Who is Calling and Texting Me After My Car Accident? Is it a Scam?

A car accident often elicits a wide range of emotions and long list of questions for those involved, especially when someone sustains a serious personal injury. The entire experience often leaves accident victims feeling vulnerable, unsure of what they should or shouldn’t do next.

Unfortunately, there are groups quick to capitalize on a car accident victim’s inexperience. In many cases, it’s for their own financial gain. And in today’s mobile world, there is no quicker way for opportunists to reach someone than by a phone call, text, or email.

As a result, car accident victims often receive unsolicited calls, texts, and emails soon after their accident occurs, sometimes on the same day. Of course, this is also during the time period in which accident victims are often unsure of their next steps.

Being able to determine if a post-accident contact is legitimate or a scam can make the difference in whether or not your car accident and personal injury claim is properly handled. More important, it may also affect your legal rights and chances of receiving maximum compensation.

To better understand who may be trying to reach you after your car accident, attorney Matt Boulton breaks down a list of possible groups who may be on the other end of a call, text, or email, as well as their possible intentions.

Who is Calling & Texting Me After My Car Accident?

There is a large list of people who may try to contact you after a car accident. Some groups will have a legitimate reason to call you, while others may not be looking out for your best interests.

Depending on the details of your accident, any of the following groups may try to contact you:

Scammers & Fraudsters

Scams and frauds have become a regular part of our everyday lives, often appearing in the form of an unsolicited call, text, or email. In addition to their increased frequency, scams have also become harder to recognize.

Given the unforgiving nature of car accident laws, attorney Boulton believes scammers and fraudsters should be high on the list of groups of which accident victims should be aware.

Scammers are aware of a person’s vulnerability after a car accident. As such, they use a variety of tactics in order to get someone to reveal personal information, including bank account information, social security numbers, credit card information, computer passwords, etc.

In an attempt to obtain the accident victim’s sensitive data, a scammer often pretends to be someone they aren’t. Specific to car accident victims, a scammer may falsely claim any number of identities, such as an attorney, police officer, medical provider, doctor, or victim’s advocate.

The level of trickery used by scammers can be rather elaborate. Some accident scams are so sophisticated that they may involve phony medical clinics, official looking websites, or online forms. All of these methods are often designed to gain access to a victim’s personal information.

After your accident, if you’re even the least bit unsure about someone or something, always be sure to get a second or even third opinion.

For 25+ years, attorney Boulton has witnessed the evolution of personal injury scams and frauds, and they’re not likely going away. If anything, they’re increasing. Knowing what steps to take after a car accident, and who to trust, is essential to ensuring your legal rights are protected.

Suspicious Medical Groups

There is a long history of suspect groups engaging in various unethical medical practices, such as improper billing and/or medical fraud. In cases like this, it is not uncommon for guilty parties to take advantage of uninformed car accident victims.

Over the years, attorney Boulton has heard potential clients tell him of suspicious behavior and schemes they experienced shortly after their accident:

“During consultations with potential clients it’s not uncommon for them to mention they were contacted shortly after their car accident. What’s important to me is gathering additional information about these contacts to help the accident victim to determine if the group or person is suspect.” – Matt Boulton

One popular car accident tactic you’ll want to avoid involves the victim being contacted by a medical provider (or attorney) shortly after their accident. It works like this:

The accident victim receives a call, text, or email from a medical provider. The suspect group claims to have the victim’s best interests in mind or may even claim to work on behalf of the insurance company. They then offer medical services related to the car accident at no cost to the victim.

In some cases, these group may even offer to provide transportation to and from their medical office. Once the accident victim arrives at the medical facility for diagnosis and treatment, they may also be advised that there is an attorney on-site who can help them with legal assistance for a potential personal injury claim. 

In reality, these medical providers and facilities have no official affiliation with the insurance company, they shouldn’t be cold-contacting accident victims, nor do they have the person’s best interests in mind.

Some guilty groups such as the above turn out to be a chiropractic or physical therapy office, sometimes operating under an ambiguous, yet impressive sounding name. And instead of being offered a hospital’s full range of services and ethical referral options, the accident victim can risk receiving limited and/or inadequate forms of treatment.

Why would they do this?

