• ADJUSTER/INSURANCE ADJUSTER: Insurance adjusters are employees or independent contractors of insurance companies, and are given the job of settling insurance claims for as little money as possible. Each insurance company involved in a particular dispute will have one or more adjusters assigned to monitor the claim. Adjusters are employed to protect the financial interests of insurance companies.
  
  
• COMPENSATORY DAMAGES: Compensatory damages are the actual economic losses for such things as medical expenses, lost income, loss of future earning capacity, etc.
  
  
• COMPLAINT: A complaint is the legal document filed with a court that formally begins a lawsuit. It sets forth the circumstances of the incident which form the basis of the lawsuit. It also describes the basic nature of the damages suffered by the claimant. The complaint specifies who the parties to the case are -- the plaintiff and the defendant. There are very specific rules and deadlines that must be followed when filing a complaint.
  
  
• DAMAGES: This term refers to the money that will be awarded in a personal injury case if the plaintiff wins. There are various types of damages, including compensatory, general, and punitive.
  
  
• DEPOSITION: A deposition is a legal proceeding in which a plaintiff, a defendant, a witness, or an expert witness with relevant information about a lawsuit, is formally questioned under oath by the attorneys representing all parties in the lawsuit. The deposition is similar to the giving of oral testimony in a trial, but takes place under less formal circumstances, usually in the office of one of the attorneys in the case. The testimony is transcribed into a written format by a court reporter, whose costs are passed on to the attorney (and his/her client) who scheduled the deposition.
  
  
• DISCOVERY: After a lawsuit has begun, all parties in the case have the right to use certain formal procedures to discover relevant evidence possessed by the other parties or by independent witnesses. These procedures include the use of depositions, interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and demands for independent medical examinations, among others. This process as a whole is referred to as "discovery" or the "discovery process," and is regulated in California by specific sections of the Code of Civil Procedure.
  
  
• EXPERT WITNESSES: Expert witnesses are individuals trained in some particular specialty, such as medicine, engineering, accident reconstruction, or economics. By virtue of this training, they are qualified to render "expert opinions" or "expert testimony" regarding important issues in the case. Some expert witnesses may have had direct involvement in the personal injury case prior to the beginning of a lawsuit, such as a treating physician who directly provided medical care to an injured person or a police investigator at a traffic collision who is fully trained in accident reconstruction (although very few officers actually have more than minimal training in this specialty). Most expert witnesses, however, are hired by one side in a personal injury case for the purpose of analyzing complex information that falls within their area of expertise.
  
  Expert witnesses may be vital to a personal injury case's successful conclusion, especially in cases where the facts are highly disputed or particularly complicated.
  
  
• GENERAL DAMAGES: General damages, better known as "pain and suffering" damages, are meant to provide compensation for the subjective emotional trauma from physical injuries, pain, humiliation, etc.
  
  
• INTERROGATORIES: Interrogatories are a form of discovery allowed under the California Code of Civil Procedure. They consist of written questions presented by one party in a lawsuit to the opposing party, who must answer the questions within a certain time period under penalty of perjury. Interrogatories will usually consist of a number of general information questions regarding the person's name, address, employment information, educational history, etc., as well as more specific questions regarding how the injury occurred, prior medical history, current medical expenses and other monetary damages.
  
  
• LOSS OF CONSORTIUM: When a person is injured, that person's spouse may have a valid claim for Loss of Consortium. Loss of consortium represents many things, including the spouse's loss of the injured person's assistance in caring for the family home and children, as well as the additional stress and strain placed upon the marital relationship by the physical injuries that were suffered.
  
  
• PRODUCT LIABILITY: When a person is injured as the result of a defective product, they may have a product liability claim against such people and corporations as the manufacturer of the product and any or all wholesalers and retailers of the product as it moved from the manufacturer to the end user. This chain of responsibility can be very complex and, in such cases, it is vitally important to identify all potential defendants as early as possible. Also, if a particular product has resulted in product liability cases in the past, thorough research can result in a great deal of information to speed new cases to successful conclusion.
  
  
• PUNITIVE DAMAGES: Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are those designed to punish a defendant whose behavior in causing the plaintiff's injuries was especially egregious. Punitive damages are rarely awarded and are reserved for very serious misconduct.
  
  
• STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: The law requires that a person who has suffered a personal injury must file a lawsuit within a specific time limit known as the statute of limitations. The time permitted varies from one state to another, and may be affected by other factors, such as the age of the injured party, or whether the defendant is a government entity. Because the statute of limitations can permanently bar a lawsuit for personal injuries, it is always important to seek legal assistance immediately after an accident.
  
  

Please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-306-6010 or contact us online.