Warren v. Ballard

In Warren v. Ballard, 266 Ga. 408, 410 (2) (467 SE2d 891) (1996), the Supreme Court of Georgia strongly reaffirmed the principle that evidence of insurance will rarely be admissible in a personal injury tort action such as this, even to counter a false impression created by other testimony. In Warren the plaintiffs testified to anxiety about paying medical bills, and the Supreme Court found that because there can be no recovery for such anxiety, the testimony did not relate to a material issue in the case, and collateral source evidence was therefore inadmissible. Id. Rather, "the defendant is required in such circumstances to object to testimony regarding concern about payments of medical bills," and the failure to object waives any argument as to the inadmissibility of the evidence. Id. at 410 (2).