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. Mental Anguish Mental suffering. It is different from a physical injury, but may be considered in awarding damages. In some cases damages for mental anguish can be awarded even if no physical injury occured. Tinnitus Ear Ringing Together with other abnormal ear noises, ear ringing is medically called tinnitus. Buzzing, roaring, and pulsitile sounds are sometimes perceived when no sound is present in persons with tinnitus. 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. Loss of Consortium When a person is injured, that person's spouse may also have a valid claim for Loss of Consortium. Loss of consortium represent many things, including the spouse's loss of the injured person's assistance in caring for the family home and children, as well as the additional stress and strain placed upon the marital relationship by the physical injuries that were suffered. Vicarious Liability When a person who did not actually cause an injury is held for the injury. Sometimes called imputed liability. 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. Alternative Dispute Resolution An arbitration is a legal hearing, less formal than a trial, in which each side in a lawsuit or dispute offers evidence and testimony to a neutral hearing officer (the arbitrator). The arbitrator is typically an experienced attorney or a retired judge. 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. 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

Contact a personal injury attorney in Colorado now!

Get legal help for your injuries by hiring a lawyer in Colorado that you are sure will handle the case with respect to you and the legal profession. Hire a personal injury lawyer that has experience in your claim area.

	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.