ambulance chaser

noun

An unethical attorney who solicits business at the scenes of accidents or in hospitals, in exchange for a percentage of the damages that will be recovered in the case.

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Meanings

nounambulance chaser (plural ambulance chasers)

plural ambulance chasers

  1. derogatoryAn unethical attorney who solicits business at the scenes of accidents or in hospitals, in exchange for a percentage of the damages that will be recovered in the case.

    You know nothing about the law. You're a used-car salesman, Daniel. You're an ambulance chaser with a rank. You're nothing. Live with that.

    1992, Aaron Sorkin, A Few Good Men, spoken by Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore)
    1 more example

    Republicans have tried to cast him as a millionaire ambulance chaser, the kind of man who forces doctors and businesses to pay ever higher liability-insurance costs.

    2004 July 19, Richard Lacayo, “Court and Spark: Edwards' Legal Career”, in Time
  2. broadlyAn attorney who engages in unethical behavior.
  3. derogatoryAn unethical funeral director or person who engages in the unlicensed sale of services to those who do not yet require them in an attempt to increase business.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
vulture

Origin

The origins of this phrase date from 1897, from newspaper articles about attorneys seeking clients through targeted mail solicitation. “Ambulance chasing” was one of the descriptive phrases employed by the media for this activity. It later became a derogatory term for direct advertising.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ambulance chaser. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance%20chaser

MLA

“ambulance chaser.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance%20chaser. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ambulance chaser,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambulance%20chaser.

Source: ambulance chaser on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.