Personal Injury Law Glossary

There are all types of personal injury cases, and each individual claim is unique. But the "language" of personal injury law is pretty standard. Certain terms and phrases are common to nearly every case, whether it involves a slip and fall or a car accident. Here's a glossary of some of the more common terms associated with personal injury cases, from the insurance claim process through the lawsuit phase.

Injury-Related Insurance Terms

Most injury cases start as an insurance claim, filed by the injured person under the at-fault party's coverage. Here are a few key terms to understand.

Insurance Adjuster

When you file an insurance claim, the person who handles all aspects of it—from investigating the underlying accident, to reviewing your medical records and negotiating a settlement with you—is called an insurance adjuster.

Liability Insurance

This is the type of insurance that applies most often in personal injury cases. The most common example is liability car insurance, which is required in almost every state. When a driver causes an accident, their liability coverage applies to the injuries and vehicle damage suffered by others involved in the crash, up to policy limits.

No-Fault Car Insurance

Around a dozen states have adopted some version of a no-fault car insurance system, which requires that every vehicle owner carry a minimum amount of personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. After a car accident in a no-fault state, vehicle owners turn first to their own PIP coverage to make a claim for their injuries and related losses, no matter who or what caused the accident.

If injuries reach a certain threshold in terms of seriousness or the amount of accident-related medical bills they generate, the claimant can step outside of the no-fault system and make a claim against the at-fault driver's liability insurance, or file a lawsuit against them.

Third-Party Insurance Claim

This is a claim you make with someone else's insurance company when you're injured in an accident, it's the other person's fault, and they carry a liability insurance policy that covers the incident. So, for example, if you're injured in a slip and fall in a store, you could file a claim under the store's commercial liability policy.

Personal Injury Lawsuit Terms

If an injury-related insurance settlement can't be reached, things can proceed to the civil lawsuit stage. Here are some terms and phrases you're bound to come across if you file a personal injury lawsuit. (Learn more about when to sue for an injury).

Statute of Limitations

If you're filing a lawsuit, one of your first considerations is the statute of limitations, which is a law that puts a time limit on your right to take a dispute to court in your state. Different deadlines apply to different kinds of cases. Personal injury statutes of limitations tend to be in the area of two to three years, with special exceptions carved out. Get the details on the personal injury laws in your state.

Plaintiff

In the context of a personal injury case, the plaintiff is the person bringing the lawsuit to court. If your neighbor's dog bites you, and you decide to sue your neighbor for your injuries and other losses resulting from the incident, you would be the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Defendant

The defendant is the person (or business or other entity) that the plaintiff is suing, claiming they are responsible for the plaintiff's injuries. Following the example from the previous entry, the neighbor dog owner would be the defendant in the lawsuit over dog bite injuries.

Complaint

The plaintiff starts a lawsuit by filing a complaint with the appropriate civil court. The personal injury complaint lists out the plaintiff's allegations related to the underlying incident, including specific legal claims being made against the at-fault person.

Prayer for Relief

In most states, the complaint will include a "prayer for relief" or similarly-named section, where the plaintiffs lays out a dollar amount they're seeking as compensation for their losses.

Answer

Defendants file a formal answer to the complaint, which serves to notify the plaintiff and the court of the defendant's position regarding the allegations.

Personal Injury Terms Related to Fault and Liability

Every personal injury case includes an allegation of fault—someone does something, or fails to do something, and another person is injured as a result. Let's look at some common fault-related terms in an injury case.

Tort

In the language of the law, a tort is any wrongful act that's not a crime and doesn't come from the breaking of a contract. So every personal injury case involves some kind of tort, whether it's a car accident, defamation, medical malpractice, or even civil assault and battery.

Intentional Tort

Intentional torts are wrongful acts that re committed on purpose. Many intentional torts can also be crimes. Assault and battery, for example, can lead to both civil and criminal liability.

Negligence

Negligence is a tort involving carelessness or the failure to act with reasonable care, when this kind of conduct causes harm to someone else. All kinds of personal injury cases are based on a fault theory of negligence, including those stemming from a car accident, a slip and fall, or medical malpractice.

Strict Liability

Strict liability is a legal theory that can be used to hold a defendant financially responsible for certain acts or injuries, regardless of the defendant's fault or wrongdoing. These days, strict liability is used most often in cases involving defective products, where manufacturers can be held responsible when their products injure consumers.

Damages

When a plaintiff sues a defendant in a personal injury case, they're asking the court to order the defendant to pay damages, which means compensation for the plaintiff's losses resulting from their injuries. Damages include the cost of treating injuries, lost income and other financial harm caused by the injuries, mental and physical "pain and suffering," and other kinds of losses. Learn more about damages in a personal injury case.

Comparative Fault/Contributory Negligence

When an injured person shares some level of fault for the incident that led to their harm, comparative fault and contributory negligence rules can reduce the injured person's compensation, or even eliminate their ability to collect compensation altogether. Learn more about what happens when both sides are at fault in a personal injury case.

Terms Related to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

It's possible to handle a personal injury claim yourself, if you're comfortable with the process and confident you can stick up for yourself until you get a fair result. But in most situations, it makes sense to turn things over to an experienced lawyer. And the most important term to understand here relates to how your lawyer will get paid.

Contingency Fee

When a personal injury lawyer agrees to take your case, they'll almost certainly work under a "contingency fee" agreement. This means the lawyer only gets paid for their services if you receive a settlement or court award in your favor. The lawyer's fee will come as a percentage of that financial recovery. Learn more about personal injury lawyer fees and get tips on finding the right injury lawyer for you and your case.