Miami Personal Injury Attorneys Proclaim 'Ambulance Chasers' Are Good For Society

June 09, 2011

That's right. We said it. Ambulance chasers are good for society. We might get some flak for saying it. But it's true. Without ambulance chasers, where would we be? Wait - before you dash off a negative comment, hear us out first.

What Is an Ambulance Chaser?

We're not about to bore you with historical accounts of lawyers on horseback chasing down buggies. But where did the term "ambulance chaser" come from?

An ambulance chaser is an attorney or agent of the attorney who shows up at the scene of an accident and attempts to solicit business from the injured victim. That is in the traditional sense, but it takes other forms as well. Ambulance chasing is strictly prohibited by lawyers' rules for professional conduct. Lawyers may generally not ask for business directly from a potential client, whether in-person or by phone.

This rule arose out of the fact that lawyers are business owners, too, whether people like it or not. Just like in any business, there are some people who will push the boundaries of acceptable behavior in order to make a buck. And injured people are also vulnerable people, who can be manipulated into accepting legal representation, without having had the chance to stand back and consider all their options.

When the lawyer is standing there insisting that the potential client sign on the dotted line, right then and there, "or else bad things could happen to your case," it's easy to see this as unethical behavior.

Ambulance Chaser: Slang for All Personal Injury Lawyers

Those who are willing to chase ambulances, as described above, probably are not going to have their clients' best interests at heart. These types of lawyers may tend to view a relatively quick settlement as a "win" for their own financial bottom-line.

But without a true willingness to go to trial if the case calls for it, the client will be the one who loses, when the settlement is not enough to compensate for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering after an auto accident.

Not to throw stones in judgment on colleagues, but these are the types of lawyers who best deserve to be called ambulance chasers. But the slang term "ambulance chaser" has for too long been applied to trial lawyers "at-large," and our Miami personal injury attorneys want to change that.

Proposal: A New Definition for "Ambulance Chaser"

A good ambulance chaser is not one who manipulates potential clients into signing up for legal representation at the scene of the accident, but one who genuinely seeks to represent injured people because it is what they like to do and because of anger with wrongdoing.

It's what we like to do. Think of your favorite hobby or sport. Chances are you are very good at it. Your skill level is probably above-average. It's because you are driven to excel out of love of the thing. Because you love it, you do it every time you can. Or think of what you're good at in your job. Not every part of a job is enjoyable or even pleasant, but the parts of it you enjoy are probably also the parts that you excel at.

It's this way for lawyers, too.

We do it because we like to. Our Miami car accident lawyers like negotiating on behalf of the "little guy" against large corporate interests like insurance companies. We like obtaining fair and just settlements. We like going to trial in order to chase the best possible outcome for our clients. If that makes us ambulance chasers, so be it.

It's because we hate wrongdoing. Sometimes, an accident is simply that: an accident. No one is to blame. There is no need to point fingers. But often there is evidence of wrongdoing - whether it's the in-your-face evidence of a drunk driver going 80 miles-per-hour and plowing into someone waiting at a red light, or a fatigued driver who nods off and crosses the center line, colliding head-on into the car coming the other way.

The drunk driver is arguably more "guilty" of wrongdoing than the sleepy driver, in terms of preventable negligent behavior, but in both cases, the drunk driver and the sleepy driver are not going to open their wallets and just give you the money you need to help you recover.

And neither will their insurance companies. It just doesn't happen that way in real life. Sometimes, in order to be made whole after an accident - in terms of both financial compensation and justice - you will need to do so at the bargaining table or in a court of law in front of a jury or both. The only person who has your back is your lawyer.

If that makes us ambulance chasers, so be it.

Contact our office at Ferrer Shane, to talk with us about your injuries. Call toll free at 888-609-5947 for a free consultation.

Website: http://www.ferrerlaw.com/