Sometimes when individuals are the victim of medical malpractice they think that when the case goes to trial the jury should be told that the doctors have medical malpractice insurance. If you are reading this, and thinking the same thing, this article will help clear up this issue for you.
Under Maryland law, insurance is generally not allowed to be brought up in civil trials. The reason this is the case is because the jury, or fact finder, is supposed to make their decision in the case based on the evidence presented at trial. The law does not want the jury to essentially just sit back and ignore the evidence presented and conclude that because the defendant will not essentially be “out of pocket” for anything, we should rule for the plaintiff. This type of thinking is not fair at all to the defendant.
In many instances if insurance is brought up in the trial, a motion for a mistrial will probably quickly ensue. If the motion is granted this means that the case will have to be retried. Yes, that means that a new jury will have to be picked and the case will have to start over from square one.
If you have questions regarding whether you have been the victim of medical malpractice here in Maryland we invite you to give us a call. We can be reached at 301-850-4832. Because we answer questions like yours regarding Maryland medical malpractice law all the time we would be glad to hear your story.
