This is a response to the op-ed recently published, “Attention Local and State Lawmakers: Accident Chasing Must End Immediately.”
Eight missed calls from your spouse. The sense that something is wrong. It’s a feeling I hope no one ever has to experience.
My wife leaves early in the morning to go to her job. I stay behind to get the kids ready for school and do drop-off by daycare before heading to yeshiva. Being as hectic as I was that morning, I did not see my phone for some time, but when I did my heart dropped to my stomach. I call my wife, “Baruch Hashem I am ok, Hatzalah and police are on the scene. A car ran the stop sign and T-boned me at full speed. Please come as quickly as possible”.
My daughter is still in her night diaper, my son doesn’t have his pants on. Ok, I’ll figure that out later. I load them into the car and just start driving. My hands are trembling and everything is a blur. I pull up to the scene to find what’s left of the two cars. Police have the intersection closed for investigation and I see the driver from the towing company with a broom literally sweeping up what’s left of the cars that have been scattered across the entire road. I don’t even recognize which of the two cars is ours.
I jump out of the car in a panic, and call out to my wife on the other side of the street as I can’t leave the kids. She’s talking to a police officer and what appears to be two Hatzolah members. The four of them start making their way towards me. I notice the two Hatzolah members (they have Hatzolah radios and aree wearing EMS shirts) jump ahead of my wife and the police and are racing each other to get to me first. I find this interesting. Before they can get a word out the police officer, clearly very agitated, tells them to back off and wait. I find this interesting as well, but I can’t think about it at the moment.
The police collect all the information they need from me and leave the scene. Before I even get to speak to my wife, who is in tears and visibly shaken, these two men swoop in. They start giving me a sales pitch for body work, insurance claims, towing, rental, you name it. I quickly realize these are not Hatzolah members at all, but rather what we call “ambulance chasers”. They wait for calls to go out and then rush to the scene to be the first person to chap the accident victim. I tell them I haven’t even spoken to my wife yet, I have insurance, and I’m not interested, thank you. They don’t budge.
I want to speak to my wife privately, I want to make sure she’s emotionally OK. While she told the REAL Hatzolah members (not those posing as ones) that she’s ok, I’m aware that after a traumatic event there is a high level of adrenaline rushing through your body, often making you unaware of pain or injuries that you might have sustained. I would like to do a physical lookover to see if my wife requires immediate emergency assistance, yet I feel uncomfortable doing this with several frum pairs of eyeballs on us like hawks, and request they please give me and my wife the space we need and deserve. I tell them again I am not interested, I need you to move, thank you and goodbye. Nope. They’re not going to budge until they get their sales pitch out. Each. One. Of. Them.
Instead of being able to take care of the immediate emotional and physical needs of my wife, I am left with no choice but to hear each one give their pitch. Make me take down their number. Have me text them so that they have my number. Peer over my shoulder at my phone to make sure I’m actually saving their contact info. When I think I can finally speak to my traumatized wife, a third car pulls up. I tell him I know what he’s here for. I need to take care of my family, thank you, but no thank you. He tries getting a word out nonetheless but I just ignore him. I feel a business card being shoved into my hand nonetheless. He’s not gonna walk away without at least something.
When we went to the impound lot to take pictures of the car for the insurance, the head of the towing company came out to meet us. He tells us that what we experienced is standard practice at this point, but that they have recently gone one step further: While not members of Hatzolah, they all have Hatzolah radios and listen for calls of motor vehicle accidents so that they can run to the scene. They keep their walkie-talkies on them and put on an EMS shirt to fool you into thinking they are part of Hatzolah and there to help you. He said it has gotten so bad he has started needing to take videos, as they get in the way of people receiving the care they need and he records the videos in case chas v’shalom a delay in treatment will lead to something more serious. He offers to send me the video he took at the scene of my wife’s accident and tells me that while my wife was in the ambulance, these guys were literally fighting to be first in line right when the doors to the ambulance open and are let out.
Can you imagine? My wife literally hasn’t even exited the ambulance before she’s being harassed by these men. They are waiting like vultures to harass someone who is probably experiencing one of the most stressful days of their lives. What have certain members of klal yisrael fallen too?
Taking advantage of someone is wrong. Benefiting off someone else’s pain is wrong. Taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable situation is wrong. Doing all three at the same time is unconscionable. I was lucky enough to get there quickly and see these men for who they were. But imagine a young mother who has kids in the car and the husband can’t make it to the site of the scene? What about the young yeshiva bochur or high school girl who are new to the road and can easily be taken advantage of in a scary situation like this?
It must be noted: THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT OFFERING YOU A SERVICE. Insurance will cover what it covers, whether they give you a rental car or not is in your plan. Whether they decide to repair your car or declare it totaled is based on the extent of the damage. These people come over to you and sell their services to you as if it’s to your benefit. IT IS TO NO ONE’S BENEFIT OTHER THAN THEIRS.
I understand a person’s need for parnassah. But you cannot tell me that a frum yid can believe that what they are doing here falls under the category of proper hishtadlus. To prey on the vulnerable and traumatized cannot be considered the hishtadlus you’re mechuyiv to do. If Hashem is the provider, do you think this is how he wants you making your money?
Besides for the incredible chillul hashem that is caused by this: police officers and towing businesses seeing Jews blatantly taking advantage of one another- it is also such a shame that with the resources and zerizus that these people have, that they can’t use it instead for incredible chassadim. My wife got hit so hard her sheitel fell off her head. In the confusion and shock of the moment she didn’t realize and got out of the car and sat on the side of the road shaking. A neighbor who heard the crash came running out, and when he saw my wife, went into our car and brought out her phone and sheitel for her. Another neighbor who heard the commotion came out with ice cold water bottles for my wife, children and I. Another person, when they saw my wife couldn’t get in touch with me, offered to go over to our house to get me. This was Klal Yisrael at its best. Now imagine if those who listened to the Hatzalah radios, instead of running over to start shoving business cards in people’s faces, went over to do what these Yidden did. They run to the scene: Do you need anything from your car? Is there anyone you need contacted? Can we get you a drink, eat, or anything else? There is such potential here for good, and the fact that it’s being used to exploit our fellow brothers and sisters is extremely disheartening.
