Insurance May Not Be Discussed at Trial in North Carolina

 Whether it be an auto accident, slip and fall, dog bite, medical malpractice or other type of injury claim, in North Carolina the Plaintiff's Attorney may not mention that the Defendant may have insurance policy covering the claim at trial. While the "real" defendant in most injury claims is an insurance company, the case caption will name the policy holder instead of the insurance company.

Prior to trial, the Plaintiff's Attorney will deal almost exclusively with the insurance company of the Defendant in attempts to settle the case. https://askcompetentlawyer.com/ Insurance adjusters, rather than the named Defendant, will be making decisions as to whether to go to trial or settle a valid injury claim. Despite the involvement of the insurance company pretrial, juries are often completely unaware of the presence of insurance.

North Carolina G.S § 8C-1, Rule 411 states: "Evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon the issue whether he acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully. This rule does not require that exclusion of evidence of insurance against liability when offered for another purpose, such as proof of agency, ownership, or control, or bias or prejudice of a witness."

In other words, proof of liability insurance cannot be mentioned at trial if the purpose of bringing up the insurance is to show the fault of the insured. In most accident cases in North Carolina, the mere mention of insurance can lead to a possible mistrial. Though jurrors are not allowed to know it, in the majority of personal injury matters the defendant will not be paying the judgment, their insurance will.