Helpful legal personal injury related terms to gain more knowledge in this particular legal area are listed below.
Attorney client priviledge
"The law generally considers all communications between an attorney and his/her client to be privileged, in other words, confidential and afforded special protection under the law."
Claim evaluation
"The act of assessing your claim. Factors to be considered by experienced legal counsel are: the likelihood that your claim will prevail on the liability or fault aspect of your case, the extent to which you or a loved one has been injured, and the costs which will likely be incurred in pursuing your claim."
Comparative negligence
The degree to which the plaintiff is at fault (if at all) when compared to the fault of the defendant.
Compensatory damages
"Compensate the plaintiff for actual dollar-value losses (e.g. medical expenses (past and future), lost income, loss of future earning capacity, etc."
Complaint
A complaint will outline the circumstances of the incident that forms the basis of the lawsuit.
Contingent fee
Agreement An agreement whereby an attorney is being hired on the basis that he or she will only receive a fee from you (the client) contingent upon you receiving compensation from the defendant(s).
Defendants
People (or corporations) who are alleged to have caused the injury to the plaintiff(s) and are so named in the lawsuit.
Defective product
"A defective product is one that causes injury to a person because of some defect in the product (e.g. manufacturing defect, design defect or inadequate warning)."
Deposition
"A deposition is a form of discovery in which a plaintiff, a defendant, a witness, or an expert witness with relevant information about a lawsuit is formally questioned under oath by the attorneys representing all parties in the lawsuit."
Discovery
"The use of depositions, interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions, and demands for independent medical examinations, among others procedures to discover relevant evidence possessed by the other parties or by independent witnesses."
General damages
"Also a form of compensatory damages, which cover more intangible losses, such as pain, suffering, humiliation, the loss of enjoyment of life as well as grief suffered from the loss of a loved one."
Insurance bad faith
The failure of an insurance company to deal fairly and in good faith with it’s insured.
Insurance claim
An insurance claim is made when an injured person or his/her attorney informs an insurance company that the injured person will be seeking compensation for damages that have been sustained.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit is a formal legal action made by one party or group of people (the plaintiff(s)) against another person or corporation (the defendant(s)) in which recovery is sought for damages suffered by the plaintiff(s).
Liability
The legal conclusion that some person or some corporation is responsible for injuries suffered by the plaintiff(s).
Medical malpractice
When a person is injured due to the negligence of a health care provider (e.g. doctor or hospital).
Negligence
"Negligence generally means that a person’s conduct falls below a legally recognized standard of taking reasonable care under the circumstances. Negligence is the basis for liability in the majority of serious injury lawsuits, including automobile accidents and medical malpractice."
Plaintiffs
The person or persons who have suffered injury and are seeking recovery for damages by filing a lawsuit
Product liability
Liability as the result of a defective or unreasonably dangerous product Punitive Damages Punitive damages are meant to punish a defendant for egregious and reprehensible conduct and to deter others from similar conduct.
Statute of Limitations
An established legal deadline that requires a person who has suffered a serious injury to file a lawsuit within a certain time after the date of injury or lose forever his or her rights to sue for compensation.
Treating physician
A treating physician is a doctor who has actually provided medical care to an injured person.
Wrongful death
"A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of the negligence (or other liability) on the part of the defendant(s), and that the surviving dependents or next of kin are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant's conduct."
