Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Disfigurement A technical term in workers' compensation cases for a serious and permanent scar to the head, neck, or face. Burn, third degree A burn in which the damage has progressed to the point of skin death. The skin is white and without sensation. Contributory negligence Broadly, carelessness on the plaintiff's part. More precisely, conduct which falls below the standard of care established by law for the protection of one's self against unreasonable risk of harm. Bodily Injury A cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or disfigurement; physical pain, illness, impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or any other injury to the body, no matter how temporary. Wrongful Death Wrongful Death is defined as the death of an individual as a direct result of the negligence of another individual, company, or entity. Ambulatory Surgery Ambulatory surgery refers to previously scheduled surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery center's general or main operating rooms Defective product injury When a product malfunctions due to a defect and causes serious personal injury, the law requires the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer of the product to bear the losses caused by the defect in the product. Spinal Cord Injury Injury of the nerves contained within the spinal canal often associated with trauma to the spinal column (spine),Complete: Nerve damage obstructing all signals between the brain and body.Incomplete: Nerve damage obstructing some of the signals between the brain and body. Traumatic Brain Injury Serious injury to the head often resulting in severe and permanent damage to the brain. A bone may break or fracture when the force applied against it is greater than the strength of the bone itself. Eggshell skull A hypothetical medical condition used to illustrate the idea that if you are at fault when you injure someone, you are responsible for all the consequences, whether you could have foreseen them or not.

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	Did You Know?
	Tort lawyer is needed when civil wrongs are done Torts fall into three general categories: intentional torts (e.g., intentionally hitting a person); negligent torts (causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules); and strict liability torts (e.g., liability for making and selling defective products). Intentional torts are those wrongs which the defendant knew or should have known would occur through their actions or inactions.