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Glite Dictionary
ambulance-chase tactic

ambulance-chase tactic

9.5
A practice of rushing to contact people after accidents to get clients, often seen as unfair
  • noun
  • /ˈæmbjʊləns ʧeɪs ˈtæktɪk/
  • Slang
translation icon : táctica de caza de ambulancias
  • The firm was criticized for its ambulance-chase tactics after the accident.

Examples

  • Many find the ambulance-chase tactics of some lawyers unethical.

  • To maintain their reputation, they refuse to use ambulance-chase tactics.

  • He argued that ambulance-chase tactics give lawyers a bad name.

  • The lawyer used an ambulance-chase tactic to find new clients.

  • The firm was criticized for its ambulance-chase tactics after the accident.

  • Many find the ambulance-chase tactics of some lawyers unethical.

  • To maintain their reputation, they refuse to use ambulance-chase tactics.

Synonyms

ambulance chasing
vsambulance-chase tactic
  • US
1 9.3

Lawyers go to accident scenes to find clients, seen by many as wrong

is a general aggressive method that can occur beyond on-scene solicitation
ambulance-chase law
vsambulance-chase tactic
  • Slang
9.9

Contacting people hurt in accidents to get them as clients for a lawyer, often seen as dishonest

is used specifically as an aggressive post-accident method rather than general marketing

Antonyms

ethicality
8.2

A quality of acting in a morally right way

How Aggressive

ambulance-chase tactic
  • Slang
9.5
solicitation
  • Formal
19 5.8
advertising
878 2.7
networking
91 3.3

Surface Forms

ambulance-chase tactic singular
ambulance-chase tactics plural

Morphology

ambulance-chase + tactic

The parts 'ambulance' and 'chase' give a clear literal image of pursuing ambulances or accident victims and 'tactic' signals a method, so a learner could infer it involves actively seeking clients after accidents. However, the specialised, negative sense referring to an unethical legal practice is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so full meaning requires exposure.

Etymology

Ambulance-chase tactic comes from the image of a lawyer literally following an ambulance or rushing to a crash to find people who might need legal help. So, the phrase now means trying to get clients right after accidents in a pushy, often 'wrong' way.