Injury Trial Lawyer: Jurors Don't Know That the Defendant has Insurance

One word a juror will rarely hear in a Connecticut injury trial is INSURANCE. While the parties involved in the lawsuit including the lawyers and the judges, know all damages will be paid by the wrongdoer’s insurance company, the mention of insurance in the courtroom is strictly forbidden by the courts rules of evidence.

This evidence rule dates back hundreds of years.  The rule was intended to keep insurance out of the minds of the jurors when it comes to deciding compensation for the plaintiff’s damages in an injury case.  Apparently, the court thought it would be better to have the jurors think that any awards due to the plaintiff would be paid by the defendant out of his/her personal savings.

Defense lawyers love this rule and use it to their advantage. Knowing that insurance will not be discussed during trial, they turn their client in to a poor, sympathetic, sorry soul who will “lose everything” if the plaintiff wins.  Keep in mind, their little old lady, widow, or single parent is the cause of this accident and the pain the plaintiff has suffered.   In addition, the amount awarded to the plaintiff will be covered by the insurance company regardless of the amount.  The insurance lawyer, aka the defense lawyer, knows this which is why he/she will try to sway the jurors to award a lower damages recommendation.

  Back to the evidence rule – jurors must understand that ofcourse there is insurance in a Connecticut accident case!!!  Accident trial lawyers would not bring a case to court if there was not an insurance policy to compensate their client.  Infact, the Connecticut accident lawyer would not have to take a case all the way to a jury trial if the insurance company paid the claim to begin with!

So, if you ever wonder,  “Does the defendant have insurance?”    the answer is “YES.”  Regardless even if the insurance policy has limits, they will pay the amount awarded by the jury. The reason there is insurance, and the reason Connecticut requires it, is to pay a judgment when someone is at fault.

For more information about Connecticut Injury Trials please contact Nationally Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney Frank McCoy at the Law Offices of McCoy & McCoy, 860-244-9100.