What Are The Main Personal Injury Terms? Glossary.
Being involved in a personal injury litigation exposes you to numerous jargons. It can be useful to have a guide to help you follow along throughout the appointment and throughout your case if you are not a personal injury attorney.
The Main Personal Injury Terms
Here are some fundamental personal injury legal terms that every plaintiff should be familiar with.
Accident Benefits:
These are the benefits accessible to anyone hurt in a car accident, regardless of who was at fault.
Assumption of Risk:
When someone decides to take a chance in spite of a clear and present danger. They will not be able to sue for monetary damages from those they believe are at fault because they assumed the risk.
Bodily Injury:
Damage to the body caused by trauma. This might occur as a result of a stressful accident, such as a vehicle accident, slip and fall, or other mishap.
Claim:
It is the fundamental strategy used by a party that has been injured to obtain compensation. It frames the alleged irresponsibility, silliness, or noxiousness of the plaintiff.
Class-action Lawsuit:
A case that one or more plaintiffs file both on their own behalf and on behalf of third parties. The majority of the time, class-action lawsuits are brought to make a firm responsible for the dangers of its goods, including hazardous substances or subpar pharmaceuticals.
Contingency Fee:
A contingency fee is a way to pay for legal counsel. Because lawyers are paid a percentage of the money their clients get when the action is won or resolved, contingency fee agreements are different from fixed hourly rates.
Damages:
The sum of money payable for a wrongful death or personal injury is known as damages. Compensation for property damage, past and future medical costs, present and future lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of services are all examples of damages that may be awarded.
Defendant:
It is the person, company, or institution that is under investigation or being sued by a court.
Duty of care:
The idea that everyone in a civil society has a responsibility to guard against harming others by their actions or inactions is a core tenant of American law. A prior act is typically necessary to establish a duty of care.
Expert Witness:
A witness who is allowed to testify in court due to their unique expertise or depth of knowledge in a particular subject.
Gross Negligence:
Intentional neglect, often known as willful negligence for another person’s property or health, is a violation of a duty.
Insured:
A person who is protected by an insurance policy that a business has issued. The policy or agreement guarantees that it will compensate them for any losses by offering perks and services.
Legal Action:
The attempt to resolve a legal dispute by filing a claim when one party has wronged another.
Liability:
Liability is based on a duty to act or refrain from acting. If this commitment is not met and wrong or harm is committed against them, the at-fault party is obligated to take responsibility for the harm or injury caused by another. Injured parties would be compensated for their losses as part of this.
Limitation Period:
An individual has this amount of time to submit a claim and seek legal redress for a loss they have sustained. After this period, a claim is permanently barred and the entitlement to compensation for losses is forfeited.
Medical Benefits:
No matter who was at fault, anybody hurt in an automobile accident is entitled to medical benefits from their no-fault insurer. These medical benefits cover all reasonable expenses for medical services such as surgery, physical therapy, medicine, assistive devices such as hearing aids, and transportation incurred as a result of the accident.
Negligence:
A person’s failure to exercise the level of reasonable care that is expected of them in order to prevent injury to others. Carelessness can be sanctioned by action or through inaction.
Personal Injury:
A personal injury is any impairment to a person’s physical body, mind, or emotions. Personal injury is distinct from damage to property or financial loss. The phrase describes any type of injury to a person’s body or mind.
Personal Injury Law:
This is important as what we are discussing are actually Personal injury law terms.The field of law that deals with circumstances where a person has been wounded is known as personal injury law. In the broad definition of personal injury law, tort, negligence, insurance, contracts, and civil litigation are all encompassed.
Personal Injury Lawyer:
A capable lawyer only focuses on the practice of personal injury law.
Plaintiff:
The person who brings legal action against another person, organization, or insurance company (the defendant). This individual is seeking damages, or compensation for losses and harms sustained in an accident.
Statement of Claim:
This document was created by the attorney on behalf of the plaintiff. It begins a legal proceeding by outlining the losses or injuries the injured party is claiming as a result of the defendant’s actions—or lack thereof—that led to the loss or injury. It also describes the circumstances surrounding the collision and the harm done.
Statute of Limitations:
This phrase refers to the window of opportunity a person has to file a lawsuit following an accident or injury. If a lawsuit is not brought within this time frame, the other party is likely to submit a move to dismiss the case, making any attempts to do so unsuccessful.
Strict Liability:
A legal principle that, regardless of the defendant’s intentions or degree of care, holds them responsible for any harm produced by their conduct. Strict responsibility is frequently used in product liability or defective product claims.
Tort:
A tort is a civil wrong as opposed to a crime. A tort occurs when one person is harmed as a result of another person’s conduct or tort.
Wrongful Death Action:
A legal action taken against a person or company for leaving another individual dead. A surviving family member (often the spouse) brings a wrongful death claim in the majority of cases. For emotional and physical suffering, lost wages, funeral and hospital expenses, lost income and earning capacity, loss of consortium, and other damages, the sufferer may be entitled to monetary compensation.
Hope you found this personal injury glossary of terms helpful. If you have any questions, get a call with us and our experts will explain everything you want to know
