It’s a New Year and with it, new ways we are paying for lawsuit abuse. That’s right. We all pay, and we all lose, when others are allowed to abuse our civil justice system. So, we hope you’ll join us in helping to ensure our courts are used for justice, not greed.
We’ll help by keeping you informed about ways you can get involved. Read on for more now.
Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor
At Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse, we resolve to spend 2016 making our fellow Texans better aware of the dangers that come when we rely on personal injury lawyer advertising for medical advice. As more of us turn to TV and the Internet for health and medical information, it’s important to distinguish between helpful resources and misleading lawsuit advertising. And there are plenty of ads to wade through.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) estimates personal injury lawyers spent $892 million in television advertising in 2015, up from $531 million in 2008.[1] Many of these ads attempt to shape consumers’ decisions, steering them away from qualified doctors and toward questionable lawsuits.
This concerns us so much, we launched an awareness campaign and a TV ad of our own. Watch and share that TV spot by visiting online here. Read more about the campaign on our blog.
Don’t let a lawyer be your doctor. Share that message now. Click here to Tweet about it.
FACT: The 68 percent growth in legal advertising on TV over the past eight years was most evident in Houston. That city ranked among the top 10 television markets for personal injury lawyer advertising in 2015.
Two Texas Areas Named Judicial Hellholes
The Rio Grande Valley and East Texas are among the American Tort Reform Association’s latest Judicial Hellhole list, a distinction that raises red flags for the lawsuit reform community. “Judicial Hellholes” are jurisdictions across the country where the laws are applied in an unfair or unbalanced manner.
Julian Alvarez, executive director of Rio Grande Valley Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, had this to say about this negative news: “Our Texas Legislature and elected officials have made great strides to enact lawsuit reforms that protect consumers and ensure our courts are used for justice, not greed, but this latest Judicial Hellholes report suggests there is still much work to be done.”
Well said, Julian.
Making Headlines
The Southeast Texas Record reported on Texas making the worst list in the latest Judicial Hellholes report. Read the full story here.
Marcus Jahns, chairman of Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse, wrote about the need for greater consumer awareness about personal injury lawyer advertising. His op-ed column that features TALA’s “Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor” awareness campaign has appeared in several newspapers across the state. Read his column in the San Antonio Express-News here.
Get Social in the Fight Against Lawsuit Abuse
Follow us on Twitter? Like us on Facebook? Help raise awareness about the work of TALA and the fight against lawsuit abuse by following and sharing TALA news and campaigns.
See an example of lawsuit abuse in your community or the media? Please share it with us on Facebook or Twitter by tagging us @TexasTALA.
[1]“Trial Lawyer Advertising: Broadcast, Search and Social Strategies,” Institute of Legal Reform, Oct. 2015, Page 2.
