The attorneys at Powell, Zero, Mundy have litigated all types of personal injury cases over the years. During the course of a personal injury lawsuit, clients encounter various unfamiliar legal terms related to their case. Here is part two of a primer explaining a few of these terms (I-R):

Interrogatory – A form of written discovery that is simply a type of question, which may be uniform or non-uniform, and which may be used by parties of a lawsuit to uncover information.

Lawsuit – A legal proceeding between two parties in a court of law.

Medical malpractice – Involves the delivery of care by a healthcare provider that does not meet the established standard of care and results in a patient’s injury or death.

Motion – Typically a written request, although it may be oral, by a party for a judge’s ruling on an issue.

Negligence – The failure to exercise the care toward others that a reasonable or prudent person would exercise under the circumstances

Pain and Suffering – Mental or physical stress for which a plaintiff may recover damages.

Plaintiff – The party who  initiates a lawsuit against a defendant.

Power of Attorney – A document giving someone legal authority to act on behalf of another for general, financial or medical purposes.

Product Liability – An area of personal injury law that addresses dangerous and defective products.

Request for Admissions – Part of the discovery process in a civil case comprised of a set of statements sent from one party to an opposing party, for the purpose of having the adversarial party admit or deny the statements or allegations therein.

Request for Production – This is a request for documents, electronically stored information, or other tangible items relevant to a lawsuit’s subject matter.