Maryland Injury and Disability Law : Washington DC Metro Injury & Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Greenberg & Bederman : Accidents, Falls, Medical Malpractice : Maryland, DC, Virginia

In the interest of keeping clients and injury victims informed so they will be better prepared for any legal actions that may be initiated, we thought we would mention some key legal terms that occur often enough during legal proceedings. Knowing what these words mean can remove some of the mystery, and can help you move forward with your personal injury case with more confidence.

Plaintiff: In personal injury cases, the plaintiff is the person who believes that he or she has suffered an injury due to the actions or inactions of someone else, and as such feels that he or she deserves compensation for the injuries and any financial inconveniences (medical bills, lost wages from missed time at work, etc,) that the injury might have caused him or her. For instance, if you got injured by a car being driven by someone who was text messaging, and therefore missed the red light, you have every right to be a “Plaintiff” in a car accident case.

Defendant: The defendant is the person (or persons) who are being accused in court of doing something that directly contributed to the harm of the plaintiff. In our hypothetical case with the red light and the text messages, the defendant would be the person who was driving the car while using his phone. In some cases, the defendant’s insurance company could also qualify as co-defendants, in the event that they are being difficult or stubborn about offering a reasonable settlement for the plaintiff’s injuries and other damages.

Tort: This is what is known as a “civil crime.” (In other words, financial penalties can be levied on the “Tortfeasor,” or person who committed the tort, but he or she will not be likely to face criminal charges, unless the injury involved reckless driving or driving while intoxicated.) In most tort cases, a person’s property was damaged or a person was injured due to the actions (or inactions) of someone else. These damages weren’t necessarily done on purpose, but there are still damages to property or body for which the victim feels that compensation is deserved. Torts usually occur as the result of another quite important legal term:

Negligence: This is essentially the basis of most of the injury lawsuits that exist. It’s negligence that carries the day for the plaintiff in car accident cases, medical malpractice cases, premises liability cases, or product liability cases. Negligence is a standard that needs to be proven to either a judge or a jury, and what it means is that the defendant did not act in a way that a “reasonable person” would have. Furthermore, the defendant not acting as a “reasonable person” was what caused the accident. For instance, a “reasonable person” would not have run a red light because he would not have been texting while driving. The “reasonable person” model translates to other types of tort cases. Many malpractice cases use what is called a “standard of care” to determine whether or not the doctor or surgeon in question acted “reasonably.” Negligence often has to be proven in order for a personal injury case to be successful. What needs to be proven is that somebody did something “wrong,” and as a result someone else was injured. If that can’t be proven to a judge or jury, the case will probably not make it through to a successful verdict.

Statute of Limitations: In terms of civil cases, what this means is that if someone is in a situation where they feel that they need the aid of the law, they should act sooner rather than later. Statutes of limitations exist to limit the amount of time that victims have to file a lawsuit. There are reasons for this. A person could get hit by a car in January of 2005, but start to feel neck or back pain in May of 2008. The two things might be related, but so much time has passed that it seems unlikely that one caused the other. This is why it is important to talk to an attorney as soon as you possibly can after you have been injured due to someone else. The statutes vary from state to state, but it is better to be on the early side of a statute than a late one.

Contingency Fees: One of the major differences between you and an insurance company is that an insurer can quite easily hire an attorney that charges by the hour while you probably cannot. It is for this reason that the vast majority of personal injury attorneys operate under what is called a contingency fee. What this means is that the attorney will do the work at no hourly charge and will instead take a certain percentage of any money that is awarded in the event of a settlement or arbitration, or a judgment.

These are just a few of the legal terms that you will become familiar with as your case moves forward.  To read more legal terms, please click onlegal glossary. At Greenberg and Bederman, we make it our mission to keep our clients  informed about their options and the progress of their case throughout the duration of your personal injury case. It is for that reason that we maintain regular contact with our active clients, even if nothing is currently happening. We are always here to answer any question or concerns that you might have. We are not a “personal injury factory” who sign you on as a client and then forget all about you.

The law firm of Greenberg and Bederman has been successfully helping injury victims in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. for twenty five years. We help victims of car and truck accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, and any form ofpersonal injury where someone was injured due to the negligence of someone else.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free personal injury legal consultation today.