The Washington herald., 1909-03-28


speciality. in fact
The business OF hurting yourself and
then suing somebody for damages, like
all other professions in this era OF spe-
eiRlization, has been specialized and re-
fined. True. there are still a great many
professionals who are what may be called
general practitioners. just as the family
doctor stiI survives in large numbers IN
spite of the nerve specialist, the brain
specialist. and the stomach specialist,
says. the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
There are many to whose net all IS fish
the fall of the trolley car, the tumble
on the stairs. the quick drop under the
moving delivery wagon. and all the rest.
In some cases whole families are engaged
in this general practice. and in such cases
tho family income is quite large.
Nevertheless. the specialist IS the rssl
thing in this business. as in others The
man who can fall out Of an elevator
every few months, the woman who can
bang herself against a bolt OF cloth in a
department store a. frequent intervals
not only conserves his or her intellect by
not having 10 think up different methods
all the time. but grows so expert by con-
centration that the profit Is surer and the
risk almost eliminated.
The profession. too, is divided into local
ana general practice Some prefer 10 stay
IN one locality. such as New York City,
extending their field no further than 20
Long Island City al the furthest. There
are others who take the entire Atlantic
coast as a field; viii fall OF trolley car
to-day in Boston and turn up next month
under the wheels Of a truck Ia Charles
ton. Still others operate throughout the
entire United States, and at least one
case is OF record where the 1nancier
chose Great Britain and the United States
as his modest field.
Nearing the Trust Stage.
In this era Of combination II is inevi-
table that this iourishing business should
not have escaped the general tendency.
There are, therefore, aIiances-not -sx-
actly trusts as yet. but concerns OF what
may be called self-hurters. operating to-
! gether. and usually With lawyer and
doctor regularly on the staff
1 II is not the mere fraudulent EuttOr who
| Is treated OF here; he is a common and
well-recognized feature of modern life; a.
| is the professional suitor. the man or
woman who makes q business Of it
The growth OF the business has forced
| the Arms and corporations who have been
4 engaged IL paying out money TO these
/ dranciers 70 take defensive action. and
/ hence there was formed not long ago the
/ Alliance Against Accident Fraud" which
now numbers among its members over
I fifty firms and corporations in various
parts OF the Uniou. The city OF New
I York is a member OF II; SO are the Amer
/ icaE Express Company, the Consolidated
I Gas Company. the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit, the Casualty Company OF Amer
/ lea the New York City Railway. the
I United Railways and Electric Company
/ OF Baltimore. the Boston Elevated Rail-
way Company, the New York Central, the
/ New Haven and Hartford. the INTERIOR
oush. the Pittsburg Construction Com
/ p2ny. the Columbus (OhiO) Railway and
/ Light Company, and many more, includ-
I ms the leading department stores OF the
/ country.
/ This company, OF alliance, keeps a card
I index OF all accident cases. and when one
I % its members IS sued and reports the
/ case the alliance searches its records 20
/ ind IL the plaintiff has ever sued any one
\ before. II he has. previous suits are
I looked Up by the alliance and the defend
ant member Is notified OF the result a
| card index Of doctors and lawyers Is also
I kept. In Boston. Chicago, and Phila6el-
/ phia a cross-iadex Of addresses IS kept.
} For instance. y John Sulithovitch. OF I2l
/ State street. sues the Boston Elevated the
/ case is indexed under SmilhOvitch and
I also under State street, so that II any Of
I Johns neighbOrs in that house begin a
damage suit against anybody an investi-
/ cation can be started 10 see II q self
! hurting trust exists in at locality.
How the Game Works.
/ II one house IN Boston eleven claimants
were found by this method. The way the
! game was worked was this: A would sue
the Boston Elevated. claiming that he
had caught his foot IN getting out OF g
I car. B and c would be his witnesses. 3
would sue the electric light company
claiming that Re stumbled over a stump
| In the dark: A and would be his wit
nesses. @ would sue the Merchants EI-
press Company. claiming that an express
wagon rounded q corner too quickly and
a box fell OF and landed on his foot; A
and would be his witnesses. The law
/ firm OF Coakley & Sherman. IN Boston,
/ handled at one time 800 cases against the
/ Boston Elevated.
/ IN Philadelphia the Mercer brothers op-
! Grated successfully for long time with a
sort OF private hospital They had IN
! their combination a lawyer. a physician.
and a nurse. Their specially was having
a man throw q fit' in front OF a street
/ car so that the fender would hit him AT
one time they had a professional contor-
tiOnist IN their employ for this purpose
/ As soon as the accident took place one
OF the firm. IN a wagon. would jump
down. brush the excited spectators aside
and say: ''Neyer mind waiting for an am
bulance; I'll take the poor fellow myself
Then he would load the injured man into
his wagon. drive him to a private house
and keep him there for three weeks under
the care Of the nurse. The physician
| would produce the necessary proof. tht
lawyer would bring suit. and there woult
be a settlement or q verdict. The Mer
GERS were finally driven out OF Philadel
phia and operated for awhile in New
York. but have since scattered. JOSEPH
A Shay. who recently got into trouble fol
trying 20 rig up the escape OF a prisoner
from the Tombs. was their counsel
Making Corporations Pay.
While in New York the MERGERS formed
a combination yith an artificial leg deal
er. When man came 20 him 70 buy
leg the dealer would suggest that h
might as well get some money from som,
corporation for the loss OF his leg. and
send him 10 the MERGERS 10 fix I'D a story
OF how he lost it,
There have been a singularly large mum
Der OF accidents in the Selinger family, o.
200sF orsyth street, New York. Ida Seiin
ger. aged fourteen. was The first victim
She sued her landlord. claiming that OF
August l. 1906 part Of the ceiling fell ant
hurt her head. On September S. 1896. ia
cob Selinger was pushed against a sea
on a Brooklyn car and hurt He sued th'
Brooklyn Rapid Transit. On August p