'VEGETABLE-CHASING' LAWYERS COOKING UP TOMATO SUITS BEFORE FACTS ARE KNOWN

Web Searches for Salmonella Information Mislead Public to Client-Trolling Sites

Washington, DC, June 11, 2008 -- Though breaking news of salmonella-tainted tomatoes is barely two days old, and despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration is still searching for the cause or causes of these reported contaminations, “America’s personal injury lawyers have already deployed misleading Web pages in an effort to cook up future lawsuits,” a spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association noted today.

“There was a time not too long ago when legitimate plaintiffs would seek out an attorney on their own if they thought their injuries, caused by someone else’s negligence or fraud, warranted compensation,” observed Darren McKinney, ATRA’s director of communications.

“Now, well before the science and medical facts are known, and thus well before the remotest notion of liability can be reasonably established,” McKinney continued, “trial lawyers are out there proactively trolling for clients with Web sites that are prevalent in Internet searches for information about the tomato scare.

“We’ve seen this misleading form of aggressive advertising by the personal injury bar before,” said McKinney. “Whether in connection with chronic illnesses such as kidney disease and asbestos-related cancers, or acute problems with tainted peanut butter or pet food, the nation’s self-interested tort lawyers are always in a net-savvy hurry to be the first to the courthouse with potentially lucrative claims.”

He referenced a January 2008 report by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, posted here which further documents this plaintiffs’ bar practice.

“They don’t want potential clients waiting for facts from investigators and the media before reflectively considering a lawsuit,” explained McKinney. “These opportunistic lawyers ¯ in this case, we might call them ‘vegetable chasers’ ¯ want to round up client information ahead of time and worry about pesky facts later, if at all. And you have to hand it to them, the speed and immediacy of the Internet serves their brazen pursuit well.”

He cited the following links, among many, of personal injury law firms’ client-trolling Web sites: Pritzker Law, You Have A Lawyer, Salmonella Litigation, Salmonella Blog and Salmonella Outbreak.

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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.