Wednesday, June 5, 2013

How Do Lawyers And Chiropractors Get Your Name After An Auto Accident?

One day, you're rear ended or broadsided in an automobile, motorcycle, or truck accident. As if that trauma is not enough, within 24 hours of the crash your phone starts ringing. If you have a cell or smart phone, in addition to phone calls you are bombarded with numerous text messages.

When you go to your mailbox, you have well over a dozen mailings, with fancy DVD's, refrigerator magnets, glossy brochures--and a copy of your accident report!  And, perhaps, someone has even dropped off and hung some materials on your front door knob.

Creepy, isn't it? Many of my clients ask: "how in the hell did these (people) (vultures) (sharks) get my name and info so fast?

Here's what's going on. There are companies who system gather information about  accidents by monitoring hundreds of local news, radio, and television sites across any given state. They provide accident report summaries and mailing addresses for accident victims. They typically charge a fee per accident.

It's a sophisticated network for sure to process this information to attorneys and chiropractors and eventually start bombarding you before you've even had a chance to catch your breath and clear your head.

Personally, this feeding frenzy of solicitations is one of the worst things that has ever happened to our profession. I hate it and wish it would stop, but that's just my personal opinion.  I have no statistics to bear this out, but I would estimate that well over 90% of all Ohio personal injury attorneys do not engage in this practice. Unfortunately, however, we who don't engage in these practices are lumped in and tarred with the same brush as those attorneys and firms who solicit victims in this manner.

Thankfully, many collision victims still hire us the old fashioned way: asking around, and word of mouth.

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