“Consumer alert” asks Californians to tell their story of how they have been cheated by ambulance attorneys

CALIFORNIA — A More Affordable California is launching a $1 million Super Bowl ad campaign urging Californians to share their story about how they have been cheated by ambulance attorneys. The ads will air statewide during the Super Bowl and expose how ambulance lawyers cheat their accident victim clients and rip off consumers. 

“This is a consumer alert,” the ad states. “Warning: Predatory billboard lawyers promising ‘lottery money’ are ripping off Californians, taking up to 50 percent of legal settlements, steering people to corrupt medical providers who injure them with procedures they don’t need, even cheating wildfire and disaster victims. The billboard lawyers make millions, while Californians are left broke and broken. If you’ve been scammed by your lawyer, tell your story at ProtectCaliforniaConsumers.com.”

Watch the 30-second ad here.

A More Affordable California is backing important new protections for accident victims and consumers to end these predatory schemes. It supports the Preventing Accident Victims from Self Dealing Attorneys Act of 2026—a proposed statewide ballot measure for the November 2026 California ballot. The measure aims to stop ambulance lawyers from exploiting auto accident victims through unnecessary and inflated medical debt, hidden kickbacks, and excessive legal fees. These schemes increase costs for everyone by raising insurance premiums.

The Problem: Fraud That Hurts Auto Accident Victims and Consumers

• Ambulance lawyers spend over $2.5 billion each year in the US on ads, according to ATRA—often targeting low-income and minority communities.
• Victims are promised “big settlements,” but many are left with crippling medical debt when cases fail, or lose up to half of their settlements to attorney fees.
• Unlike some other state and federal laws, California has no limits on attorney contingency fees in these types of cases.
• Hidden costs and kickbacks between attorneys and medical providers inflate medical bills and drive up the cost of insurance and care.
• Experts estimate abusive practices like these act as a “hidden tax” of more than $5,400 per year on every Californian, through higher prices for insurance, healthcare, and even rideshares.

This Abuse Causes Real Harm 

• Victims lose twice—first in the accident, then again when their attorneys take much of their settlement.
• Unnecessary Surgeries and Procedures: Lawyers can push victims to undergo unnecessary surgeries and procedures to inflate settlement values. 
• Network of Kickback Referrals: Some lawyers form special arrangements with individual doctors to always use them for referrals, with the understanding that they will inflate patient costs significantly in order to secure higher payouts in the eventual lawsuit.
• Consumers pay more with inflated auto insurance, transportation services and medical debt.
• Taxpayers end up footing the bill:  In the City of Los Angeles, the City Controller liability database shows traffic collisions consistently rank among the largest liability payouts. From FY 2020-2023, the City paid $88.8 million in traffic collision claims. Los Angeles County reported 1,218 vehicle-liability claims in FY 2023-24, a 13.9% increase over the prior year.

The Solution: Fairness for Victims and Consumers

The Protecting Automobile Accident Victims from Attorney Self Dealing Act introduces reforms to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability:

1. Guarantee Auto Accident Victims Keep at Least 75% of Awards
   • Caps attorney fees at 25%, ensuring most settlement funds go to victims, not lawyers.
2. Ban Kickbacks and Hidden Fees
   • Protects victims from taking on significant medical debt by ending unethical financial relationships between attorneys and medical providers.
   • Prevents ordering unnecessary or dangerous medical procedures for profit.
3. Protect Whistleblowers
   • Establishes strong whistleblower protections for victims, healthcare professionals, or staff who expose fraud or abuse.
4. Stop Inflated Medical Payouts
   • Sets objective standards for recovery of medical damages to help stop victims from being overbilled and overtreated for their injuries. 
   • Prevents manipulation of medical billing that makes auto accident victims worse off and ultimately increases costs for everyone.
   • Reduces the burden of healthcare and insurance fraud on California families.

Go to ProtectCaliforniaConsumers.com more information.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathan Click, [email protected]