Do juries get to know the entire story – that the person or company that caused an injury may have liability insurance to pay the claim?

Unfortunately, no.  Back in the late 1970’s, insurance companies convinced the Florida Legislature to pass what has come to be known as the “non-joinder” statute.  You can read it here.  Essentially, the statute says that insurance companies cannot be named as parties in lawsuits where someone is being blamed for causing injuries or damages.

Before that time, an injured party could sue both the negligent party, and the negligent party’s insurance company, so jurors could know whether the verdict they were rendering was going to be paid by an individual or a large insurance company.  Furthermore, a long line of court decisions dating back to the late 1920’s stand for the notion that whether a negligent party has liability insurance is irrelevant to the issues in a standard liability case.  It appears for the foreseeable future that jurors will continue to be uninformed about whether a defendant in a negligence case has insurance.

If you have any questions please call us at 407-565-73861 or text us at 407-644-4444. We are always happy to offer a no-obligation, free consultation to discuss your case with you.