It seems like legal referral services are everywhere these days. They usually feature a catchy theme tune, and a spokesperson who promises to magically make your legal troubles go away. They promise that by calling their number, you’ll get fast relief from the injuries you’ve suffered, and sometimes they even promise specific settlement amounts.
Are these referral services legitimate? Are the claims they make supportable? Will they actually hook you up with a legitimate attorney? Learn the truth about 411-Pain and other so-called legal referral sites, and see whether they’re legitimate or a scam to line someone’s pockets with your pain.
Beware of Spurious Claims
First things first: if any service promises you a specific amount of money without knowing anything about your case, they’re making claims they cannot back up. Before speaking to you, no attorney, let alone an attorney referral service, can tell you what your case is worth. Always beware of claims like this.
They also pressure you in their ads to call them immediately after your accident. This is because they don’t want you to think too hard about what you’re doing.
How Their “Network” Functions
These referral services claim they have an “exclusive” network of attorneys that work for them. The truth is that their member attorneys pay them a monthly fee for referrals. In truth, a lot of them simply try to bill insurance companies for Personal Injury Protection money before any attorney is even secured. 411-Pain was just slapped with a $15 million lawsuit in November over this very practice.
When you call these services, you’re trusting someone in a call center that has little to no legal training, is not a physician and is not an attorney. They could be a part-time worker who is still in school or not in school at all. You might know more about personal injury than them. They’ll simply set you up with whichever “network” attorney’s turn it is in the queue.
Is Every 411 Lawyer Bad?
No, not every 411 lawyer is a bad attorney. In fact, there may be some very good attorneys in their network. However, you should really think twice about any legal service who pays a third-party for automatic referrals. Ask yourself, why do they need to sign on with a service like this? Also stop to consider what it is the referral service is getting out of the deal, and what are they doing for you, that you couldn’t do for yourself?
While there could be some good attorneys in this network, in many cases victims find that they don’t even get to talk to a lawyer when they’re referred. Others have difficulty getting in touch with the firm. Still others find that they never see the promised payout.
Finding a California Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’re hurt in an accident, it is absolutely important to get set up with a California personal injury lawyer. You should, however, avoid referral services at all costs. Many of these will simply take your money and pass you off to the next person in the queue.
Instead, call an attorney with years of experience and a track record of success. If you’re in this situation, contact the Gruber Law Group for a completely free consultation today.