Three Personal Injury Terms You Should Know
Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on August 17, 2022
If you’ve been injured in a car wreck, at work, or in public and you believe that someone else is at-fault, you may decide to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. Personal injury lawsuits are often very complex and tedious, and require excellent legal counsel. That said, it is never a bad idea to equip yourself with some knowledge regarding your case. Having a better understanding of legal terms and processes can make communicating with your lawyers much easier and improve your understanding of the case overall. Because of this, we’ve outlined three common personal injury terms you should know. Follow along for details!
An Overview Of…
1. Negligence
Negligence is a term used to describe behavior that fails to live up to a reasonable standard of thoughtfulness and care. Negligence is usually used to describe actions, but can also apply to inactions, sometimes known as omissions. There are multiple types of negligence. For example, gross negligence is a heightened form of negligence that is characterized as extreme and willful.
Negligence is not a black and white matter. In fact, there are multiple ways to consider negligence in the courtroom. In the past, states used a system called “contributory negligence”. Because it is possible for both parties to be responsible for an injury, contributory negligence denied injured individuals the right to recover damages if they were at-fault or negligent in any way. However, almost all states have now opted for a more equitable system called “comparative negligence”. Under comparative negligence, both parties’ behavior is evaluated, and the court assigns each party a percentage of the fault. Injured parties are then allowed to recover a percentage of the damages depending on how at fault they were. For example, if the injured party is only 30% at-fault, then they are allowed to recover 70% of the damages. For more information, check out this article on the difference between comparative and contributory negligence.
2. Damages
Cornell’s Legal Information Institute defines damages as ”the sum of money the law imposes for a breach of some duty or violation of some right”. These damages can be recovered for a number of reasons including to compensate for pain and suffering, lost wages, and future medical bills. Sometimes, damages are even awarded as a punitive measure.
There are three major categories of damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive. Economic and non-economic damages are both compensatory damages, meaning they are awarded to provide compensation to the injured party. Economic damages are those damages awarded to compensate for economic losses like medical bills, time away from work, and loss of future earning potential. Non-economic damages on the other hand, are awarded to compensate for less objective losses, like pain and suffering or loss of a loved one. Punitive damages are not compensatory. Instead, as their name suggests, they are awarded as a form of punishment for the guilty party. Punitive damages are usually reserved for cases of gross negligence, but are awarded at the court’s discretion.
3. Settlement
The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits never make it to a courtroom due to agreements called “settlements”. These out of court settlements allow defendants and plaintiffs to come to their own agreement regarding compensation, without involving a court. Typically, defendant’s will pay plaintiffs to waive their right to pursue a lawsuit. This allows the plaintiff to collect their compensation and saves all parties involved from the long, costly, and unpredictable process of a trial. The term “settlement” can also refer to the actual money granted to the plaintiff by the agreement.
Just because most personal injury lawsuits are decided out of court does not reduce the need for legal counsel. Finding a good legal team is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself after your injury. Navigating a settlement requires a full and detailed knowledge of the law as well as experience with these types of cases. This means that without a good attorney you could be subjecting yourself to significant exploitation and are risking your compensation. At Cooper and Friedman we have over three decades of experience dealing with personal injury cases like these. For more personal injury information, see our blog post on the personal injury statutes of limitations in Kentucky.
If you or someone you love has suffered from a personal injury in the state of Kentucky, the experienced team at Cooper and Friedman PLLC is here to help. We have decades of experience fighting for the rights of personal injury victims throughout Louisville, Kentucky and across the entire state. We handle your case personally and you can always be sure that our attorneys will be responsive to your calls and inquiries. For additional information, or to schedule a free case consultation with an experienced injury attorney, give us a call at 502-459-7555 or contact us online.