Idaho Law Blog
Every personal injury attorney in Idaho has heard this from a client. “I was injured in a wreck, but I know the guy. I don’t want to sue him, just his insurance company.”
Unfortunately, as understandable as that desire is, insurance doesn’t work that way. A person who injures another through negligence is liable to pay damages to the injured person. This is so whether or not he has insurance. Most people, however, don’t have the ability to pay for the injuries they might cause. This was true throughout history, but it became a big problem when we invented the automobile. Henry Ford invented the most efficient method ever for causing major injury through negligence. Cars were creating so many injured people, and so many were never getting compensated for those injuries, that we finally required that all car owners carry liability insurance.
Liability insurance is a contract between the car owner and the insurance company. The insurance company agrees to pay any amounts, up to the limits of the policy, that the car owner or driver is legally obligated to pay as a result of his negligence in operating the car. If you get injured through the negligence of a driver with insurance, it is the driver that owes you the money, not his insurance company. You must prove that the driver was negligent and owes you damages; then, and only then, is the insurance company required to pay.
To prove the driver was negligent, you have to take the driver to court, not his insurance company. In Idaho, and in most states, the insurance company cannot be named in the suit. In most states, insurance cannot even be mentioned to the jury.
This is one reason a good personal injury lawyer is so critical in settling a claim quickly and fairly. An injured person without a lawyer has to deal with an insurance company that doesn’t owe him any obligation, and has little incentive to be fair. A good lawyer on your side can give them that incentive.