Case Runners: The Real Amublance Chasers

The term “ambulance chaser” is often used as a catchall stereotype of personal injury attorneys. Lawyers who follow ambulances to the scene of an accident or to a hospital, harassing victims and their families with hopes of signing them up as clients.

While ambulance chasing attorneys do (I’m certain) exist, the actual people that engage in this type of behavior – sometimes referred to as barratry – are very rarely licensed attorneys.  These societal banes are known as “case runners“.

What Is a Case Runner?

There are many phrases used which refer to these people: “case runner”, “capper,” “solicitors,” “steerers,” or colloquially, an “ambulance chaser.” Those who have dealt with these people before know them by another name: bottom feeders.  A car accident is not the only place where these people have been known to show themselves either. Any time a natural disaster occurs, these people will show up in an attempt to find business for the doctor or lawyer whom they “represent” and tell you to go to them for services.

It has been noted that runners will make informants out of hospital staff, police department employees or even tow truck drivers who give out the personal information of accident victims. It’s unclear how often this occurs, but it is akin to drug smugglers having informants within the DEA, and if true, creates a maelstrom of problems for those just trying to recover from their injuries and recoup the damages they caused.

There are other ways for them to find your information as well and they don’t always involve the use of a third party. They keep track of police scanners and are able to access police reports, which by law are deemed as public information. With these they can see your address and/or phone number, then make contact and try to persuade you to take your case to their attorney or health care professional.

Is Case Running or Ambulance chasing Illegal?

Case running – and therefore ambulance chasing – is illegal in 21 states in the U.S. and in Washington D.C.  Here is a rundown of the laws:

What should be noted is that, while case running and ambulance chasing practices aren’t inherently illegal in every state, they are absolutely against Bar Association ethics across the United States.

The American Bar Association lays in their Code of Professional Ethics the parameters by which attorneys should live by in this regard. In Canon 28, it says that it is disreputable to employ agents or runners for the purpose of bringing a lawsuit. If a lawyer violates this canon, they can be disbarred. The ethics apply to every lawyer, but less than half of the states have laws specifically pertaining to runners and cappers. When it comes to the difference between advertising and solicitation, however, this is not so clear.

For lawyers and personal injury attorneys, it’s a very fine line to walk. Parameters for allowable advertising were defined by the Supreme Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona(1977). In the case, two lawyers had placed an ad in their local paper to highlight their firm. The State Bar of Arizona took it to trial and suspended them for six months, and the lawyers appealed on the grounds that the ruling violated the Sherman Antitrust Act as well as the First Amendment. The Supreme Court sided with the lawyers in a 5-4 decision, stating in part that advertising would not hurt the judicial process and would supply consumers with valuable information.

In terms of initiating contact, different states have different sets of rules. For example, in Massachusetts, if you call the lawyer first, this still does not give that lawyer permission to make in-person contact. However, the opposite is true in Rhode Island. So if you’re feeling harassed by a lawyer, even if you made the first contact, there usually laws against this type of solicitation in every state, even if there aren’t laws specifically against running or ambulance chasing.

The main thing to remember here is that the advertisement was indirect and not made as a result of an accident or disaster. Where the ambulance chasing scenario comes in is that they seek out the victims to personally harass them about using the attorney’s or doctor’s for whom they are running for services. That’s how you know you are dealing with the bottom feeder of the law. If you are sought out, and the initial contact between a law firm and you is made by someone representing that firm, then you are dealing with a runner. It could be a phone call, letter, email or an in-person visit, it doesn’t matter the form of communication, if they contact you first, they are likely a runner.

What Should I Do If I’m Contacted By a Runner?

Many lawsuits, even in states where no ambulance chasing laws are clearly defined, have been filed against runners and cappers. This is always a potential course of action if you are contacted by one of these people, but whether a lawsuit comes out of it or not, the best first step you have is to report it. Try and ascertain as much information as you can – who the runner represents, or his name – and alert law enforcement, or perhaps another lawyer whom you trust.

However, one such lawsuit in Kentucky actually ruled in favor of the solicitor, with the judge saying that the prohibition of this practice was in violation of commercial free speech rights. Usually, even if solicitation is allowed, there is a 30-day protection from such solicitation, which could feel like harassment in the eyes of the person on the receiving end, but that is a specific part of the law that was struck down in Kentucky. So while the practice is generally regarded as bush league by most lawyers and the public, it is still done in much of the country.

Why would a law firm prey on accident victims in this manner? Well, it’s pretty simple; they want to make money. And personal injury cases tend to be worth the most more often than not because the “damages” incurred in the accident – such as emotional ones – are moldable and can earn the plaintiff, and subsequently their attorney, a lot of money. But one note to be made is that not all personal injury lawyers are ambulance chasers; most can provide expert advice and take great pride in seeing that you are compensated fully for damages or injuries in an accident.