Common Personal Injury Terms You Should Know About

Understand essential legal terms related to personal injury. Learn about common personal injury terms you should know about.

Common Personal Injury Terms You Should Know About

Riverside, a city in Southern California, is well-known for being the birthplace of the state’s citrus industry. The famous Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a National Historic Landmark, and the University of California are also located there.

Failure to have a clear understanding of the legal terminology used in courtrooms and insurance proceedings can make navigating a personal injury case complicated. Legal jargon is often complex and can make it difficult for an injured person to understand their rights and options. Legal terms like liability, negligence, and damages are all especially important since they directly affect how personal injury claims are evaluated and resolved.

Negligence

Negligence is frequently used when skilled injury attorneys in Riverside discuss the case’s facts and supporting documentation. Negligence occurs when a person does not exercise due care and injures another person. In most Riverside personal injury cases, the basis of liability is negligence, and negligence is accepted only when the claimant can prove duty, breach, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The legal duty of care is the responsibility one has to another to avoid harming them. The driver of any vehicle operating on the streets and roads in Riverside owes the duty of care not to cause intentional damage to anyone and to manage the car consistently with traffic laws so they do not intentionally harm or endanger anyone. 

Causation

Causation is the legal connection between the negligent act and the injury to the other party. A plaintiff must prove that the injury to the plaintiff would not have happened but for the negligent acts of the defendant. In practice, lawyers typically break down causation into two parts—actual cause and proximate cause.

Damages

Damages are the monetary compensation that an injured party will recover for their loss. In Riverside, damages can include medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering.

Comparative Negligence

California follows comparative negligence laws, which allow injured parties to recover some damages even when they are somewhat to blame for the conditions that led to the injury. The percentage of culpability that they have will determine how much of the compensation will be deducted. 

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the amount of time allowed by law to file a personal injury lawsuit. The majority of California personal injury claims need to be submitted within two years of the injury. 

Settlement

When both parties agree to settle the claim and end the issue without a trial, a settlement takes place. A majority of personal injury cases in Riverside are resolved by settlement because it avoids the costs and risks associated with litigation.

Liability

Liability is defined in civil law as the legal responsibility for an accident or injury. Courts may find one person liable in whole, or multiple people share liability, so they each pay a share of the total damages. 

Contingency Fee

Many personal injury lawyers in Riverside operate with a contingency fee agreement. This means the lawyer gets paid if and only if he gets damages for the client, typically as a percentage of the award. 

Key Takeaways

• Negligence forms the basis of many personal injury lawsuits in Riverside.
• Duty, breach, cause, and damages are the basic elements necessary to prove liability.
• California’s comparative negligence laws may diminish or lessen recovery.
• Time matters; you only have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit.
• Most cases are settled; however, you do have litigation as an option if everything else fails.