Are Indiana car accident cases filed agianst the insurance company?
When Indiana car accident victims file claims for their injuries, most people assume that the lawsuit will be filed against the negligent driver's insurance company. This is not the case. Under Indiana law, when an injury victim files a lawsuit against a negligent driver, the suit will be filed against the negligent driver, not his insurance company.
The reason the negligent driver is named as the defendant rather than his insurance company, is that the negligent driver is the person legally responsible for the injuries caused by his negligence. While the negligent driver's insurance company is not listed as a defendant in the case, it has a contractual obligation to the negligent driver to pay for any damages he owes up to the policy limits of his insurance policy. In addition to the insurance company having a contractual obligation to pay for the damages caused by the negligent driver, it also has an obligation to hire and pay for a lawyer to represent the negligent driver in court.
Although the negligent driver's insurance company hires and pays for the negligent driver's lawyer and is responsible for paying any damages the negligent driver is required to pay, the Indiana Rules of Evidence generally do not allow juries to be told that the negligent driver has insurance to pay for all of his obligations.
