Practice Areas
- Personal Injury
- Automobile Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Product Liability
- Medical Malpractice
- Premises Liability
- Dog Bites/Pet Attacks
- Industrial Accidents and Worker’s Compensation
Van Dorn Blog 
Automobile Accidents
- Appeals Court Upholds $16 Million Bad Faith Claim Against Allstate
- Insurance Institute Conducts Pickup Truck Safety Tests
- New Hampshire Man Dies In Motorcycle Accident
- Vermont Makes Roads Safer
- Laconia Motorcycle Week
- New Hampshire Motorcycle Safety Awareness Campaign
- True Story
Dog Bites/Pet Attacks
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury
- Senate Passes Safety Bill for Toys
- Research Your Potential Personal Injury Attorney
- I Call Insurance Company Rules!
- HR 6126: The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act
- Three Injured in Separate ATV Accidents
- Insurance Companies and Personal Injury Lawyers
- Unethical Lawyers
- "...an informed client is our best client."
- New Hampshire Personal Injury Law
- Beware of Settlement Mills
Attorney Fees
General
Samples Cases
Automobile Accidents
$875,000 recovered for man injured in automobile/bicycle accident
$750,000 recovered for rear-end auto accident resulting in back surgery
Dog Bites/Pet Attacks
Industrial Accidents and Worker’s Compensation
$1,400,000 recovered for victim of industrial accident
Other
$600,000 recovered for man injured in logging accident
$1,600,000 Settlement for Civil Rights Case
Legal News
Little progress in bridge repairs across US...
Two Window Washers Die in Accident at NYC Building...
Appeals Court Upholds $16 Million Verdict Against Allstate...
Insurance tests raise questions about some pickups...
Allstate Ranks as Worst Insurer for Consumers...
Drew Griffin Tonight - "Keeping them Honest."...
Manchester New Hampshire man dies in motorcycle accident...
Teen fleeing Rottweiler fractures skull...
2008 Presidential Candidates Respond to Ten Questions About Their Health Care Reform Proposals...
Ethics and Personal Lawyer Advertising
Today we take lawyer advertising as a given. Turn to the attorney section of the Yellow Pages and you will see hundreds of ads offering different legal services. Drive down a highway and you’ll probably see signs advertising personal injury lawyers. Believe it or not, there was a time when lawyers could not advertise. It was banned by the American Bar Association. In 1908, all legal advertising was prohibited by the publication of the ABA’s Professional Ethics. The ABA felt advertising demeaned the legal profession. Ironically, some famous lawyers advertised. Abraham Lincoln used both letters and newspaper ads to solicit potential clients!
In 1977, the United States Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to prohibit lawyer advertising. In Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, the court determined that lawyer advertising was protected free speech under the First Amendment, so long as it adhered to certain ethical guidelines. After the Supreme Court’s decision, the ABA drafted provisions to govern lawyer advertising.
You may be wondering why I am giving a history lesson on lawyer advertising. We have said it often; an informed client is our best client. However, sometimes with lawyer advertising, especially with personal injury lawyer advertising, it can be difficult to be informed. The ABA laws governing lawyer advertising are partially directed to protect the legal consumer from false claims or misrepresentations about a lawyer’s services. Still, many lawyers push the envelope with advertising and lawyer ethics. You see it all the time. Lawyers advertise that they will not settle for anything but top dollar, or they will take the case to court. Just recently I read an article about a motorcyclist injured in an accident in Missouri. The victim’s lawyer recommended that they settle for the $50,000 the insurance company offered. The victim sustained $100,000 in medical bills and $20,000 in lost wages. Because the victim settled, they couldn’t bring another suit to recover the medical bills from the insurance company. This lawyer held himself out to be an experienced personal injury lawyer that wouldn’t settle for anything but top dollar. This lawyer’s actions and advertisements were deeply unethical.
If you have been injured in Vermont or New Hampshire because of another’s careless actions, it is vital to do your research when shopping for a lawyer to represent your claim. If you speak to an attorney, ask if they will give you the names of past clients. Ask about the attorney’s record in the courtroom. If their ads say they never settle for top dollar, yet they have never tried a case in a courtroom, they are not being honest with their advertising. Without a successful track record in the courtroom, insurance companies have no reason to give a victim what is deserved. Insurance companies know that unless there is an actual threat of going to court, there is nothing a lawyer can do to increase a settlement offer. Don’t be fooled by advertising. The biggest and brightest ad doesn’t mean you will get the best and brightest lawyer.
Free Consultation
To speak about your case with the lawyers of Van Dorn and Curtiss, complete the form below or call us on our toll free number: 1-866-632-8980
Van Dorn & Curtiss
633 Main Street
Route 10
P.O. Box 263
Orford, NH 03777-0263
Phone: (866) 632-8980
FAQs
Personal Injury
- Am I eligible for a personal injury lawsuit?
- How do the attorneys determine how much my personal injury claim may be worth?
- When I meet with a personal injury attorney for my first consultation, what information should I provide?
Automobile Accidents
- I was in an automobile accident and the payout offered by the insurance company seems low. What should I do?
- I was injured in a car accident and it was the other driver's fault. They didn't have insurance...what can I do?
- I was injured in a car accident and my car sustained very little visual damage. The other driver was at fault and their insurance company is denying my claim. They say because there was so little damage to the car, I am lying about my injury...what can I do?
Wrongful Death
- I recently lost a loved one in an accident. What are my rights?
- How do I bring a wrongful death claim?
- What is a survival action?
Medical Malpractice
- Is it true that legislators are attempting to limit medical malpractice recovery in New Hampshire?
- What are some specific types of medical malpractice?
- My spouse recently died while being treated at a hospital. I think the hospital did something wrong, but the hospital won't release the medical records...what can I do?
Premises Liability
- Are hotels responsible for criminal acts that take place on their property?
- What is premises liability?
- I was injured on someone else's property...now what?
Dog Bites/Pet Attacks
- My child was bitten by a neighbor's dog and the neighbor refuses to pay the medical bills. What should I do?
- How many people are bitten by dogs each year?
- What is the one-bite rule?