Friday, January 27, 2006

Ambulance Chasers?

And people say criminal lawyers are sleazy... Check out this story by Julie Kay and Jessica Walker about law firms -- posing as grief counselors -- chasing airplane crash victims, even as they were preparing to go to funerals. The article begins:
Representatives of a Chicago law firm posed as American Red Cross grief counselors to gain access to relatives of the victims of a Chalk’s Ocean Airways crash in Miami, according to complaints filed with the Florida and Illinois bars.As a result of the complaints, The Florida Bar is also investigating a West Palm Beach-based law firm for possible violations of Bar rules in its solicitation of the Bahamian relatives of passengers who were killed in the Chalk’s seaplane crash.The alleged misconduct also could violate a federal law intended to protect the families of plane crash victims from being approached by lawyers immediately after the death of their relatives.The Bar complaints were filed on Jan. 3 by Miami lawyer John Ruiz, who represents relatives of one of the crash victims. He contends that lawyers for the Rose Law Firm of West Palm Beach and the Chicago-based Nolan Law Group used improper client solicitation tactics. According to the complaint, lawyers from the firms posed as psychiatrists and Red Cross volunteers, and knocked on the doors of the grieving families in Bimini as early as the day of the crash.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard the same thing happend with oceanic-air when they crashed.

David Oscar Markus said...

Love the Lost reference. Great show (even though this week's episode wasn't so good). Along with 24, West Wing, and Boston Legal, I'm watching a lot of TV this season...

Anonymous said...

Somebody should ask John Ruiz how he got his clients.

Anonymous said...

If we ever are "found", it'll probably be by a bunch of PI lawyers.

At least our mystery computer has internet access.

Locke