11 Words You Need to Understand When Filing a Personal Injury Suit
1.) Lawsuit is a general term that is used to describe a dispute between parties that is being taken to court in order to have it resolved. If a dispute is not brought to court, it is not necessarily a lawsuit.
2.) Personal Injury describes an injury to a person – physically, medically, emotionally, or mentally – for which there are legal consequences. Common types of personal injury claims include car accidents, dog bites, boating accidents, workplace accidents, wildfires, and slip and fall injuries.
3.) The plaintiff is the person (or group of people) seeking compensation for the personal injury that was suffered. Often times, the plaintiff will seek out an attorney to represent and protect his or her interests.
4.) The defendant is the party that is defending him or herself from the claims of the plaintiff.
5.) The claim is the legal theory that the plaintiff and his or her lawyer will put forward to justify the compensation being sought for the plaintiff. Often times, there will be multiple claims made within a single lawsuit. The document that contains the plaintiff’s claims is called the complaint.
6.) A Statute of Limitations is a legally set time frame during which a person must file a suit. The Statute of Limitations varies for different types of claims, often ranging from one year to ten years. If a claim is brought after the statute of limitations has passed, it cannot be heard by the court.
7.) The answer is the legal document that the defendant composes in order to defend from the claims put forward by the plaintiff, and/or to assert flaws in the legal theories of the plaintiff’s claims.
8.) A settlement is an agreement that the plaintiff and the defendant may reach out of court in order to avoid taking the case to trial. Settlements can be organized between the attorney’s representing the plaintiff and defendant, or can be orchestrated using a mediator.
9.) Litigation refers to the practice of resolving disputes in a court system.
10.) Damages are an award (usually monetary) that a court may award to the plaintiff if the plaintiff wins his or her case. The damages are designed to compensate the injured party for pain, injury, loss, and suffering.
11.) An appeal may be made by either the attorney of the defendant or plaintiff if believing that the interests of justice were not carried out in court.
If you are considering filing a personal injury suit, Abeyta Nelson is here to help. If you would like a consultation, call toll free at (800) 927-2845, or email us at injurylaw@abeytanelson.com.