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DISCLAIMER This dictionary is not intended to be a source of legal advice. For legal advice consult a personal injury lawyer. Welcome! Personal Injury Law Dictionary Help us build the Personal Injury Law Dictionary. If you find a term missing that you think we should add please email us
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Z AFFIDAVIT - A written document which the signer swears to be true. The signer may swear under oath before a notary public ot other authorized official, or may make a declaration under penalty of perjury. AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION (ABA) - A professional association of American lawyers. The ABA has no legal authority but plays an important role in defining legal policy, lobbying for the law profession, and evaluating federal judges. About a third of all lawyers belong to the ABA. The ABA is located at: 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611; tel.: (312) 988-5522. ARBITRATION - A method of settling a legal dispute without a court trial. Arbitration is often used to avoid expensive legal fees and clogging the courts. Both parties to the dispute agree to have their case heard by a panel of independent experts who are not judges and to adbide by the ruling of the panel. The panel my be retired judges, or one provided by the American Arbitration Association. ASBESTOS LAWSUIT - Asbestos has been shown to cause a form of cancer called mesothelioma and this has produced many lawsuits agains manufacturers and users of asbestos. These lawsuits are personal injury suits, unless the plaintiff dies, in which case they usually become wrongful death suits. They are complex lawsuits, often involving a large number of defendants and are usually handled by law firms which specialize in asbestos litigation. ASBESTOS LAWYER - A specialist in asbestos litigation. ATTORNEY - A person who is authorized by a state or federal court to provide legal services. Each state has a special examination (called a "bar examination") which is required before a person can practice law in that state. Passing the bar examination qualifies the attorney for that state only and for federal courts located in that state. Graduation from law school does not qualify a person as an attorney. BAR EXAMINATION - A state examination which must be passed before a person may become an attorney and practice law in the state. CASUALTY - An accident that could not have been predicted or avoided, such as a ship sinking in a storm at sea. Also used to mean the loss of life in such an accident. CIVIL LAW - That part of the law which governs non-criminal cases. Cival law applies to areas such as business disputes, family disputes, negligence, accidents and personal injury. CODEFENDANT - If a lawsuit has more than one defendant (i.e. several parties are being sued in the lawsuit) then each denendant is called a codefendant. COMMON LAW - A body of unwritten law that began to develop in England over 1,000 years ago. Over time this law was updated and developed into written form. It became the basis of US law in all states except Louisiana which is still influenced by French law. This term is also used to mean law developed by judges and statutes. COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE - A method of assessing negligence in an accident case which considers all parties whose negligence contributed the accident in any way. Not all states use comparative negligence. Some states still use contributory negligence. COMPLAINT - The legal document filed with a court that formally begins a lawsuit. CONTINGENCY FEE AGREEMENT - An agreement between lawyer and client whereby the lawyer will only be paid if the client prevails in the laswuit and collects damages. The lawyer then receives a percentage of the damages.. CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE - A method of assessing negligence in an accident case which denies damages to any party whose negligence contributed the accident in any way. Contributory negligence may be unfair and juries sometimes ignore it. COURT TRIAL - A trial with a judge but no jury. CRIMINAL LAW - The body of law that applies to crimes where the defendant may be required to serve a prison term. DAMAGES - The sum of money awarded to the injured party in a personal injury lawsuit. DEFAULT JUDGEMENT - A judgement issued by the court when the defendant fails to respond to a complaint in the time set by law (usually 20 or 30 days.) DEFENDANT - The person alleged to have caused the injury. The person being sued. DEPOSITION - A discovery procedure in which a defendant, plaintiff, witness or expert witness is questioned under oath by the lawyers representing the parties in a lawsuit. DISCOVERY - Formal procedures that allows all parties in a lawsuit to obtain relevant information from each other or from indepandent witnesses. These procedures may include depositions, interrogations, requests for production of documents, and demands for independent medical examinations. EMOTIONAL DISTRESS - An injury involving mentaal of psychological damage. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awarded in conjunction with damages for physical injury, but now courts in several states award damages for emotional distress without physical injury. In some cases, such as sexual harrassement, emotional distress may be the only injury. Professional testimony by a therapist or psychiatrist may be required to validate emotional distress. EVIDENCE - All types of proof legally presented at a trial and allowed by the judge intended to convince the judge and/or jury of alleged facts relevant to the case. Opposing attorneys may object to evidence and claim that it is irrelevant, not relevant, "hearsay" (statements by a party not in court), or other technicalities. Evidence must be able to withstand these objections to be allowed by the judge. EXPERT WITNESS - A specialist in a subject who may present their opinion without having been a witness to the events of a lawsuit. The expert may be challenged by the opposing attorney, and then the attorney who has called the expert must show the expert is qualified. The judge has