Contingency Agreement
Most personal injury attorneys will take personal injury cases are taken on contingency fee basis. This means that if you recover any money from the person that injured you the attorney will receive a percentage of that recovery as payment for his services.
Settlement
A settlement agreement is an agreement between both parties in a lawsuit or claim.
Liability
Liability is the state of being responsible for something. An obligation one is obligated to by law to perform; usually involves the payment of monetary damages .
Defendant
A defendant is a person accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or a person against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Petitioner
A petitioner is a person who makes a formal application to a court for a writ, judicial action in a suit, etc.
Declaration Page
An insurance declaration page is a document that forms part of your insurance contract, referred to as the”DEC page” of your insurance policy, it outlines the details of who is insured, what is insured, how much it is insured for, and how long the insurance policy is valid for. Generally it is the first page of the insurance policy, and it outlines the coverages in your contract.
Policy Limits
This refers to the maximum amount of money the insurance company is responsible for. For example, if you buy a car insurance policy that has a $30,000 limit, the insurance company is going to pay out only $30,000.
It is important to understand the vocabulary that your attorney or paralegal is throwing at you. These words are frequently used while handling claim among many others. When unsure of a word or phrase it is important that you ask the attorney or paralegal to explain to you what the meaning is, as it could potentially affect your case. Remember they are there to help.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Brandy Austin Law Firm PLLC for their insight into personal injury vocabulary.