Glossary

TermDef­i­n­i­tion
Affi­davitA writ­ten state­ment, sworn to be true, which may be used as evi­dence in a court case.
Afford­abil­i­tyThe cost of hir­ing a lawyer and how it aligns with your budget.
Cat­a­stroph­ic injuryA severe, life-alter­ing injury result­ing from an acci­dent, such as brain trau­ma or spinal damage.
ClaimA for­mal request to an insur­ance com­pa­ny for cov­er­age or com­pen­sa­tion for a cov­ered loss.
Com­pas­sionThe abil­i­ty of a lawyer to empathize and pro­vide emo­tion­al sup­port dur­ing a dif­fi­cult time.
Com­par­a­tive negligenceA legal prin­ci­ple that assigns fault in a per­son­al injury case pro­por­tion­al­ly to each party.
Con­tin­gency feeA fee struc­ture where a lawyer only charges for their ser­vices if they win the case.
Dam­agesThe mon­e­tary com­pen­sa­tion award­ed to the injured par­ty in a per­son­al injury lawsuit.
Dis­cov­eryThe pre-tri­al phase of a law­suit in which both par­ties gath­er and exchange evidence.
Expe­ri­enceA lawyer’s knowl­edge and his­to­ry in deal­ing with truck acci­dent cases.
FMCSAFed­er­al Motor Car­ri­er Safe­ty Admin­is­tra­tion — the U.S. agency that reg­u­lates trucking.
Lia­bil­i­tyThe legal respon­si­bil­i­ty for one’s actions, which can result in dam­ages being awarded.
Lit­i­ga­tionThe process of tak­ing legal action through the courts to resolve a dispute.
Medi­a­tionA process where a neu­tral third par­ty helps dis­put­ing par­ties reach a set­tle­ment out­side of court.
Neg­li­genceA fail­ure to exer­cise rea­son­able care, result­ing in harm or injury to anoth­er person.
Per­son­al injuryA legal term refer­ring to an injury to the body, mind, or emo­tions as opposed to property.
Reli­a­bil­i­tyA lawyer’s con­sis­ten­cy, acces­si­bil­i­ty, and abil­i­ty to com­mu­ni­cate effec­tive­ly through­out the case.
ResultsA lawyer’s track record of suc­cess in truck acci­dent cases.
Set­tle­mentAn agree­ment reached by dis­put­ing par­ties to resolve a case with­out going to trial.
Statute of limitationsThe time lim­it with­in which a legal action must be tak­en in a per­son­al injury case.
Sup­port servicesAddi­tion­al ser­vices offered by a law firm, such as coun­sel­ing or ther­a­py, to help clients cope.
TortA wrong­ful act or infringe­ment of a right, lead­ing to civ­il legal liability.
Track recordThe his­to­ry of a lawyer’s suc­cess in han­dling cas­es sim­i­lar to yours.
Wrong­ful deathA legal claim aris­ing from a per­son­’s death caused by the neg­li­gence or mis­con­duct of another.