Glossary

Last Updat­ed on April 5, 2023 by acci­dents

TermDef­i­n­i­tion
At-fault par­tyThe indi­vid­ual or enti­ty respon­si­ble for caus­ing the acci­dent due to neg­li­gence or misconduct.
Com­pen­sa­tionThe mon­e­tary amount award­ed to a vic­tim for injuries, dam­ages, or loss­es sus­tained in an accident.
Dis­cov­ery phaseThe stage of a law­suit dur­ing which both par­ties exchange evi­dence, gath­er infor­ma­tion, and inter­view wit­ness­es to build their cases.
Fil­ing a complaintDraft­ing and sub­mit­ting a for­mal doc­u­ment that out­lines the alle­ga­tions against the at-fault par­ty and the dam­ages sought in a lawsuit.
Insur­ance claimA for­mal request sub­mit­ted to an insur­ance com­pa­ny for com­pen­sa­tion fol­low­ing an accident.
Large trucksCom­mer­cial vehi­cles with a gross vehi­cle weight rat­ing greater than 10,000 pounds, such as 18-wheel­ers, trac­tor-trail­ers, and semi-trucks.
Law­suitA legal action tak­en by one par­ty against anoth­er, typ­i­cal­ly to seek com­pen­sa­tion or enforce a right.
Lia­bil­i­tyThe legal respon­si­bil­i­ty for caus­ing injury or dam­age to anoth­er party.
Loss of con­sor­tium or companionshipThe loss of affec­tion, com­pan­ion­ship, and sup­port suf­fered by a spouse or fam­i­ly mem­ber due to the vic­tim’s injuries sus­tained in an accident.
Neg­li­genceThe fail­ure to exer­cise the stan­dard of care that a rea­son­ably pru­dent per­son would have exer­cised in a sim­i­lar sit­u­a­tion, result­ing in harm to anoth­er person.
Set­tle­mentA legal­ly bind­ing agree­ment between the par­ties involved in a dis­pute, typ­i­cal­ly involv­ing pay­ment of com­pen­sa­tion, to resolve the mat­ter with­out going to trial.
Tes­ti­mo­ni­alsState­ments from pre­vi­ous clients attest­ing to the com­pe­tence and effec­tive­ness of a lawyer.
Truck acci­dentA col­li­sion involv­ing a large com­mer­cial vehi­cle, such as an 18-wheel­er, trac­tor-trail­er, or semi-truck.
Wit­nessAn indi­vid­ual who has seen or has knowl­edge about an acci­dent and may pro­vide infor­ma­tion or tes­ti­mo­ny to sup­port a claim or lawsuit.