Lawyers Seek Out Victims of Crash

Enter the lawyers.

Smoke was still rising from the derailed Metrolink trains two weeks ago when investigators from the State Bar of California spotted people with clipboards loitering around the wreckage near Glendale.

“They had lists and they looked like they were taking phone numbers,” said Janet Hunt, assistant chief of the state bar. “When our investigators approached, they left the scene. One of them was identified as a ‘capper.’ ”

Capping, or soliciting vulnerable potential clients at the scene of an accident, is a state crime, punishable by fines or even disbarment.

The state bar, Hunt said, has “certain people assigned to emergency response teams, and they have jackets with the state bar logo on the front and the bar on the back to clearly identify us. That’s what I think scares the cappers away.”

Other lawyers are taking more legitimate measures to attract clients. The Los Angeles law firm of Jacoby & Meyers started advertising on local television stations last week.

“Important message from Jacoby & Meyers for victims of the Glendale train accident,” the ad announces.

“If you have been injured in this accident, you may be entitled to compensation and there may be insurance that covers your injuries. Our investigators are already attempting to determine if this terrible accident could have been handled differently,” the ad states.

Len Jacoby, the founder of the firm, said the 30-second commercial had attracted one potential client.

“A lot of people don’t even know they have a legal option, or know what lawyers do,” he said.

An apparently suicidal man, 25-year-old Juan Manuel Alvarez, is charged with 11 counts of murder for allegedly causing the crash. About 180 were injured.

More than half a dozen people who have sought lawyers without solicitation since the Jan. 26 crash have been referred to Jerome Ringler.

He gained notice in December after he won a $9-million verdict in Orange County for a client who suffered mostly psychological injuries in another Metrolink crash three years ago.

“There are a lot of lawyers who know my work in the Orange County case,” said Ringler. “I have experience in litigating a large number of railroad-related matters.”

Ringler said he will investigate such matters as Metrolink’s safety policies regarding crossing protection, automatic braking devices and that the locomotive of the train that hit the SUV was pushing, rather than pulling, the train.