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Tyler had a refinery explosion (gasoline refinery) this week and I see ads in the local paper now "if you had an injury or death in the refinery explosion call..........." (lawyers picture and name inserted.
I know it is legal for them to advertise now but it grates against my senses to see this "ambulance chasing". Yes, I know they have to make a living but....people should have sense enuf to use the yellow pages if they need a lawyer.
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The rule change that allowed lawyers to advertise was the beginning of the collapse of our legal system into a morass of self-serving lying tort complaints.
That and too few ethics were taught in law schools.
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You gotta love the "If you or a loved one died as a result of....." ads. Just for fun one night, I counted the number of ads for law firms. From 7:00PM to 10:15PM I counted 14! Granted I was channel surfing.
What does it tell you when, in the polls, lawyers are right down there with Congress on popularity/doing a good job charts?
I'm sure there are good ones out there, but I would ask a friend before I'd hire someone from a tv ad.
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I'll tell you who you should have a beef with - the company that had the explosion.
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. sigh.
Refinery accidents are very, very common. There are some industries that are just inherently dangerous. The level of training, quality control, monitoring, etc is beyond belief, but stuff still happens. The workers know all about the risks and the dangers, and get regular training. It's just a few steps down from combat soldier in terms of risk.
Are companies that operate refineries inherently evil ? nope. They don't want to lose people any more than we do. It just happens.
And then the media and the personal injury lawyers run around claiming that the company killed and injured their people deliberately.
A few years ago we had an accident here. A shelf failed in the warehouse, a load dropped, and landed on one guy's head. He was hospitalized, and ultimately took disability leave.
When the call came out, one of the first people on site after the EMT's (we have our own in-plant EMT's, most do.) was the CEO ! He literally ran through the factory to the site.
And he stayed until the man was taken to the hospital, and then made it very clear that NOTHING was going to happen until the accident was investigated and the area was made safe. We shut down for three days until the necessary checks and changes could be made. We're talking millions in lost income. The idled workers were put to work making the necessary changes to the racks, so nobody lost pay.
Was his impetus financial ? Legal ?
Nope. We all regard ourselves as being family. You do whatever you need to help family.
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"There are some industries that are just inherently dangerous. "
but that doesn't mean safety systems do not exist to protect workers and the public. when companies save a buck by cutting back on safety, the excuses go out the window.
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I'm with Sam on this one. The lawyers are in like a flock of vultures long before companies have a chance to assess the situation and see what they can do to provide assistance. Yes, in some cases it becomes clear that lawyers are needed, but the kind of thing noted in her post probably sets up more adversarial situations than would ever be necessary. The lawyers often come out the only winners.
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Never Mind..."when companies save a buck by cutting back on safety, the excuses go out the window."
I don't know how it is where you live, but around here companies actually lose money if they cut back on safety programs. The insurers offer discounts on policies if they have 'certified' safety progams in place. Most insurers also provide educational and technical advise to companies to help bring them up to the standards required to meet their 'certification' requirements.
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Nobody like lawyers until they need one.
: -)
Actually the personal injury ones are among the least likable because of the advertising techniques
that are employed by a handful of them - but not all are bad.
I have a friend that I went to school with who is a very low key PI lawyer - no big fancy office or late night TV commercials.
Just him and he hires a paralegal on an as needed basis.
I have done work for him over the years doing photography - primarily documentation of injuries
(because I was a medical photographer in a previous life)
The whole reason my friend got into the personal injury side was because his younger brother
had been mauled by a neighbors dog when they were kids. He had some serious facial wounds
and underwent numerous reconstructive surgeries over the course of 10 years (until he was an adult)
My friend never even intended to be a lawyer - went to school for something completely different
and after being out decided to return to law school and pursue his current course.
He's pretty selective and not an ambulance chaser - tends to take on clients he really feel hasve been wronged.
He works out of his condo and only works a handful of cases a years. Not getting rich but is comfortable
and would probably have more money except he has a weakness for old Italian convertibles.
Not all of them are bad, but you don't hear much about the good ones.
