Off-Coverage Positions: The Requirement For Reasons

During the trial of a personal injury case, the defence lawyer will do their best to leave the members of the jury with the impression that the Defendant in the case will have to pay personally whatever judgment is awarded. This, of course, is almost never the case. Auto insurance is mandatory in the Province of Ontario and it makes no sense to pursue a significant personal injury case against a person without insurance as it is exceedingly rare that an individual has the assets to pay a judgment personally. Unfortunately, lawyers for the Plaintiff are prohibited from telling jurors that the person being sued will not have to pay the judgment personally as they have access to an auto insurance policy that will pay the award.