VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 47.810
Suicide: Burden of Proof
When death is caused by violent and external means, you should presume that the death was an
accident and not suicide. The burden is on the insurance company to prove that the deceased
committed suicide. This must be proved by clear and convincing evidence which excludes any
reasonable theory that death resulted from natural or accidental causes or from the act of some
other person.
However, the insurance company is not required to prove that the insured knew, or was
capable of realizing, that his act would cause his death, that he was sane, or that he was capable of
having an intention of killing himself.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- civ-2026-04-01
- Content hash
062e437a1f8fc77d7f5b7935fa8a4e8ed6e3cbdf118b297b720b4a5319063b81
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