Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Managed care Any system that manages healthcare delivery with the aim of controlling costs. Managed care systems typically rely on a primary care physician who acts as a gatekeeper through whom the patient has to go to obtain other health services such as specialty medical care, surgery, or physical therapy. 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. Wrongful Death Wrongful Death is defined as the death of an individual as a direct result of the negligence of another individual, company, or entity. 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. 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. Soft Tissue Injury Injury to the ligaments, tendons and fibers of the body that connect the skeletal bones. Disfigurement A technical term in workers' compensation cases for a serious and permanent scar to the head, neck, or face. Occupational Disease An illness resulting from long-term employment in a particular type of work, such as mesothelioma (a type of cancer) from workers exposed to 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. 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.

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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.