The Common Definitions – Personal Injury Terms

For many people, it can never be overwhelming to interpret all the terms and terms of a case for personal injury before and for newcomers to the legal process. Our experienced personal injury lawyers at Foshee and Yaffee years of experience help our customers succeed, whether at the court or the negotiating table.

Our objective is to make the legal procedure clear, to answer your questions quickly and accurately, as we dispute your case. We will offer in this post some definitions of common terms and what this might mean for your case.

The Personal Injury Terms -

Here are some basic terms that you can expect to use in your entire case:

Plaintiff

Plaintiff is a legal term for any individual, group or organization engaged in the conduct of a civil action. You are considered the plaintiff when you sue someone for an injury claim.

Defendant

The individual, group of individuals or organizations allegedly liable for injuries in civil proceedings is defendant. One or more defendants may depend on the complexity and type of cases of your personal injury claim.

Negligence

In cases of personal injury, negligence is the most frequently mentioned injury. In order to demonstrate negligence in an injury proceeding, you must show that the defendant has a 'care responsibility' to act carefully but they have failed to comply. Negligence can look different according to your case's nature.

Duty of Standard Care

In many circumstances, we have a "care responsibility," as much as possible, to protect others from harm. If the duty of care is determined, the courts will ask if the defendant has sufficient time, ability and knowledge to inform you about a safety hazard. In some cases involving professional responsibility, such as medical malpractice, this is referred to as the "standard of care" because the actions of the professional are measured against their industry's accepted standards.

Statute of Limitation

The time limit for filing a personal injury action is statute of limitation. The limitation statute varies from state to state, but it normally lasts from 2 to 4 years from the date of the injury. Incorrect death torts are often limited on personal injury claims in shorter terms.

Damage

This is the compensation in a lawsuit that you are looking for. Damages are to "complete the claimant," typically by a payment for a lump sum. The economic and non-economic damage are two main types. Economic damages include health care expenses, damage to property, loss of wages and other losses caused by the accident. Other factors, such as pain and suffering and loss of partnership, may include non-economic damage.

The so-called "punitive damages" are also the third type of damages which are only awarded in extreme cases of negligence. In some countries, punitive damages or non-economic damages may be subject to limitations or "caps."

No-fault

Most states observe a system of 'fault' in vehicle accidents but some choose not to follow a theory of 'no-fault' law. In a non-fault state, every car owner has an injury or PIP plan with a car insurance, which he collects after an accident from his own insurance provider. For car accidents only after you've satisfied the right conditions for your State you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit hiring a personal injury attorney at Foshee and Yaffee Attorneys at Law.

**Disclaimer: This content is not to be construed as legal advice nor does it establish terms of a client-attorney relationship.