Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Punitive damages Also called exemplary damages, which are designed to punish a defendant whose behavior in causing the plaintiff's injuries was especially egregious. Alternative Dispute Resolution An arbitration is a legal hearing, less formal than a trial, in which each side in a lawsuit or dispute offers evidence and testimony to a neutral hearing officer (the arbitrator). The arbitrator is typically an experienced attorney or a retired judge. 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. Ambulatory Surgery Ambulatory surgery refers to previously scheduled surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery center's general or main operating rooms Spinal Cord Injury Injury of the nerves contained within the spinal canal often associated with trauma to the spinal column (spine),Complete: Nerve damage obstructing all signals between the brain and body.Incomplete: Nerve damage obstructing some of the signals between the brain and body. Falls and Hip Fractures Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths (Murphy 2000) and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma Paraplegia Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord. 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. Construction Injuries Some of the kinds of accidents that can transpire on construction sites: Crane Accidents ,Scaffolding Accidents Hazardous Gases or Liquids, Defective Machinery, Fallen Objects, Mechanical Hazards, Toxic Exposure

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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.