Lawyers New - If you've ever been involved in a lawsuit, you know that lawyers and legal suits have their own language, and that it can be difficult to understand what they're talking about if you don't have a law degree.
At LawyersNew, we understand this and we want to help our clients and others involved in the legal system to better understand some key legal terms.
That's why we've put together this list of 12 legal terms that you need to know. By learning these terms, you'll not only be better equipped to understand what's happening in your own case, but you'll also be able to better understand legal news stories that you might come across.
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In the following, 12 legal terms that you need to know more about are:
Credibility refers to the ability to appear honest and trustworthy when telling your side of the story. In a legal setting, credibility is especially important, as it can often be the deciding factor in a case.
If you are credible, your case is more likely to be successful. However, if you are not credible, your case is more likely to fail.
It's important to be honest and open with your lawyer throughout your case, as your credibility will be constantly at issue.
Damages refer to the amount of money that a client recovers in a lawsuit. Damages can be broken down into economic damages (such as lost wages and out of pocket expenses) and non-economic damages (such as physical injuries and emotional distress).
The idea behind damages is to compensate the injured party for the losses they have suffered.
A default occurs when a party fails to do something that is required by the rules of court or statutes (law). When this happens, the court can bar that party from advancing claims or defenses in the case.
Defaults can be a valuable tool in a lawsuit, but they are often lifted by judges when the party complies with the requirement in question.
The defendant is the person who is being sued or the person defending themselves in a lawsuit.
While defendants can bring their own claims against the person suing them (called counterclaims), they are generally thought of as the person accused of wrongdoing.
Discovery is the process by which both sides of a lawsuit can request information from the other side about the case.
There are various types of discovery devices that the law allows, including interrogatories (written questions that must be answered under oath), requests for production (requests for documents or things that might relate to the case), depositions (formal question and answer sessions), and requests for admission (documents where a party is asked to admit or deny a specific fact).
A docket is the way the court keeps track of a case. It can refer to the docket for a particular case or to the court's entire docket of cases.
The docket will include information such as the names of the parties, the dates of important events in the case, and the status of the case.
It's important to keep track of the docket in your own case so that you know what's happening and what steps you need to take next.
A judgment is the court's final decision in a case. The judgment will state who has won the case and what remedies (such as damages) are available.
Once a judgment is entered, it becomes a binding legal decision that both parties must abide by.
The plaintiff is the person who initiates a lawsuit. The plaintiff will typically be seeking some form of relief, such as damages or an injunction.
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Pleadings are the written documents that are filed with the court at the beginning of a lawsuit. The plaintiff will file a complaint, which sets out the claims against at its most basic, Negligence is defined as follows:
A party has a duty to another person – like a driver has a duty to remain in his own lane;
A party breaches (or breaks) the duty – like the driver who crosses over the yellow line;
The breach of the duty causes injury (this is also called causation); and
The “innocent” party suffers a compensable injury (damages).
However, negligence can also be applied to a whole range of situations, from failure to shovel snow off stairs, to failure to maintain a deck, to failure to properly represent facts in a business deal, to many other scenarios.
Malpractice is a complicated term. In order for us to prove that a doctor to committed malpractice, we need to prove four things:
The doctor had a duty to provide care to the patient;
The doctor failed to provide care in accordance with the standard in the community;
The doctor’s failure to provide treatment within the standard of care was, to a reasonable medical probability, a substantial cause of the injury suffered (this is also called causation); and
The patient/client suffered a compensable injury (damages).
A Structured Settlement is a financial device most often used to resolve personal physical injury claims or lawsuits.
They work by taking the money that would otherwise be paid in a lump sum and investing it so there is a stream of payments over a period of time.
A structured settlement is usually funded by the defendant buying annuities from highly-rated life insurance companies.
If a structured settlement is used to fund a personal physical injury claim, it provides the payments tax-free.
A structured settlement can be used to settle non-personal injury claims too. Sometimes, we use structured settlements to protect the recovery from potential creditors as well.
To testify means to make a statement (or testimony) under oath, whether it be at trial, at a deposition or in an affidavit (a written statement made under oath).
When we talk about people testifying credibly, we mean that their testimony was both truthful and believable.
those are 12 legal terms you need to know, lawyersnew version. if there is anything that needs to be added maybe you can comment below.
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