Common Injury/Accident Legal Terminology
The Truitt Law Firm, LLC, has provided, below, a simple glossary of some of the terms you (as a plaintiff or defendant) and your lawyer may use when discussing a personal injury, workers’ compensation or wrongful death case.
What is a workers’ compensation claim?
Workers’ compensation is government-mandated injury insurance for employees, overseen by the state. It enables injured workers to recover medical care and other benefits without bringing lawsuits against their employers. Employers may pay for workers’ compensation insurance for their employees, or they may be self-insured and handle workers’ compensation claims directly.
What is a personal injury case?
Through an injury claim or civil litigation, an injured person may pursue compensation with evidence that someone or some organization has caused an accident that injured them through negligence.
What is a third-party liability claim?
A third-party liability claim against a negligent person or organization that is not an injured person’s employer is separate from a workers’ compensation claim. An injured worker may find relief after an on-the-job accident or occupational illness through both types of legal actions.
What is negligence?
When someone commits wrongdoing or fails to take reasonable precautions to protect the well-being of others, these actions or omissions are called negligence.
What is liability?
A person, business or government agency that is held to be obligated or responsible for compensating someone for injuries and losses is said to be liable.
What are ‘damages’ in a personal injury or premises liability case?
The legal remedy for negligence – usually money that someone may need to pay to cover a plaintiff’s injuries or losses – is often called “damages.” In addition, punitive damages may serve as punishment for negligence.
What is premises liability?
A property owner or manager is considered responsible for the well-being of people who work in, live in or visit their buildings or land. Through a premises liability claim or lawsuit, a store owner or parking lot manager may be liable to compensate customers for on-site injuries.
What is a maritime injury?
Typically, a maritime injury in the United States is one that hurts a worker or passenger on a vessel in U.S. navigable waters. Shore-based accidents may also pertain to the maritime industry.
How are maritime injuries covered?
A maritime accident may be compensable through federal Jones Act claims and other state and federal laws governing vessels on navigable waters, such as rivers and ocean waters.
What is a soft-tissue injury?
A sprained ankle, a herniated disk and neck strains caused by torn muscles or tendons are all examples of soft-tissue injuries.
What is a catastrophic injury?
A life-altering spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or amputation that may require disability accommodations and personal care for the rest of the injured person’s lifetime is considered to be catastrophic.
Ask About More Terminology
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