After the accident comes the onslaught

Last week, I was involved in a minor auto accident. A driver in an SUV ran squarely into the side of the van I was driving as I passed the side street where he had stopped at a stop sign. I called 911, and a Wilson police officer dutifully responded, took down the information and posted the accident report on the city Web site. I drove away and later reported the accident to our insurance carrier and received a call from the other driver's insurance company, which was eager to settle and fix the big dent in the van.

Yesterday, our mail box was overflowing. Seven — count 'em — letters and packages arrived from personal injury lawyers urging me not to settle with the other driver's insurer and to hire their law firm in order to protect my rights as a victim. All of the envelopes prominently displayed the phrase " This is an advertisement for legal services." I assume that must be some new law or state Bar regulation. These solicitations ranged from simple, business-letter size envelopes and one-page letters to elaborate, 9-inch by 12-inch packages with elaborate brochures and testimonials. They came from Rocky Mount, Greenville, Goldsboro, Jacksonville, Durham, New Bern and Raleigh. Two even included compact disks touting the law firm. I haven't played the CDs and have no desire to. Four enclosed a copy of the official accident report, which I had already downloaded from the city Web site.

I am tempted, however, to reply to one or more of these solicitations with this question: "Is this what you spent three years and $50,000 in law school to do?" And if this is the typical response to a very minor, no-injuries accident where the fault is obvious, it's no wonder car insurance rates are so high. If law firms find it worthwhile to go to such great lengths to land a personal-injury client, the rewards for this type of lawsuit must be enormous, and that's scary.

The accident was primarily an inconvenience, delaying me on my list of errands for the day. The van was drivable, and the battered door could still be opened and closed. I find myself more disturbed by the attorneys' response to this incident than by the accident itself.