Whether you’re in the middle of a personal injury case or you’re still on the fence about calling a lawyer, you’ve probably come across more than a few legal terms that left you scratching your head. Personal injury law is composed of fairly simple concepts, but the terminology can make it hard to understand the underlying meaning.
When you’re having a hard time understanding the unfamiliar vocabulary of personal injury law, a personal injury glossary makes it easy to find clarity. Here, you’ll find many of the most common legal terms related to personal injury law, along with an easy-to-understand breakdown of what these concepts really mean for you and your case.
Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence refers to how responsibility for an accident is split between the involved parties. Different states set different laws for comparative negligence, including pure or modified standards.
In Florida, you can only recover compensation if you are 50% or less responsible for the accident.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are the payouts you receive in a personal injury lawsuit. This type of compensation can reimburse you for both actual costs and the emotional impact of your injuries.
Contingency Fee
Contingency fee arrangements are payment structures commonly used by personal injury lawyers. Instead of paying a personal injury attorney up front, you pay them a percentage of the overall amount they win for you. When a lawyer works on contingency, the client typically doesn’t have to pay legal fees unless the lawyer successfully wins their case.
Defendant
The defendant is the other party in a personal injury lawsuit. Suppose that you file a lawsuit to recover personal injury compensation. In that case, either the person who injured you or their insurance company will be referred to as the defendant in legal documents and courtroom proceedings.
Duty of Care
Duty of care is a key concept in personal injury law. To recover personal injury compensation, you need to prove negligence. You establish negligence by showing that someone owed you a duty of care, that they violated this duty, and that you suffered injuries as a result.
Duty of care looks different in different circumstances. For example, proving that the duty of care was violated in the context of a car accident might involve showing that the other driver was driving recklessly or breaking basic driving laws.
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to the personal injury compensation you can recover for financial costs and expenses related to your injuries. These items have a corresponding dollar value. The economic damages you recover can compensate you for things like medical bills, medical devices, and lost wages and benefits.
Liability
Liability is the term for financial responsibility in personal injury law. Once you establish negligence, the at-fault person or their insurance provider is then liable for your injuries, meaning they must pay you for your expenses.
Negligence
The concept of negligence is at the core of personal injury law. Personal injury law assumes that people and companies have a basic responsibility to show consideration for the safety of others. If you can prove your injuries are the result of negligence, you establish grounds for filing a personal injury claim.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages refer to a type of compensation you can recover in some personal injury cases. This form of damages reimburses you for the mental and emotional impact of the accident. Common examples of non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and diminished quality of life.
Plaintiff
The plaintiff is the person who is injured in a personal injury lawsuit. If you end up filing a lawsuit to recover compensation, court documents will refer to you as the plaintiff.
Premises Liability
Premises liability is an area of personal injury law. Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain a property in a safe state. If you are injured in a slip and fall accident or suffer other injuries because a property was unsafe, you can seek personal injury compensation through a premises liability claim.
Product Liability
Product liability is an area of personal injury law. Manufacturers, designers, and producers are obligated to create safe products. Some examples of unsafe products include dangerous drugs, unsafe medical equipment, and defective consumer products.
Suppose you were sold a product that harmed your health or caused injury. In that case, you can recover personal injury compensation by filing a product liability claim against the company that made the product.
Settlement
A settlement is personal injury compensation that you recover after negotiating with the insurance provider of the person who caused your injuries. Most personal injury cases are resolved via settlement rather than by filing a lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit. This time limit varies by state and can also vary by type of personal injury claim. For example, workers’ compensation and wrongful death claims may have a shorter time limit than general personal injury claims.
In some cases, such as injuries to a minor, it might be possible to extend the statute of limitations. This period usually begins on the date the injury is sustained or discovered.
Verdict
A verdict is the court outcome on your personal injury lawsuit. The judge or jury delivers their final verdict, which informs you of the court’s decision on how much personal injury compensation you’ll recover in your case.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is a type of personal injury claim. When someone is directly responsible for another person’s death, the deceased’s immediate family members can recover compensation for things like funeral and burial costs and the victim’s medical bills.
Get Help With Your Tampa Personal Injury Case Today
You should never feel like you’re in the dark as you navigate the personal injury claims process. At Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers, we work hard to make sure our clients feel supported. We value transparency and communication, and we help explain your options using terminology you can understand so that you know exactly what’s going on with your case.
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers is a Tampa personal injury law firm. Our skilled personal injury attorneys have decades of experience, and we’ve recovered millions for our clients. We’re ready to review your case and help you understand your options for recovering personal injury compensation in Tampa.
Contact Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers today at (813) 223-6200 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced Tampa personal injury lawyer.
