Too often, I hear the term “ambulance chaser” thrown around in casual conversation when people are discussing personal injury lawyers. It will probably come as no surprise that I find this insulting. But I also find it completely misguided and shows just how misunderstood personal injury law is by most people.
I am a personal injury lawyer. So, yes, I handle cases for those that have been injured in some type of accident or assault. Some have been very seriously injured and unfortunately we’ve also worked with families on behalf of those that did not survive an accident.
Sure there are some bad personal injury lawyers, just like there are bad doctors, teachers, accountants and others in pretty much every profession. But for the most part, many of the personal injury lawyers I know and have worked with or met, care very much about their clients and truly want to get them the compensation they need to recover. Especially in today’s healthcare environment, most of our clients’ injuries require very costly medical attention and would be financially devastated without help. In addition to helping them get the best settlement or verdict to compensate them for their injuries, we also do our best to work with their doctors to negotiate costs as well as lenders to provide financial means while they wait their case results.
As a personal injury lawyer, I ask for no money upfront. Personal injury lawyers do not get paid by the hour, and we do not get paid at all if we don’t win your case. That is not true for tax lawyers, divorce lawyers, corporate lawyers, estate lawyers and pretty much every other lawyer. We are able to help many clients who would otherwise not be able to afford a lawyer if we charged by the hour or demanded payment upfront.
Personal injury lawyers, in working to help accident victims, have helped create many important safety laws and features that help protect everyone. Did you know without personal injury lawyers we might not have safety caps on medicine, many of the safety provisions in cars, stalking laws, many of the workplace safety laws and important safety warnings on many consumer goods?
I work hard to help my clients and hope that their word of mouth helps bring in clients. I also provide many articles, blogs and free booklets through my website to help inform and answer questions. That is how I get new clients.
So the next time you are about to use the “ambulance chaser” term, please don’t.
Goldstein and Bashner
