I loves me some tort lawyers. Really. I think they’re one of the few real means we average schmucks have to protect ourselves from the abuses of deep-pocketed corporations, &c.
Now, the background: I was involved in a wreck a couple of weeks ago. The other driver was found at fault. I didn’t have any injuries that a couple of days of ibuprofen an a heat pack couldn’t take care of, and my docs say I’m in the clear. I’m completely satisfied with the way his insurance company handled the claim, and I walked away from the whole thing with a couple of weeks in a brand new rental and a few hundred buck in my pocket.
Apparently, the incident was made publicly within the last couple of days; as far as I can tell, dude’s citation only appeared on the local court clerk’s office this morning.
So… why the HELL have I gotten more than two dozen calls from outfits like the “National Accident Resource Center” and other such telemarketers who mispronounce my name, tell me they have some “follow up questions” about the wreck, and then leave 800 numbers for me to call them back?
That’s two dozen since this morning.
Not that I’d actually return any of these calls, but am I correct in assuming that these are all personal injury legal solicitations?
Where did they get me info? As far as I can tell, none of my info was published on the Clerk’s site, and my number is unlisted. Could these assholes actually have somebody manually pulling the entire case file for each minor fender bender that happens in my town? Is this showing up on my credit report?
Yep. There are people who do nothing all day but scan new filings at the courthouse or county clerk’s office to glean business leads.
I used to know someone who did this with deed and mortgage filings. They’d gather the information, then sell it to whoever wanted to buy it. It’s just another form of trading in mailing lists, and it is public info, so there’s no way to stop them.
Unless you’re a judgment debtor (ie: you lose the case and owe money) your credit report should be unaffected.
I suppose it’s more IMHO, but does anybody have any idea how long I should expect to attract this level of concern from my friendly neighborhood barristers?
Maybe I should take some of them up on their offers, because the spelling in my OP sure as hell looks like evidence of brain damage.
Based on a wreck I was in three weeks after my wedding:
Your last call from a telemarketer will be two weeks after the publication of the accident information.
Most of the people calling me were CHIROPRACTORS, not lawyers.
If you’ve got more free time than money, consider learning about telemarketing law and exploiting it to prevail against your callers in small claims court. Are they calling on a cell phone? Mine were. Do they make their do not call policy available to you on request? Cha-ching.
Glad you weren’t hurt.