The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-01-07
NEGRO PUT It OVER
AMBULANCE CHASER
DIR. Gewin Tells An Amusing
Story of Case
LAWYERS PAID MAN
Various Ones Gave Him All Told $3.50
For Privilege of Suing For
Bruised leg After He Had
Made Settlement

Probably no class of man is more de-
tested. not only among the members of
his own profession, who realize the full
measure of the offense. but by the gen.
eral public, as the ambulance chasing
lawyer
According to members of the Birming-
ham bar this city is afflicted with many
of this kind Of lawyers and owing to
the Industrial plants of the district and
the accidents that are more or less in
evitable the genus grew SO prolific as to
call for comment in the meeting of the
state bar association at Montgomery
There are innumerable stories told of
instances where the ambulance chaser
has been successful in mulcting corpor-
ations out of large sums for fictitious
or at best superficial injuries. Ambu-
lance men working for local undertakers
are authority for the statement that
there are times when the lawyer beats
the ambulance to the scene of the acct
dent and the latter becomes the Chaser
instead of the CHASED"
In view of these facts it is with par
ticular joy that the public usually hears
of a case wherein one of this class of
attorneys has been over-reached or out
witted
DIR. w. C. Gewin, head of the staff of
the Birmingham infrmary at West End,
yesterday took keen delight in relating
an incident of this character which he
admitted sounded improbable but for
which he vouched:
you know we hospital men have con-
siderable trouble with ambulance
chasers," said the doctor with laugh,
but case came to my attention last
week in which not only one ambulance
chaser but nearly a dozen were badly
stung by simple negro
THE negro in question, whom I will
call John for convenience, was brought
into the hospital suffering from bruised
leg sustained in a street car accident.
He was not at all seriously injured. Be-
fore he had been In the infrmary an
hour a lawyer called and wanted to see
him. Carrying out the policy of the in
stitutton, We declined to permit this. The
attorney left and later another called to
be met by the same refusal. / suppose
We refused half-a-dozen in ALL
rlhaiiy one morning negro came ana
applied for permission to see him. He
declared he was the mans brother and
wanted to tell him news of the family.
unsuspectfng. We allowed the negro ac-
cess to the patient and when he thought
himself alone he began talking a blue
streak about the beautiful suit John had
against the company. He was just rec
ommending certain lawyer when over
heard by the nurse and dismissed.
In the meanwhile the negro had been
seen by an agent of the company, who
had agreed to pay all his doctor bills
and give him $3.50 additional, to which
the negro acceded and signed a settle
nent of the claim, receiving his money.
In due course of time he was discharged.
The first day he was out of the in
Urinary he was approached by an attor-
ney who made overtures as to bringing
suit against the company and asked the
negro IL he had made any settlement.
Nav. sub, l amt made no settlement
said John. and you sho' can sue fob
me. But ah amt got no money and yo'll
have ter gimme bout fifty dollahs to
live on The attorney acceded to the re-
quest, the money changed hands and he
went on his way rejoicing that another
case had fallen to his lot
1T was not long before John was again
iContinued ON Page seven.)