When filing a personal injury claim, you may start to hear a lot of terminology tossed around that you’re not familiar with. This can make it hard for you to follow the progress of your claim, and you may be unfamiliar with some of the terms your personal injury attorney brings up. Don’t worry, here is a few of the phrases or terms you’ll commonly hear when it comes to personal injury law.
Common Personal Injury Terms and Phrases
- Adjudicate– To resolve a legal case.
- Assumption of risk– When a person voluntarily proceeds with a risk despite obvious and known danger. In this case, a person would not be able to seek financial compensation as they went into the inciting incident with complete knowledge of risk involved.
- Burden of proof– In a personal injury case, the burden of proof means it’s up to the plaintiff (aka the person filing the personal injury claim) to provide strong evidence the defendant (person being brought forth as guilty) was liable for injuries caused.
- Damages– Damages are what a person is seeking to recover in a lawsuit, which in a personal injury lawsuit is money. There can be economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages covers expenses such as medical costs, wage loss, auto repair bills, etc. Non-economic damages covers things that aren’t quantifiable, such as pain and suffering, mental or emotional distress, humiliation, etc.
- Gross Negligence– This is the intentional failure to perform a standard of duty by recklessly ignoring another person’s health or property. Gross negligence could also be known as willful negligence.
- Litigation– This means the process of taking legal action and/or filing a lawsuit.
- Medical Malpractice– The act of negligence committed by a health care provider or health care facility that departs from the standard of care. By act or omission, the actions of the provider causes injury to the patient.
- Personal Injury– This area of law covers injury to a person’s person, mind, emotions, and reputation, but does not cover property.
- Statute Of Limitations– This term describes the period of time in which a person can file a lawsuit. The time-length does vary depending on the state and type of injury. For example, California’s statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is 2 years. Once a statute of limitations passes, financial compensation is nearly impossible to achieve.
Need A Personal Injury Attorney For Your Claim?
If you were injured due to the reckless or negligent actions of another person, don’t overlook sitting down with a professional personal injury attorney in San Bernardino or personal injury lawyer in Billings, MT. By working with a trusted injury attorney, you are making sure your case is being handled with unbeatable care and legal expertise. The terminology listed above should help you understand the basics of what entails with a personal injury case, so you can sit down and discuss your claim with your attorney with more ease. If you haven’t filed your personal injury claim, don’t delay.