A car accident is confusing enough. You may be hurt, your car may be totaled, and you’re trying to figure out what happens next. How are you going to get to the doctor or work?
Then your phone rings. Or maybe it's a text message, sometimes an email.
The person on the other end knows your name. They know you were in an accident and they want to “help” you. Sometimes they even know details about your accident that make you wonder how they got your information in the first place.
I’ve represented dozens of Texans who have received these calls, and that’s usually one of the first questions they ask me: How did they know?
That’s a great question. And honestly, sometimes I want to know the answer just as much as they do. Somebody knew about this wreck before the person had even started looking for a lawyer. How?
In Texas, certain types of illegal solicitation fall under what’s called barratry. Most people know the practice by another name: ambulance chasing. However, most people don’t know that its illegal and that you can sue these bad actors and get paid.
I’m a personal injury lawyer in Houston. Of course I advertise, everyone does. People see my commercials, social media posts, media coverage, and website. If someone sees one of those and decides to call me, that person made the choice to reach out. They were not illegally solicited.
That is very different from someone getting information about an accident victim, contacting that person directly and trying to steer them toward a particular lawyer or medical provider. They might even do this on a website which I have seen recently. Get your accident report here and you end up signing an electronic attorney contract without knowing it.
One Client Got Six Calls
One barratry case I handled still stands out to me.
After an accident, my client didn't get one solicitation. He got six.
Fortunately, he kept the evidence. He recorded the calls. He took screenshots. He saved the contracts that were sent to him. That turned out to be extremely important.
At the time, the applicable statutory penalty was $10,000 per violation. We ultimately collected $60,000 for him based on those six solicitations.
But there was another part of that case that I think says a lot about how this business can work.
When I got the police report, I discovered that my client had caused the accident.
In other words, the people soliciting him apparently hadn't even done enough homework to realize he didn't have the personal injury case they thought they were chasing.
His barratry claims were a separate issue, and the evidence he had saved allowed us to pursue them. He caused the accident and he STILL got paid. Most people don’t know this law and I am trying to spread the news.
That's why I tell people not to simply delete an unwanted text or hang up and forget about a suspicious call. Keep it. You may need it later.
The Call May Not Sound Suspicious at First
People imagine an ambulance chaser as someone who walks into a hospital room and hands an injured person a lawyer's business card like on a TV show or movie.
It isn't always that obvious.
The person contacting you may sound helpful. They may use an official-sounding business name. They might talk about getting your vehicle repaired or helping you find medical treatment. They might offer to help you get a rental car or cash loans for your expenses while you wait for your case to settle.
Eventually, the conversation may turn to whether you already have an attorney.
I recently talked about this issue on KPRC 2's Houston Life, and one of the things I tried to get across is that people should trust their instincts enough to ask questions.
If you didn't contact this person, ask who they are.
Who do you work for?
How did you get my phone number?
How did you know I was in an accident?
Why are you recommending this particular lawyer?
A legitimate professional shouldn't have a problem explaining who they are and why they're contacting you. If they aren't doing anything wrong they will have no issues answering all of these questions without hesitation.
There Are Warning Signs I Tell Everyone to Pay Attention To:
Timing. The timing is a big one for me.
If you were in an accident a few hours ago and somebody you don't know is already contacting you about lawyers or medical treatment, I would want to know how that happened.
I would also be very cautious about anyone pressuring you to sign something right away. Insurance companies use this tactic too.
After a serious wreck, people are usually feeling overwhelmed. They're thinking about pain, transportation, work and their family. Most people have plans coming up and are worried about cancelling or rescheduling. Also, they may be dealing with an insurance adjuster for the first time in their lives.
That is not the time someone should be creating more pressure.
Promises about how much money you're going to receive are another red flag. No lawyer can responsibly know what a case is worth from a quick phone call right after a crash. There are too many things we don't know yet.
What happened? Who was at fault? What does the evidence show? How badly was the person injured? What insurance coverage is available?
Those questions take time to research before you can answer with any certainty.
And, even worse, if somebody offers money, gifts or something else of value to get you to sign with a particular lawyer, this is a big red flag. Paying for cases is also super illegal in Texas but firms are doing it every single day.
Texas Law Takes This Seriously
A lot of people are surprised when I tell them that barratry isn't just against the rules for lawyers. It's actually against Texas law, and there can be real consequences for the people involved.
There are a few different laws that come into play. Texas Penal Code §38.12 deals with barratry and solicitation of professional employment. Lawyers also have to follow Rule 7.03 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, which puts limits on how we can directly solicit potential clients.
What surprises a lot of clients is that Texas actually gives them a way to go after the people doing this. Texas Government Code §82.0651 is the law we use in these cases.
And the even law changed recently to help crack down on this practice. The Legislature increased the penalty in 2025. If somebody illegally solicits you and you don't sign the contract, the penalty can now be $50,000. You may also be able to recover damages and attorney's fees.
Signed the contract already? Tell me anyway. That's a different situation, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're stuck with the lawyer who solicited you.
I also don't want people seeing “$50,000” and thinking, I got a weird text yesterday. Where's my check? That's not how this works.
When someone calls me about barratry, I usually end up asking a million questions. Show me the text. What number did it come from? Did you call them first? What did they promise you? Did they send you a link? Did you click it? Did you sign anything?
Sometimes the person doesn't remember much about the call, and that's understandable. They had just been in a wreck. Barratry wasn't exactly the first thing on their mind.
That's why I keep coming back to the same advice: don't delete anything. You don't need to know what law was broken or even whether a law was broken. Save it and let somebody who knows this area take a look.
I had Another Case That Went All the Way to a Jury
The client I talked about earlier who got the six calls is just one example. I had another barratry case that went all the way to a jury, and that client was awarded $350,000. That's the biggest barratry verdict I've had so far.
Unfortunately, that wasn't some one-off case either. I have dozens of barratry cases going on in different parts of Texas right now. People are willing to risk these strict fines, penalties and loss of license to get these cases instead of building a great reputation or advertising.
And I hear the same thing all the time: “I deleted the text because I thought it was spam.” I get it. I delete junk from my phone too.
But if the person knows you were just in a wreck, stop before you hit delete. Take a screenshot. If they leave a voicemail, keep it. If they send you some strange link or a contract you never asked for, definitely keep that.
I've had people come to me months later trying to remember exactly what somebody said to them. That's a lot harder than handing me the phone and saying, “Here. This is what they sent me.”
It’s Your Decision Who Represents You
I've represented injured people in Houston for many years, and choosing a lawyer is a personal decision. When you hire a lawyer, that person is going to be in your life for a while. They will know a lot of personal information about you, your injuries, your medical history as well as your income and work situation. You should be the one choosing your lawyer. Not some stranger who got your phone number after a wreck.
So take your time and really decide who you want to work with. Maybe you hire the first lawyer you talk to. Maybe you talk to three. Maybe your brother or your neighbor had a lawyer they loved and you call that person. That's up to you.
I don't care how you find your lawyer. Ask your friends. Read reviews. Drive past a billboard. Google ten different firms if you want. What I care about is that YOU made the decision to call them, not the other way around.
What shouldn't happen is somebody you never contacted getting your information after a wreck and making you feel like the decision has already been made for you. Don't be a victim twice.
Remember it's always worth asking some questions. Start with the obvious one: How did you get my number?
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Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction and may change over time. Readers should not rely on the information in this article as a substitute for advice from a qualified attorney regarding their individual circumstances. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Featured News or its affiliates.
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