We’re better than this.
TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected]
Maybe it’s time for Hatzalah to start encrypting their channels?
Crazy story. To all those reading this: HCJ members will always be wearing a black reflective vest on street scenes. The vests have “hatzolah” written on them, in addition to the members ID card displayed on the vest.
Thank you for opening up about such a hard experience in the hope that change will happen.
I had the same experience when I got into a car accident. My family has always used a certain repair shop so I just told these “ambulance chasers” that I already chose where my car is going and nothing they can say or do can change my mind.
FYI: this particular auto shop doesn’t send “ambulance chasers”
Allstate collision does not send chasers.
What a beautifully written letter. I’m glad that you were able to get to your wife and give her comfort…as did those wonderful people who helped. I will keep you in my prayers.
Don’t worry it’s “letoeles harabim “
My son is a bonafide hatzalah member and had an accident and was the subject of this unspeakable harassment; at first I thought these salesmen were connected to hcj till I realized otherwise. This is so wrong, I wish it would stop
Hope your wife recuperates well and you’re spared of further אגמת נפש
I am so sorry about the experience you had . You’re 100% right that this kind inhumane behavor is not part of hishtadlus. It’s part of being an animal, if not worse. May you and your entire family be well.
Refua sheleima
I could have written this letter a few weeks ago.. (including my snood that fell off:(
And attempted to. Every time I put pen to paper, I get overwhelmed and emotional and all my feelings of hurt, pain, harassment, and vulnerability come flooding back.
This practice should be OUTLAWED. This is not CHESED. IT IS HARRASMENT AT ITS WORST.
i hope that they read this (hi:)) and realize how retarded they are acting. YES I’M TALKING TO YOU! EVEN THOUGH “THEY ARE MAKING IT SOUND WORSE THAN IT IS”! PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE!!
I never comment. This is an extremely well written letter and I am so sorry your family had to go through this. This is the most sickening, heartless, and selfish thing I’ve ever heard of in our community. I hope they put a stop to this.
The Gemora says that this world is like a wedding; you have to grab your food, or it will be gone. Let us learn from these “grabbers” to “grab” mitzvohs and maasim tovim like they grab opportunities to earn money!
I DO NOT GIVE BUSINESS TO ACCIDENT CHASERS
Sounds like you get in many accidents…
Chalilah this should happen again, but if it does, the victims should take the information from the people, and when things calm down, they should call the office and make it crystal clear that they will not be using them because of the harassment. This would be a real chesed for the community.
I think we should publish pictures from the scenes of the ambulance chasers maybe the busha will chase them away.
I turned this into a lucrative business for myself to make extra money between sedarim.
I buy a car from a junkyard for almost nothing. I “get into an accident”
When these accident vultures approach me I start a bidding war how much THEY WILL PAY ME for my business. The lowest I get is $300-$400, usually it’s $600-$800 for a car needing a lot of work. For them, Why not? They’re locking in their commission even if it’s less then they hoped for its better than nothing.
When the car is on the tow truck pulling away I tell the accident chaser, “You might as well return it to the junkyard where I bought it because it’s neither registered nor insured.
Sometimes they get angry & ask me, “How could you go so low as to scam a fellow Yid out of hundreds of dollars?”
My response, “You started!!!”
immediate response to these chasers: “I already called my own repair guy and he sent his tow truck”
Well written of such a sad situation, these “ambulance chasers” are nothing more than vultures praying on victims of accidents
You have their info, sue them. You can make a lot of money off of an emotional distress lawsuit
O so were yidden so we try not to sue people if you have a problem make it a law that its Illegal to be a chaser
These fellows should be arrested.
U need to take them to a Din Torah. This will help bring the situation to the attention of the Rabonim.
i would like to chime in.. and yes this harrassment needs to stop but i had a diff experience. My daughter was in an accident w her young son. They both needed to be transported to jersey shore. Her husband was in the city. She was thankful that someone (frum) out of nowhere , appeared within minutes and took care of everything for her. There was no one else available to deal with all of the towing, insurance, etc. so there can be an upside to all this… but of course harassment is over the line.
If you call police they have a tow company in contract insurance covers no need to use the buffs they are useless for the costumer
Maybe everyone should decide on a tow company they will use.
And only use one that doesn’t not do chasing.
They must be stopped
whoever can stop them has my vote
they are bullies bottom feeding animals !
this is a disgusting disgrace and reflects negatively on our town and our principals !!!
rescue us from these bullies !!!!
An absolute disgrace. I would expect that Hatzalah would keep their communication private and encrypted – it doesn’t make them look good at all. This has to stop!
A similar story happened to my wife 5 years ago, she will never forget how she was attacked by these random towing ppl when she was trying to get her bearings together.
Hatzalah asked them to back off so she will have some privacy when being evaluated.
ambulance chasers
this is all amazing, that everyone lost focus on the number ONE issue, STOP the driving like animals to begin with, so we don’t have all these accidents to begin with AND then have to worry so much about step TWO, regarding to tow truck chasing, get the priorities straight, please.
especially the chasers when they chase a call
last week’s accident was caused by a chaser
horrific !!!!!!
That’s why you stick with hatzolas nefoshas. They take care your medical needs AND they handle your car.
hatzlolas nefoshos will take care of you by taking you to the junk yard together with your car, one stop shop, so will be really quick service.