Insurance companies often capitalize on the preconceived notions that personal injury claims are usually fraudulent. Unfortunately for plaintiffs who are
genuinely injured, overcoming these biases is a difficult task.
Existing biases
In a recent interview, we asked Eric Block, a Florida personal injury attorney whose practice concentrates on personal injury claims and trial work related to those claims, to explain how juries sometimes react to personal injury cases and how insurance companies use this to their favor. Here’s what he told us:
Juries
Juries are very, very suspicious of people bringing personal injury cases. Everybody has seen somebody on the news at one point or another that’s been awarded $5 million for an injury and then they’re seen waterskiing or mowing their lawn the next day. The truth of the matter is that happens very rarely. However, those are the stories that make the news and because people have seen them on the news, they’re very, very suspicious of people claiming injury from car accidents or slip-and-falls. So, one of the greatest obstacles that we have is overcoming that prejudice and showing that this particular person really is hurt, really has been injured and really does suffer every day.
Insurance companies
Insurance companies come into court knowing that their best friend in that courtroom is the suspicion that jurors have that personal injury claimants are opportunists. As a matter of fact, there’s a great deal of law in the State of Florida now that addresses this. It used to be that the insurance companies, in their closing arguments, could argue that the plaintiff is just standing at the wheel of fortune trying to make their life out of this case. They can’t argue that any more as the Supreme Court of Florida said that’s improper argument.
However, that’s still the theme that insurance companies will play to try to avoid paying what they owe. They will do anything that they can to raise suspicion about this particular plaintiff or to try to cast this particular person in a light that the jury won’t like them because they know that if they don’t like them, they’re not going to give them money.
If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of another, contact a Florida injury attorney to discuss your situation. The consultation is free, without obligation and strictly confidential.
