Ambulance Chasers?

We got a rather impressive envelope Friday. It was from a law firm somewhere in Minnesota, with one of those folders inside to hold a sheaf of papers - one of them had photos of the distinguished attorneys. And, a cover letter that said they'd be happy to sue somebody for us.

Actually, what it was more like "make sure ... that our clients receive fair compensation for all their losses."

When I was growing up, an "ambulance chaser" was a lawyer or detective who, seeing an ambulance go by with the siren on, would chase it and try to get at whoever had been hurt. At that time, "ambulance chasers" didn't enjoy a very high status.

Judging from the quality of the mailing, this outfit must be making a pretty good profit: it takes money to assemble and send a package like that: Back when I was involved in direct mail advertising ("junk mail," if it isn't done right), I think it'd take a few dollars just for the package: plus the $2.02 for postage. . From a technical point of view, the whole thing was quite well done.

"Ambulance Chaser?" Maybe Not

I don't expect any trouble as we deal with the insurance companies, towing services, hospital, and law enforcement. The paperwork is going to be a little complicated - I looked up township names for the Osakis area while writing this post - but we'll get it done, and we've had a pretty good track record with this general sort of thing.

But, I know that sometimes a business, individual, or institution has to be encouraged to follow the rules. That's where lawyers and the court system come in. So, I've decided to see that law firm's promptly mailing that offer as a sort of public service.

Which we won't, I think, need. Or want.