Have you been the victim of an injury that was the result of a preventable accident caused by a negligible individual? Are you about file a personal injury claim? If you have suffered injury, pain, or suffering at the expense of another person or company's negligence, you may be eligible for compensation from those responsible. As a personal injury attorney in Orlando, we assist many of our clients with their personal injury case so that they have the representation and legal counsel they need to get what they deserve. Before you get started with your personal injury case, there are a few terms that you'll want to become familiar with to help you better understand the entire process.
A plaintiff is the party, individual, company, or organization that is pursuing the civil lawsuit. When you file the claim, you are considered to be the plaintiff in the case.
On the other hand, the defendant is the individual or party that is being sued. They are the ones that are legally responsible for the negligence that resulted in the plaintiff's personal injury, pain, suffering, or wrongful death. In a personal injury case, there may actually be more than one defendant depending on the cause of the accident.
In court, torts are referring to the wrongful actions that are not considered to be a crime or a violation of a contract, but those that have still resulted in injury. If a tort ends up being "intentional," this can result in the defendant facing criminal and civil charges.
Damages refer to the compensation that the plaintiff is seeking in the case. This is typically an amount of money that will pay for the medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and many more financial components of the case.
Whenever you are considering filing a personal injury claim, you will want to understand the statute of limitations. This term refers to the amount of time you have to file your lawsuit. Typically, this is somewhere between two and four years depending on the state you live in.
Personal injury claims are often filed due to someone else's negligence. Understanding this term is critical to your case, as it will be what determines the outcome. In order to prove negligence, you must show that the other party had a responsibility to act with care and caution but that they failed to do so. Their negligence then resulted in your injury.
These are some of the legal terms that you'll want to know so that you can better understand the process of settling your personal injury case. Whenever you've been the victim of a personal injury, you will want to have the best personal injury attorney in Orlando to represent you. Contact us to schedule a consultation with our experience attorneys today.