The law may seem intimidating, particularly right after an accident and consequent injury. There are terms and jargon that injury attorneys use that may go over your head if this is your first contact with personal injury law, and you may feel lost and alone, asking your lawyer to explain what each term means and only to be bombarded by ten other technical terms. It is natural to feel overwhelmed coming into the process, and it doesn’t speak to your intelligence since personal injury law at its core involves many complex concepts and processes that can be difficult to remember or keep abreast of.

At McCready Law, we believe in comprehensive client education so that they have an understanding of what goes on behind the scenes as their case is being processed, as we have seen how positively clients respond to the fact that they have this information which further helps them become more confident and forthcoming with information, which in turn helps things move along much faster.

Ultimately, we believe that an educated client is an empowered client, and we aim to guide you through every step of the process in a transparent manner, enhancing your comfort and allaying any anxieties you may have about your injury claim – read on to find out more.

Are you looking for the best injury attorney? Please call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation. The experienced injury lawyers at McCready Law bring to the table over 90 YEARS of combined legal experience, where we’ve helped tens of thousands of injured Americans across the country receive compensation after getting injured due to the negligent actions of other individuals or large corporations.

To date, we’ve been able to recover over$260 million for our injured clients and counting, and our massive success can be attributed to a number of unique factors: we personally handle all claims and do not shunt them over to legal assistants and paralegals as is often seen in most law firms, we work with a team of world-renowned experts to ensure medical evidence, accident reports, forensic evidence all show a clear pattern of negligence on the part of the perpetrator or defendant leaving no room for doubt by the defense legal team, and we ensure to work closely with our injured clients to update them on their case on a regular basis, fostering a culture of openness and client trust.

In addition, we are not afraid to litigate claims should we believe that, based on insurance company negotiations carried out in bad faith, and your injuries may have long-term financial consequences, as more often than not, litigating a claim successfully ends in the plaintiff being awarded the maximum allowable compensation by law.

In addition to running a bilingual firm (hablamos Español), we also take on all cases on contingency fee basis, and what this means is that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES for the duration of the processing of the claim, as we only levy our fees at the end of the suit, and only if we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf. If you or a loved one got injured in an auto accident, slip and fall, nursing home abuse or any other circumstances you believe were caused by negligence, please call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation – our intake team is standing by.

Personal Injury Terms You Should Memorize

At the core of every injury claim is the concept of negligence – this is usually defined as the failure by an individual to act with reasonable care that another individual would have exercised under similar circumstances, thereby causing you harm.

Let’s break down some of the most common terms surrounding negligence:

1. Duty of Care – this refers to the legal obligation the other party has to act with a certain standard of care towards another. This is a baseline expectation which theoretically encourages responsible behavior
2. Breach of Duty – This is when the other party fails to meet their duty of care by engaging in a negligent act, such as a store owner failing to clean up a spill in a timely manner
3. Causation – This is perhaps the most crucial element we must prove in your potential claim, and it requires that we link the defendant’s breach of duty of care to your injuries, and it is usually divided into two; actual cause and proximate cause
4. Damages – This refers to the harm you suffered or the losses you incurred as a result of the defendant’s negligence. That said, if there is no injury despite the occurrence of a negligence act, you usually will have no valid claim. Therefore, there must be compensable damages in order for a case to continue on.

Speaking of damages, let us take a look at the various damages you can recover in your typical personal injury claim:

1. Economic Damages – Also known as special damages, these are quantifiable and objective financial losses that can be accurately calculated. They are usually substantiated by invoices, bills, and pay stubs, and so on. Economic damages may include things like medical expenses, lost wages or income, property damage, and any verifiable out-of-pocket expenses you incurred as a result of the injury, such as home modifications and transportation to medical appointments
2. Non-Economic Damages – these are subjective and non-monetary losses which are usually more difficult to quantify but impact your life in a significant manner. In fact, they tend to make up the largest component of damages in catastrophic injury cases. This includes things like pain and suffering, emotional distress e.g. anxiety, depression, insomnia and mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
3. Punitive Damages – these monies are typically awarded in rare cases to punish the defendant for their egregious, malicious or reckless conduct in order to deter similar behavior from other parties.

Discovery Terms in Injury Lawsuits

Once a personal injury claim is filed, the formal process starts, which is known as the discovery process. This is a phase where both sides exchange information for the purposes of trial or settlement negotiations.

Terms you should be aware of:

1. Interrogatories – these are written questions sent by one party to the other which you must answer truthfully and under oath. We shall work closely with you to prepare accurate and non-incriminating responses to the defense’s interrogatories and help craft our own for the purposes of obtaining essential information from the other party
2. Requests for Production of Documents – these are formal requests for documents that are relevant to the case such as medical records, billing statements, insurance policies, maintenance logs, accident reports, communication records such as texts and emails, and even personal financial records
3. Depositions – these are formal interviews where you provide sworn testimony outside of court and under oath in front of a court reporter. The opposing attorney will ask you questions, but we shall be there to protect your rights and object to any leading or incriminating questions.

Best Countrywide Injury Attorneys – Call Us Today!

There is so much we haven’t covered in this post when it comes to all the terms you may come across as a personal injury claimant that it would take a small booklet to go over. However, we would like to invite you to give us a call NOW at (314) 481-63338 so we can take a look at the particulars of your case and provide you with an estimate on the case’s worth as well as the next steps to take. You can call us from anywhere in the country, and there is no legal obligation or anything to sign. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to working for you.