Help for the Pain

Legal documents and action can be confusing – sometimes it seems like lawyers speak a language of their own. If you've been injured and are looking into hiring a lawyer, such as Palmetto Injury Lawyers, knowing a few of the common terms in personal injury cases can help you in your discussions with your lawyer as well as while doing research online.

Personal Injury – A personal injury is, basically, damage to a person (not to property). Importantly, it isn't just physical damage, but can include mental and emotional damage.

Proximate Cause – This is the main cause of the personal injury. One way to think of it is to ask a question: if this event hadn't occurred, would the injury have happened? For example, if the person hadn't run the red light, would he or she have hit your car? For a proximate cause, the answer will always be no.

Negligence – An important part of personal injury cases is whether the damage was caused by someone's negligence. If a person doesn't act with an amount of care that most people would think of as reasonable, that's negligence. For example, not checking your car's mirrors before backing out of a parking spot would be negligent – most people would agree that you should check your mirrors.

Compensatory Damages – This is the compensation that can be awarded in a personal injury trial, and it is separated into two types: economic and non-economic.

Economic Damages – These are the most measurable damages – things that directly cost money. If you were in a car accident, economic damages might include medical bills; if you couldn't work after your accident, they might include lost wages. While the case is about personal injury, economic damages may also include repairs to property.

Non-Economic Damages – These are damages that are more difficult to measure. If you have heard of lawsuits awarding money for "pain and suffering," that is a form of non-economic damage.

Punitive Damages – In addition to compensatory damages, sometimes a jury will award punitive damages in a personal injury case. This term comes from the same root as "punishment" – the idea is that additional money should be taken from the defendant as a penalty if the jury finds their behavior to be especially appalling.

Statute of Limitations – This is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. The length of time can vary between states as well as between types of cases, so asking a lawyer is the best way to tell if your case is still valid. As time passes, even cases within the statute of limitations may become more difficult as people's memories fade, so don't put off talking to an attorney for too long.