of you something right now, lawyers or their representatives are prohibited from soliciting your business at the scene of an accident in the State of California.
Any attorney who engages in such conduct can face disciplinary proceedings.
If someone is coming up to you at the scene of an accident and recommending an attorney to you; chances are they are engaging in prohibited conduct.
You should never select an attorney based upon a solicitation at the scene of an accident, at your doctor’s office, by the tow truck driver, by a body shop, etc.
Always select someone based upon your own research.
My good friend who is an ex NICB agent, and who now runs an investigative corporation, has told me stories of unethical attorneys illegally paying runners, cappers, doctors, tow truck drivers, body shops, to refer cases to them.
He has also told me stories of personal injury attorneys who are in illegal partnerships with non attorneys to get business.
No attorney can fee share or be in a partnership with a non attorney to get your business.
To be frank, I am absolutely shocked to hear such stories. It is beyond my belief that some unethical attorneys are engaging in such behavior. It is to be frank, despicable.
For attorneys such as me who play by the rules, it is outrageous to think of the poor victims of this type of illegal activity.
Going one step further, you may have recently heard about the explosion in San Bruno and the horrible aftermath.
Sure enough, there are some bottom feeder law firms putting out press releases trying to scavenge business from those poor souls in San Bruno.
Historically in the State of California, attorney advertising was prohibited. In the last several decades attorneys have been allowed to advertise. Some have taken it too far.
I am not against attorneys being allowed to advertise, but I am against what I consider to be ambulance chasing in advertising.
The same thing happened after the Chatsworth Metrorail crash, and many other disasters.
As for me, I am no ambulance chaser. I do not need to be because I am good at what I do.
All of my past and present clients know this to be true. To be good at what you do, you need to actually care about your clients, and get them the money that they deserve.
Ask yourself a question; have you ever heard any other personal injury attorney discussing the topic of this article? Heck No. Do you wonder why? It is the dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about.
Well I am talking about it.
I would like to hear any comments you have. You may comment by clicking the comment link below.
By California Personal Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © September 15, 2010
Welcome, my name is 
Norman – I know exactly what you mean. It goes on in big cities all over the country – everyone knows that – but it also goes on in smaller towns and rural areas. We hear the rumors, and we see the results. We have talked to the people who had someone show up in their hospital room wanting them to sign papers. Some are smart enough to send the runners packing, but some are too medicated or uninformed to know they should be calling security.
There are two horrible results from the actions of these ambulance chasers. First, the ambulance chasers are often selling out the people they represent, getting them to accept the first offer that comes along which is usually far less than the case is worth. Many times I have had people come to me when one of these ambulance chasers was trying to get them to accept a low ball offer. I can then take over the case and handle it the way it should be handled. Unfortunately, most people don’t know enough to seek a second opinion.
Second, these ambulance chasers give the entire profession a black eye. When people think of personal injury attorneys, they automatically think of the activities and non stop TV ads of these ambulance chasers. Unfortunately, they don’t think of attorneys like you and me battling the insurance companies for justice for our clients.
Thanks for a great article that sheds light on the shady underbelly of our profession.
Adam M. Gee, Esq.
NY and PA Injury and Malpractice Attorney
The Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
http://www.zifflaw.com
Adam there is another side to this issue; what are we going to do about it. The shysters are making it hard for ethical attorney’s to compete.
Norm
There is one prime offender who I know has runners in a local hospital. Several times I have come close to being able to prove it. As you well know, blowing someone in is not something we can do lightly. Eventually I will have that perfect situation, and when I do they will come tumbling down.
In the meantime, we can try to educate the public through efforts like our blogs, and hope that people use their heads when they need an attorney.
Adam M. Gee, Esq.
NY and PA Injury and Malpractice Attorney
The Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
http://www.zifflaw.com
You may want to talk to my local investigator. If you give me a call I will give you his number. He may be able to hook you up with NICB on your area to nail the scumbag. Using runners in a hospital is despicable. Whoever is doing it should be suspended at the minimum.
Norm
Norm – I agree – I am waiting for the right person who is sure about what they heard, who they heard it from, and is willing to do something about it. They don’t survive this long without being careful. In the meantime, all we can do is try to educate people.
Would you mind if I shared your post on my blog? If you ever find yourself in upstate NY, give me a call and we will ride.
Sure Adam you may share my post on your blog.
Any yes, I will take you up on your offer to ride whenever I am in upstate NY, or you are in Southern California.
Norm
You are rising up a great topic, Norman, The number of guys who are offering attourneys to the people just after an accident is growing. My friend have got in such a situation recently. And I want to admit that those people are getting pretty much money out of that. But what is the worst there, that sometimes they are trying to solve the situation even without calling the police and trying to bully out the money out of peole for avoiding the official investigation.
I admire Mr Norman Gregory Fernandez for being honest and truthful about this matter. I agree that you need to do good at what you do,to care about your clients and get them money that they deserve.