The vast majority of Indiana car insurance policies contain a supplemental provision known as medical payments coverage. This coverage is designed to help cover immediate expenses incurred by the accident victim and/or their passengers. The amount of medical payments coverage can greatly vary depending on a person’s policy. It may total $5,000, $25,000, $100,000, or any other dollar amount the insured elects to carry.

Opportunistic medical groups may seize on this knowledge and prescribe excessive treatment at high costs, quickly dissolving the medical payments coverage. In turn, this can also make an accident victim’s personal injury claim difficult to resolve.

How do these groups know when a person is involved in a car accident?

There are a number of ways an unethical medical group or attorney can obtain an accident victim’s contact information:

• Police Reports – Indiana’s police reports are public record. Anyone can order a copy of an accident report for a nominal cost. The report provides identifying information for all accident victims, as well as each party’s insurance information.
• Runners – Sometimes a suspect medical group or attorney will employ a person/runner to hunt down police reports or additional sources that can lead to insider information. In some instances, it has been reported to Boulton Law Group that a person was taking license plate pictures of vehicles that were being brought to a tow yard.
• Emergency Service Workers – There have been past reports of emergency service (EMS) workers who have connections with suspect groups and provide them with valuable accident information.

And while the majority of medical professionals, emergency workers, and law firms aim to work within the bounds of ethical practice, it’s important to always be on the watch for anything that may appear suspect.

Attorneys & Law Firms

As you’re likely aware, attorney advertising is big business in Indiana. To that point, some of us may never be involved in an accident, but we might still recognize the names of attorneys and firms who choose to advertise on TV and billboards.

With this in mind, it’s important to distinguish the difference between a law firm’s television and/or billboard advertisement from a form of advertising known as direct solicitation.

Depending on a law firm’s business model, some attorneys will use various means to directly target the attention of a specific accident victim. Types of direct solicitation may include:

• Direct mail. (In some cases, accident victims may receive dozens of mail packets from various firms competing for their attention.)
• Phone calls from an attorney, law firm, or agency representing the law firm.
• Emails.
• Text Message.
• In-person visit(s). (An attorney or associate may attempt to visit the accident victim’s hospital room or home.)

Personal opinions aside, Indiana’s law firms have the legal right to participate in various forms of direct solicitation, however, the manner and timeline in which they do this is governed by a strict set of ethical and legal guidelines, all of which is documented and explained in Indiana’s Rules of Professional Conduct.

Paramount among the Rules of Professional Conduct is the 30-Day Rule. The rule prohibits any lawyer (or agent on their behalf) from attempting to make any type of contact with a victim until 30 days after the date of the accident.

“a lawyer shall not solicit professional employment from a prospective client if . . . the solicitation concerns an action for personal injury or wrongful death or otherwise relates to an accident or disaster involving the person to whom the solicitation is addressed or a relative of that person, unless the accident or disaster occurred more than 30 days prior to the initiation of the solicitation.”

Rule 7.3. (b.) (3.) Direct Contact With Prospective Clients

Attorney Matt Boulton is a strong advocate of the 30-Day Rule, as it is designed to prevent law firms from taking unfair advantage of an accident victim who may be in a vulnerable state of mind. Equally important, it prohibits any immediate contact with a person or family member who may be grieving over the loss of a loved one due to wrongful death.

Insurance Adjusters

Insurance companies understand the important role “time” plays after a car accident. The quicker they contact the accident victim(s), the more likely they are to gather sensitive details and evidence that may limit the amount of liability they face.

In fact, depending on the severity of the accident and injuries, it’s possible that an insurance adjuster may attempt to contact you on the very day of your accident. This type of rapid response is also reserved for cases that represent significant liability exposure, such as a collision with a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle.

Following a car accident, adjusters are tasked with limiting the amount of liability the insurance company faces. As such, they’re not working to ensure you receive maximum compensation. More specifically, the goal of the insurance company is to maximize their profits by paying out lesser amounts on car accident claims or denying the claim outright.

