Judge overturns limits on medical and lawyer solicitations

Apr 5, 2010 by Andrew

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel has overturned a Texas law that bars medical professionals from contacting victims within 30 days of an accident and lawyers from contacting people within a month of getting arrested.

Judge Yeakel ruled that the law was unconstitutional and infringed on free speech. Legislators approved the law last year, saying it was aimed at unethical solicitations. The case was brought by a Houston lawyer and an Austin chiropractor.

In his ruling, Yeakel said the chiropractor in the case and his patients showed that early medical treatment was beneficial to accident victims.

Yeakel also struck down banning lawyers’ written solicitation of people who had been arrested or received a summons. The judge cited a higher court opinion that drew a distinction between the privacy due to accident victims or those in wrongful-death cases compared with those recently arrested.
“While a criminal or traffic (defendant) may be shaken by his arrest, what he needs is representation, not time to grieve,” the judge wrote.

Attorney Martyn B. Hill, one of the plaintiffs, said the ruling means a letter sent by a lawyer to someone who recently was arrested or received a traffic ticket is protected as free speech. Hill said the ruling also allows medical professionals to send truthful marketing to people within 30 days after an accident.

As always, be careful if you are contacted by a doctor after an accident – request our free report for accident victims to find out why.

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