On Dec. 8 Sick of Lawsuits announced the consumer education campaign, “Don’t Let A Lawyer Be Your Doctor.”
SOL, a legal watchdog group of more than 200,000 people, says the new campaign warns consumers against believing everything they see in a lawsuit advertisement, and that they shouldn’t let a lawsuit advertisement scare or entice them into a lawsuit.
According to a press release, the campaign is spreading the message through social media, media outreach and outreach to consumer groups. A television ad will be used to alert consumers to the dangers of these personal injury lawyer advertisements and urge consumers to learn the facts so they can make informed decisions.
The advertisement will also be online and link back to an informational website where consumers can learn more and access tips on how to be a smart legal consumer.
“Personal injury lawyer advertising has increased by 68 percent in eight years,” said Ken Barnes, a SOL spokesperson. “These personal injury lawyer ads are simply everywhere – people are inundated by them.”
A recent study, released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, found that personal injury lawyers will spend $892 million nationwide in television advertising in 2015, which is up from $541 million in 2008.
The SOL advertisement mimics the often sensationalistic nature of personal injury lawyer ads and explains how these ads create, “fear before facts.”
The ad also urges consumers – when it comes to their health – to listen to doctors, not personal injury lawyers.
“It’s important for consumers to understand that these ads shouldn’t be viewed as medical information, the purpose of these ads is to generate as many lawsuits as possible,” said Barnes.
“Many of these ads provide no context that the likelihood of injury or ill effect is very, very, very small. Instead, these ominous and threatening ads create the impression that nearly everyone who ever used a product is going to be harmed by an adverse effect. This can scare needlessly scare patients away from treatments they need and lure them into lawsuits.
“That’s the end-goal for personal injury lawyers – to generate litigation and make more money.”