Attorney Boulton’s experience with opposing insurance companies, large and small, has led to the following advice for all car accident victims, no matter their situation:

“Accident victims should always consult with an experienced personal injury attorney before speaking to an insurance adjuster. When potential clients contact me, I am able to provide them with free information that can help them to avoid common missteps and mistakes that can negatively affect their claim. At the very least, they’re consulting with someone who doesn’t work for the insurance company.” – Matt Boulton

As such, before you agree to sign any documents or provide the insurance company with a recorded statement, which they will ask for, it’s recommended that you first learn more about your legal rights and what your potential case may be worth.

Referral Services

There are a number of referral services that may attempt to connect accident victims with attorneys or other resources. Some are larger services that operate on a national scale while others work within their home city and state.

As is the case with any group post-accident, some will conduct their business in an ethical manner that follows local laws and guidelines, and then there are others that place profit over an accident victim’s best interests.

Many referral services will have an online presence and may direct you to a list of attorneys. In some instances, the referral service may be financially or contractually bound to an attorney or law firm. When referring a firm to an accident victim, this arrangement can carry the risk of putting a business relationship ahead of a firm’s actual experience or history.

Accident victims should always research and vet any referral service before agreeing to engage with them or make use of their resources.

Defendants, Investigators, and/or Witnesses

Following some car accidents, a victim may receive contact from a third party who wishes to gather more information about the collision and/or the victim’s injuries. Sometimes this will happen even after the victim has retained a personal injury attorney.

Boulton Law Group recommends you refrain from speaking with or offering any information to a third party. Instead, contact your attorney before replying to any of the following:

• Defendants – In short, any attempt of contact by one or more defendants should immediately be reported to your attorney.
• Investigators – It is not uncommon for the insurance company to employ investigators that are tasked with gathering additional information that could damage your claim. This can include statements, photos, written testimony, etc.
• Witnesses – In some cases, a witness may reach out to an accident victim to check on their well-being or gather additional details about the accident. Again, any attempted contact by a witness should be refused and reported to your attorney.

It is standard practice for attorney Boulton to send representation letters out to various parties who may have a potential interest in your claim. In addition to formally announcing he has been retained as your attorney, the letter advises that there is to be no more contact with you, with all future communications directed to his office.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that various third parties may still attempt to contact you. In each instance, you should make your attorney aware of the same.

Who Should You Contact After a Car Accident?

Following a serious car accident, it’s important to seek a consultation from an experienced, trusted resource; someone who is focused strictly on your best interests. One such resource is a trial-tested Indiana personal injury attorney.

Conversely, accident victims may receive lots of advice and opinions from various third parties, including family members, friends, former accident victims who went it alone, insurance companies, etc. Genuine intentions aside, attorney Boulton recommends you think twice before acting on a non-attorney’s guidance.

Unless your friend or family member is an experienced personal injury attorney, it’s unlikely they will be versed in Indiana’s nuanced and ever-changing personal injury laws. Nor will they likely have first-hand knowledge of the tactics used by big insurance companies to limit or deny personal injury claims.

It is recommended that you contact an attorney who limits their practice to personal injury law, has a track-record of success in settlements and trials, provides free consultations, and offers a “no win-no fee” contingent retainer agreement.

Additionally, and most importantly, you should contact and select an attorney who you believe best fits your needs, personally and professionally.

About Boulton Law Group

Boulton Law Group is an award-winning, Indiana personal injury firm that focuses exclusively on helping accident victims throughout the Hoosier state.

Attorney Matt Boulton founded the firm for accident victims who value personal attention, custom-tailored legal strategies, and proven experience for cases that include:

• Car accidents
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Dog bite injuries
• Wrongful death lawsuits
• Negligent security
• Nursing home abuse
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents

Boulton Law Group’s clients are never greeted by a secretary, paralegal, or legal assistant. Attorney Boulton handles every aspect of each client’s case from start to finish. His approach helps to ensure that each client’s case receives the complete focus and attention of an experienced personal injury attorney.

The firm provides Indiana’s accident victims with a Zero Fee Guarantee. This means that you will never pay for a legal consultation. Also, the firm receives no payment for its services unless retained and a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

If you have questions about suspicious activity related to your car accident claim, or you’d like to receive a second opinion regarding your legal rights and the potential value of your claim, you can reach attorney Boulton by using the firm’s confidential, free contact form.

Matt looks forward to hearing your story and learning more about how he can potentially help you!