Lawyers argue that these ads are an important part of the work they do fighting for people injured by faulty drugs or devices. They say the products referenced can severely hurt users; lawsuits offer victims opportunities for justice. But left unregulated, the ads are their own “public health risk,” says Albert Einstein College of Medicine cardiologist Evan Levine. In a 2012 article, Levine profiled a patient who put himself at risk for a stroke after he stopped his blood-thinning medication because of lawsuit commercials. “Many of the ads would scare me, if I did not know the drug to be an important agent to reduce the risk of stoke,” Levine wrote.
The American Medical Association is so concerned that it recently called on lawyers to better regulate these “fear-mongering” commercials. “The onslaught of attorney ads has the potential to frighten patients and place fear between them and their doctor,” the organization said in a statement. They're “dangerous to the public at-large.”
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