If you have been in an accident recently, you may find yourself getting a lot of attention from individuals other than your nurses, doctors, and family who are worried about you. And while legal professionals from a firm like Heintz Law who do not want to see you left without fair compensation or being taken advantage of will be concerned about you, if lawyers are showing up at the hospital unsolicited to try and ‘get your business,’ please be aware that their behavior is highly illegal and they are not scrupulous professionals!

Your case should not be solicited at the hospital by anyone else who may be working with an attorney’s office either, or from a paralegal or anyone that you have not called and requested to represent you on your own. The Florida Bar takes these matters extremely seriously, and such behavior is considered a third-degree felony:

“Bar rules prohibit the solicitation – face to face, by phone including via a cold call, or through a third party – of a client who is not a family member or with whom the lawyer does not have a prior professional relationship,” states information from a Florida Bar news article. “Attorneys may not send direct mail solicitations to prospective clients within 30 days of an accident, and then that mailing must meet several conditions including stating where the attorney got the recipient’s name, be marked as an advertisement, and start by advising the recipient to ignore the letter if he or she has already retained another lawyer.”

It is in your interest though to hire a skilled injury attorney if you have been hurt due to the negligence of others. A car crash is a good example of this type of scenario, where you could potentially be in the hospital with insurance adjusters already calling too, hoping to get you in line for a quick and easy settlement with as little effort as possible. If you are owed damages, do not go it alone! An accident like a car crash may leave you with debilitating injuries that make it impossible to work temporarily or even permanently. You may be dealing with a serious concussion, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, broken bones or sprains, and more. In such a situation, you require honest, reliable legal assistance. If someone approaches you for representation in an atmosphere like a hospital or other immediate stopping point after an accident, they should be reported immediately to the Florida Bar.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another driver, contact the attorneys at Heintz Law. We’ve helped victims from Bradenton, Sarasota, and all over Florida get compensation for their damages and medical expenses after accidents. Call us for a free consultation now at 941-748-2916 or contact us online. We are here to help!

All blogs are written on behalf of Heintz Law for informational purposes. These articles should not, however, be considered legal advice, or in any way responsible for creating an attorney/client relationship.