09/21/2026
What Ontario Juries Aren’t Told in Car Accident Trials
If you sit on a jury in an Ontario car accident case, you may be surprised to learn that there are important facts about the insurance system that you generally will not hear at trial.
You may see an injured person suing another driver personally. What you generally won't be told is that the defendant usually has automobile insurance, that the insurer has retained and is paying the defence lawyer, and that the insurer will generally be responsible for paying a judgment, subject to the policy.
Why aren't you told?
Because the lawyers generally aren't allowed to tell you.
Ontario's rules restrict evidence about insurance unless it is relevant to an issue the jury must decide. The purpose is to prevent the existence of insurance from improperly influencing a jury's decision.
There is something else a jury may not appreciate: the amount it awards may not be the amount the injured person ultimately receives.
Ontario law imposes a substantial statutory deductible on many awards for pain and suffering. In 2026, that deductible is $47,913.01 for most claims below the applicable monetary threshold.
So, for example, a jury could decide that an injured person's pain and suffering is worth $75,000, without knowing that approximately $48,000 may subsequently be deducted by operation of law.
The jury isn't necessarily getting the complete financial picture—not because the lawyers don't want to tell them, but because the law generally does not permit those matters to influence their verdict.
If you are ever called to serve on a civil jury, remember: there may be important legal consequences that occur after your verdict that you will never be asked to decide.
This article is for general educational purposes only. Jurors must decide every case solely on the evidence admitted at trial and the instructions provided by the trial judge.
