In a personal injury case, you might be surprised to know what a jury is not told about the case. Pennsylvania is somewhat unique in this regard in that there are several restrictions that, in my opinion at least, hurt a Plaintiff in their case in wrongful death, surgery, auto accidents, slip and fall, and product liability cases. Let’s talk about them.
1. The jury is not told that the Defendant has insurance. Believe it or not, a jury is never told and can never be told that the person who rear ended you is going to pay all this money, from whatever the jury gives, on their own. In some cases that doesn’t matter a whole lot because juries are usually smart enough to figure out there is insurance. However, think about it this way. There could be a senior citizen or widow sitting in that Defendant’s seat and the jury thinks their award is going to be paid by her. You can see how this is going to greatly affect the amount they give you for your injury case. Let’s assume for a moment that juries are smart enough to understand there is auto insurance and they will pay for it. What about the case of a slip and fall on a land owner’s property? What if you slip on a senior citizen’s driveway because it wasn’t salted for weeks. As a result of that, you had to have knee surgery. A jury may or may not know that this senior citizen or widow has home owners insurance. The fact is many people do not have home owners insurance. Therefore, there is a real question in their mind as to whether or not this widow or senior citizen is going to have to pay whatever amount of money they give you.
Pittsburgh wrongful death and car accident attorney Bernie Tully has had many cases and situations that address this dilemma. There are some strategies available to minimize this situation we discussed above. However, the only way we will know that, and what is the best way to help you, is if we get involved in the case and find out what the insurance company has or knows what the landscape of the case is.
2. A jury is not told that there is an offer already made by the insurance company on your case.
This is very important. Suppose you are the victim of a car accident and are rear ended by another person. You must have back surgery and have long term problems associated with the car accident. Let’s also suppose that the insurance company for the person who rear ended you makes you an offer to settle your case for $200,000.
Tomorrow I will tell you how this ends.
HAPPY VETERANS DAY TO ALL THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED AND ARE SERVING OUR GREAT COUNTRY.
Thanks for reading.
Bernie the attorney
