Ambulance chaser

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Grammarist

An ambulance chaser is a lawyer who solicits representation of accident victims in order to profit from their pain and suffering, it is an American term. An ambulance chaser is not merely a personal injury lawyer, an ambulance chaser is a lawyer who seeks out victims to represent, inciting them to bring a lawsuit when they may have not been inclined to do so. The metaphor employed in ambulance chaser is that of a lawyer chasing an ambulance departing from the scene of an accident in order to meet the victim at the hospital and incite him to sue. Ambulance chasing is illegal in the United States and to call someone an ambulance chaser or accuse him of ambulance chasing is an insult.

Examples

The solicitor – it would be unfair to call him an ambulance chaser – will know the trick about getting the case out of the hands of the Injuries Board, as that State body does not pay lawyer fees and has not upped the compensation it pays in years. (The Independent)

When we last saw Saul Goodman, three years ago in the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, the amiable Albuquerque ambulance chaser was shipping off to a management position at a Cinnabon in Omaha (Jimmy McGill is the character’s given name, but by the time we meet him on Breaking Bad, his professional name is Saul Goodman, as in “It’s all good, man”). (Newsweek Magazine)

He had followed us from the center of town and wanted to know if we’d like to hire his services — the smuggler equivalent of an ambulance chaser. (The New York Times)

Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, has previously criticised ‘ambulance-chasing’ lawyers, who have brought a deluge of claims against the MoD – a claim vehemently denied by the law firms involved. (The Telegraph)