Did someone call you out of the blue to get your injury case? You may have been a victim of an illegal or unethical “ambulance chasing scheme”.
by Bret Schnitzer
Don’t let unethical lawyers, service providers or healthcare providers connected to ambulance chasing lawyers take advantage of you. After an auto accident did you receive a telephone call from “your insurance company for you to get treated by doctors?” Did you later realize that the call was not from your insurance company at all? Alternatively, did you get an unexpected call from a lawyers investigator, transportation company or so called injury specialist who brought you to a particular lawyer.
In some cases unethical lawyers themselves even directly approach an injury victim to solicit the case. Whether it is a car accident, work injury, or other serious injury, if you are approached and persuaded to hire a particular attorney or go to a particular health care provider and then a specific lawyer, you may be a victim of illegal solicitation. While an unsolicited letter by mail may not be solicitation at this time, an unsolicited telephone call or unsolicited visit may very well be. Let our offices review it for you.
Unscrupulous runners, transportation companies, “investigator” and others, can work with these unethical attorneys to manipulate or trick you to hire them.
If these individuals persuade you to hire a particular lawyer they may be getting paid referral fees for sending you to that company or law firm. This money can ultimately come out of the your pocket through the insurance company proceeds. millions of dollars are paid to these people each year – money that should have gone to the victims or to help the injured victim or your family.
Deciding which lawyer to hire is an important decision and you should not be tricked or solicited by unethical attorneys when you are most vulnerable.
Ambulance chasing is illegal and unethical:
Did you receive an unsolicited phone or visit from individuals who told you a family member had asked them to talk to you about hiring an attorney when you never told your family you wanted to hire an attorney? Did they know your family members names, but your family had never spoken to them before or made any calls whatsoever?
Were you approached by an attorney or someone acting on behalf of an attorney or health provider out of the blue to try to get you to hire a particular attorney?
Did your attorney or service provider bribe you with money, gifts or “free” items in exchange for signing a contract?
The Law On Illegal Solicitation of Injury Cases in Michigan:
750.410 Solicitation of personal injury claims; validity of contracts; furnishing, selling, or buying information as to identity or treatment of patient.
Sec. 410.
(1) A person, firm, copartnership, association, or organization of any kind, either incorporated or unincorporated, or any of the officers, agents, servants, employees, or members of any such person, firm, copartnership, association, or organization of any kind, either incorporated or unincorporated, or of any division, bureau, or committee of that association or organization, either incorporated or unincorporated, who shall directly or indirectly, individually or by agent, servant, employee, or member, solicit a person injured as the result of an accident, his or her administrator, executor, heirs, or assigns, his or her guardian, or members of the family of the injured person, for the purpose of representing that person in making a claim for damages or prosecuting an action or causes of action arising out of a personal injury claim against any other person, firm, or corporation, or to employ counsel for the purpose of that solicitation, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall upon conviction thereof, if a natural person, be punished by a fine not to exceed $750.00 or by imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
The same penalties apply upon conviction to a member of a copartnership, or an officer or agent of a corporation, association, or other organization, or an officer or agent, who shall consent to, participate in, or aid or abet a violation of this section upon the part of the copartnership of which he or she is a member, or of the corporation, association, or organization of which he or she is such an officer or agent. A contract entered into as a result of such a solicitation is void. This subsection does not apply to an unsolicited contract entered into by a person, firm, or corporation with an attorney duly admitted to practice law in this state.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by law, administrative rule, or valid legal process, any person, firm or corporation who, for any consideration and without the prior written permission of a patient or his or her personal representative, furnishes, receives, buys, offers to buy, sells, or offers to sell, directly or indirectly, the identity of the patient or any information concerning the treatment of the patient, including, but not limited to, information contained in the files or records of a health care facility, health care provider, or insurance company, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or a fine of not more than $750.00, or both.
Get Your Money Back:
You May Be Entitled to a Refund of Fees You Have Already Paid to The Attorney Who illegally Solicited Your Case.
The law recognizes that your attorney has a fiduciary duty to act in your best interests. If an attorney or someone acting on behalf of an attorney approaches you in an unsolicited way when you are physically injured or emotionally distraught, he or she is not acting in your best interests.
Pressuring or tricking you to hire an attorney at a difficult time in your life is a serious violation of your personal rights. Attorneys or people acting on behalf of an attorney who illegally solicit you may be sued for a refund of attorney’s fees, and you may also be entitled to money damages for the mental and emotional suffering you have gone through as a result of their solicitation.
Remember, that money is yours and we may be able to get it back for you.
Additionally, if you have fallen victim to a scam and this has happened to you there is a definite possibility that your case was also not handled appropriately and you may also be entitled to additional compensation for legal malpractice. Let us review your case at no charge to you.
Don’t let an unethical or illegal Lawyer ruin Your case or get away with bad behavior that hurts us all:
A lawyer, service provider, or health care provider who is willing to break the law by committing a felony or misdemeanor or violate their ethical obligations, are also capable of both mishandling your case or improperly taking your money. We have all heard of the lawyer that was “bought”. Don’t let this kind of lawyer take you too.
Call the Law Offices of Bret A. Schnitzer, P.C. if you believe you may have been the victim of solicitation of your injury case. Call us for a free no obligation consultation at (313) 389-2234. You can also find us on the web at Schnitzerlaw.
