Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Liable Legally responsible. For example, a person may be liable for a debt, liable for an accident due to careless behavior, liable for failing do something required by a contract or liable for the commission of a crime. Punitive damages Also called exemplary damages, which are designed to punish a defendant whose behavior in causing the plaintiff's injuries was especially egregious. Whiplash injury Hyperextension (over-extension) injury to the neck, often the result of being struck from behind, as by a fast-moving vehicle in a car accident. Occupational Disease An illness resulting from long-term employment in a particular type of work, such as mesothelioma (a type of cancer) from workers exposed to asbestos. Acute condition Type of illness or injury that ordinarily lasts less than 3 months, was first noticed less than 3 months before the reference data of the interview, and was serious enough to have had an impact on behavior. Traumatic Brain Injury Serious injury to the head often resulting in severe and permanent damage to the brain. A bone may break or fracture when the force applied against it is greater than the strength of the bone itself. Wrongful Death Wrongful Death is defined as the death of an individual as a direct result of the negligence of another individual, company, or entity. Burden of proof A party's job of convincing the decisionmaker in a trial that the party's version of the facts is true. In a civil trial, it means that the plaintiff must convince the judge or jury "by a preponderance of the evidence" that the plaintiff's version is true -- that is, over 50% of the believable evidence is in the plaintiff's favor. Workers Compensation These benefits include payment of all medical expenses and reimbursement for a portion of wages lost due to disability caused by the injury. Quadriplegia Complete paralysis of the body from the neck down, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord.

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	Did You Know?
	There are four general types of slip and fall accidents Trip-and-fall accidents, where there is a foreign object in the walking path. Stump-and-fall accidents, where there is an impediment in the walking surface. Step-and-fall accidents, where there is an unexpected failure or hole in the walking surface Slip-and-fall accidents, in which the interface of the shoe and the floor fails Both the property owner as well as the injured person can be held to varying degrees of responsibility for an injury.