Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Punitive damages Also called exemplary damages, which are designed to punish a defendant whose behavior in causing the plaintiff's injuries was especially egregious. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide is often referred to as CO, which is its chemical symbol. This blocks oxygen from getting into your body, which can damage tissues in your body and can kill you. Liable Legally responsible. For example, a person may be liable for a debt, liable for an accident due to careless behavior, liable for failing do something required by a contract or liable for the commission of a crime. 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. Trauma Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. Quadriplegia Complete paralysis of the body from the neck down, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord. Whiplash injury Hyperextension (over-extension) injury to the neck, often the result of being struck from behind, as by a fast-moving vehicle in a car accident. Asbestos Lawsuit Asbestos has been shown to cause a form of cancer called mesothelioma and this has produced many lawsuits agains manufacturers and users of asbestos. 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. 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.

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	Did You Know?
	There are four general types of slip and fall accidents Trip-and-fall accidents, where there is a foreign object in the walking path. Stump-and-fall accidents, where there is an impediment in the walking surface. Step-and-fall accidents, where there is an unexpected failure or hole in the walking surface Slip-and-fall accidents, in which the interface of the shoe and the floor fails Both the property owner as well as the injured person can be held to varying degrees of responsibility for an injury.