the authortity to reject an expert witness by ruling them to not be an expert. Experts are usually paid significant fees, and the opposing attorney may ask the expert the amount of their fees. FINAL JUDGMENT - The written ruling on a lawsuit by the judge who presided at trial. This completes the case unless it is appealed to a higher court. Also called final decree or final decision. GENERAL COUNCIL - The chief attorney for a corporation. GENERAL DAMAGES - Damages for which no exact amount can be calculated. They are different than special damages, which are for specific costs, and punitive damages which are awarded to punish the defendant. GROSS NEGLIGENCE - Negligence for the safety or lives of others which is so great it appears to be intentional. Gross negligence can result in the award of punitive damages in addition to general and special damages. HARASSMENT - Systematic, annoying and continued actions which include threats and demands. Harassment in the workplace may subject the employer to a lawsuit for failure to protect the employee being harassed. HIGHWAY - A public street which any member of the public has the right to use provided they obey the laws governing its use. The use of a highway is therefore a privilege and not an absolute right. IMPANELING - Selecting a jury from the list of potential jurors. JUDGMENT - The final decision by a court in a lawsuit. An interlocutory judgment is a tentative judgment until a final judgment is made. A judgment is sometimes called a decree. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE - A judge who handles minor legal issues such as traffic offenses. A justice of the peace is usually an attorney, but some states allow anyone to qualify by taking a test. KANGAROO COURT - A court with no legal basis, also slang for a court of law in which violations of legal processes are so bad that justice is denied. LAWSUIT - A dispute between two people or entities that is decided in a court of law. Also called a suit. LIBEL - To publish material about a person that does harm to the person or their reputation. Libel is the written form of defamation and slander is the oral form. Libel is a tort. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS - The period of time in which a lawsuit must be filed. The period depends on several factors: thet type of case, if the suit is against the government, if it is by a minor, and the state of filing. Also called the statute of limitations.
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MENTAL ANGUISH - Mental suffering. It is different from a physical injury, but may be considered in awarding damages. In some cases damages for mental anguish can be awarded even if no physical injury occured. MESOTHELIOMA - A type of cancer believed to be caused by exposed to asbestos. MESOTHELIOMA LAWYER - A specialist in asbestos litigation. See also Asbestos Lawsuit. NEGLIGENCE - Failure to exercise reasonable care toward others, or performing actions which a reasonable person would not. Negligence is accidental as opposed to intentional wrongs or crimes. Negligence can result in many types of accidents including personal injury and injury to property. To claim damages for negligence the injured party (plaintiff) must prove: 1) the negligent party had a duty to the injured party or to the general public, 2) the defendant's actionst were not those of a reasonable person 3) the damages were caused by the negligence. In Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the injured party will be denied damages if they contributed in any way to the negligence. This is called contributory negligence, and many regard this as unfair. In all other states this rule has been replaced by "comparative negligence" where the degree of negligence by the injured party is taken into consideration. Negligence is a major source of litigation in the United States. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE - An illness resulting from long-term employment in a particular type of work, such as mesothelioma (a type of cancer) from workers exposed to asbestos.
PERSONAL INJURY - An injury to your body, state of mind or reputation. Personal injury does not include damage to property. PERSONAL INJURYRECOVERY - The amount of compensation paid as a result of a personal injury lawsuit or insurance settlement. PERSONAL PROPERTY - All property except land and building. PLAINTIFF - The injured party in a lawsuit. The person suing the defendant. PROCESS SERVER - A person certified to deliver paperwork in a lawsuit. In particular, a process server will deliver the formal complaint documents to all defendants in order to initiate a lawsuit. PRODUCT LIABILITY - The liability of anyone involved in the design, manufacture and marketing of a product for damages caused by the product. TERM - Definition of the term. TERM - Definition of the term. SUBPOENA - A legal document served to a person who is not a party to a lawsuit but who may have relevant information. The document compels them to appear at a deposition, arbitration or trial, or to provide documents in their possession. TORT - A personal injury recognized by law. The injured person can bring a lawsuit for monetary damages such as loss of earning capacity, medical expenses and pain and suffering. There are three main classes of torts: intentional torts (e.g. hitting a person); negligent torts (causing an accident) and strict liability torts (e.g. selling defective products.) ULTRAHAZARDOUS - An activity which is so dangerous that the person conducting the activity is liable for any injury caused by the activity. VICARIOUS LIABILITY - When a person who did not actually cause an injury is held for the injury. Sometimes called imputed liability, WITNESS - A person who saw the events that are the subject of a lawsuit. If the witness is not associated with the defendant or plaintiff then they are called an independent witness. Witnesses are questioned by a lawyer, or by a private investigator hired by the lawyer. WRONGFUL DEATH - When a death occurs as a result of negligence. TERM - Definition of the term. TERM - Definition of the term. TERM - Definition of the term.
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