By Brian Brueggemann
Belleville News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Injured in a car accident? Need a lawyer?
Don’t worry, you no longer have to watch daytime television, waiting for the lawyers’ commercials. The lawyers are already looking for you.
Personal-injury attorneys are getting — or trying to get — access to crash reports from police departments across the metro-east. The lawyers’ investigators scour the reports, looking for names and addresses of people who have been injured or might have a lawsuit on their hands. The chosen people then get letters and brochures in the mail, in which the lawyers tout their ability to win multimillion-dollar settlements.
Two law firms in particular, both with headquarters in Wisconsin, are blanketing metro-east police departments, trying to get their hands on crash reports. Some of the departments are allowing access, while others are resisting on grounds that letting people see the reports could lead to identity theft, or would be too much of a burden for police.
Some police officials flat-out call the practice ambulance-chasing. But the lawyers say they’re trying to inform people of their rights and put them on a level playing field with insurance companies.
“Insurance companies can immediately contact people after an accident, and people should have the option to know what their rights are, if they want to talk to a lawyer,” said Michael Hupy of the Milwaukee-based Hupy and Abraham law firm. “Many people still think you have to pay a fee to talk to a personal-injury lawyer.”
Hupy representatives have been asking local police departments for access to crash reports, as has an investigator for the Milwaukee-based McNally Law Offices. McNally lawyers could not be reached for comment.
Kristofer Lindsey of O’Fallon got a letter from Hupy and Abraham after he was involved in a crash in March in Pekin.
“I am sorry to learn that you were recently involved in an accident in which you received injuries. Did you know that some accident victims get much more money than others and in much less time?” states the letter signed by Michael Hupy. “That is because not all law firms have equal experience and competence to handle your case.”
Lindsey was 16 at the time of the wreck. His mother, Denise Lindsey, said her son suffered “just very minor injuries” and was given a muscle relaxer for about a week.
The letter states that one of Hupy’s investigators would be able to “come to your home or hospital on the day you call to obtain all the necessary information.”
Denise Lindsey is dealing on her own with the other driver’s insurance company, and is satisfied so far.
“I’m not after blood here,” she said.
Denise Lindsey isn’t happy that lawyers were able to get her son’s accident information. What upsets her more is that the lawyers got it without paying a fee, while she had to pay $5 to get a copy of the report.
“If I have to pay for a copy of my son’s accident report, and they get to look at it as long as they want for free, that’s not right,” she said.
The lawyers’ investigators don’t have to pay a fee because they don’t get copies — they only view the reports and take down the information they need. Under state law, government agencies can charge fees for copies of documents but not for simply viewing documents.
The cities allowing law firms to look at crash reports include Alton, Granite City, Glen Carbon and Breese. Investigators for one or both of the Milwaukee law firms look at reports at those police departments.
Breese Police Chief Jim Hummert said state law allows the public, including lawyers, to see the reports.
“They have a legal right to get it,” he said.
Don Craven, attorney for the Illinois Press Association, agrees. Craven, who often helps media outlets get access to government information, said government agencies can’t restrict access to information on grounds that “they don’t like what people are going to do with it.”
Craven said state laws and rules for lawyer conduct have long allowed the practice, but lately it’s become an issue for police departments across the state.
“I think the level of aggressiveness that some law firms use to pursue these claims may have increased a little bit,” he said.
Some local police departments, including Belleville, Edwardsville, O’Fallon and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, have either denied carte blanche viewing of their crash reports, or they’re having their own attorneys review the matter.
Belleville’s crash reports are computerized. They aren’t printed unless they have to be, for example if a driver pays for a copy. Belleville Capt. Don Sax said the benefits of having a paperless system would go out the window if each report had to be printed for lawyers to peruse.
“That’s why we don’t want to do it. That’s why we went to paperless — it’s cost-effective, it saves us money not having to deal with all that paper, storage and everything else,” Sax said.
Also, Sax said, a department employee would have to spend time preparing the reports and monitoring the people who view them.
Belleville Chief William Clay said identity theft is a big concern.
“We preach and tell everybody else about identity theft,” Clay said. “Then we turn around and say we’re going to open the back door of the police department and let people mine the data here?”
Crash reports typically include a person’s name, address, date of birth and other information.
Clay said it’d be different if people wanted the reports for reasons other than financial gain.
“It’s ambulance-chasing. That’s how I see it,” he said.
Clay said he’s seeking legal advice from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which provides the computer software used by most police departments to send crash reports to IDOT.
O’Fallon Chief John Betten, who doesn’t allow the viewing of wreck reports, said: “It’s my belief that this is an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Edwardsville Chief James Bedell said he allows copies of reports for $5 apiece, but so far he hasn’t allowed free viewing of them.
“It’s not a library,” Bedell said. “It’s not a requirement under the law to allow them to look at reports. I’m following our city attorney’s advice.”
Bedell said the city attorney is reviewing a recent request from one of the law firms for viewing crash reports.
The law firms have been sending to police departments letters that explain their rights to view reports under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The McNally firm also sends a copy of a letter from Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, which states the police have to allow viewing of the reports, at no charge.
Collinsville Lt. Todd Link said his department will be allowing the viewing of reports.
“According to the way the FOI request is written, we have to comply with it, even though it’s a huge burden for us,” Link said.
But he added, “I’m certain that some people would not want to be contacted by a law firm, nor would they want us to release that information.”
Hupy said his firm advises people to choose a lawyer based on credentials, not letters or advertisements. He declined to say how many police departments are visited by his firm, nor how many letters his firm sends to people.
“We’re running a business here,” he said. “It has really become a marketing circus.”
When asked about police departments that don’t allow him to see reports, Hupy said: “All I can say about that is, we intend to pursue our legal rights.”