Listen to this article
Estimated Loading...
Most legal glossaries copy each other’s definitions. They tell you that “pain and suffering” is “non-economic damages awarded for physical and emotional harm,” then stop. That technically-correct definition does not answer the question every injured claimant actually has: how does this term change what I get?
Each entry below has three sections: plain-English definition, how it works in practice, and the dollar-recovery implication. Sourced from primary statutes, federal regulations, and industry research where applicable.
Settlement Process
Negotiation, settlement structure, and post-settlement realities.
Demand Letter
also: Settlement demand, Demand package
A demand letter is the formal written document a personal injury claimant or attorney sends to the at-fault party’s insurer setting out the facts, injuries, treatment, damages, and a specific settlement amount being demanded.
Read entrySettlement Multiplier
also: Pain and suffering multiplier, Damages multiplier
A settlement multiplier is the factor (typically 1.
Read entryDamages
Categories of money you can be awarded — economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Pain and Suffering
also: Non-economic damages, General damages
Pain and suffering is the legal category that compensates a personal injury claimant for the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment caused by an accident.
Read entryLost Wages
also: Wage loss, Lost earnings
Lost wages are the income a claimant was unable to earn because of accident-related injuries — the second-largest economic damages category in most personal injury cases after medical bills.
Read entryPunitive Damages
also: Exemplary damages, Vindictive damages
Punitive damages are monetary awards paid above and beyond actual (compensatory) damages, intended to punish particularly bad conduct and deter similar future conduct rather than to compensate the claimant.
Read entryLoss of Consortium
also: Loss of companionship, Per quod claim
Loss of consortium is a derivative damages claim brought by the spouse (and in some states, parents or children) of an injured person, compensating for the loss of love, companionship, comfort, society, sexual relations, and household services caused by the underlying injury.
Read entryFuture Medical Costs
also: Future medical expenses, Future care costs
Future medical costs are the projected dollar value of all medical care a claimant will reasonably need from the date of settlement forward as a result of accident-related injuries — surgeries, ongoing therapy, medications, durable medical equipment, attendant care, and home modifications.
Read entryFault & Liability
How fault is assigned and how it changes what you recover.
Comparative Negligence
also: Comparative fault, Proportionate responsibility
Comparative negligence is the legal rule that determines how an injured claimant's own share of fault affects their recovery in a personal injury case.
Read entryContributory Negligence
also: Pure contributory negligence, Contributory fault
Contributory negligence is the strict common-law rule under which any fault on the claimant's part — even 1% — bars recovery in a personal injury case entirely.
Read entryEggshell Plaintiff (Eggshell Skull Rule)
also: Eggshell skull doctrine, Take the plaintiff as you find them
The eggshell plaintiff rule is the legal doctrine that holds the defendant liable for the full extent of injuries actually caused, even when the claimant's pre-existing condition made them unusually vulnerable to injury.
Read entryGross Negligence
also: Reckless conduct, Willful and wanton conduct
Gross negligence is conduct that goes substantially beyond ordinary negligence — a reckless disregard for the safety of others rather than a mere failure to exercise reasonable care.
Read entryVicarious Liability
also: Respondeat superior, Employer liability
Vicarious liability is the legal doctrine that holds one party (typically an employer or vehicle owner) financially responsible for the negligent acts of another party (typically an employee or driver acting on their behalf).
Read entryInsurance
Policy types, limits, and concepts that determine where the money comes from.
Medical Lien
also: Letter of Protection (LOP), Hospital lien
A medical lien is a legal claim that a hospital, doctor, or health insurer has on the proceeds of a personal injury settlement to recover medical costs they paid or extended on the claimant’s behalf.
Read entryPersonal Injury Protection (PIP)
also: PIP, No-fault insurance
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is a type of auto insurance coverage that pays the policyholder's own medical bills and lost wages after an accident, regardless of who caused it.
Read entryUninsured / Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM)
also: UM, UIM
UM/UIM is auto insurance coverage on the claimant's OWN policy that pays for injuries caused by an at-fault driver who has no insurance (UM) or whose insurance is insufficient to cover the full damages (UIM).
Read entryPolicy Limits
also: Policy maximum, Coverage limits
Policy limits are the maximum dollar amounts an insurance policy will pay for a covered claim, usually stated as a per-person limit and a per-occurrence (or per-accident) limit.
Read entryBad Faith (Insurance Bad Faith)
also: Bad-faith failure to settle, Bad-faith claims handling
Insurance bad faith is the legal claim that arises when an insurance company violates its duty to deal fairly with its insured (or in some states, with the claimant), most often by failing to settle a clear-liability claim within available policy limits when settlement was reasonable.
Read entrySubrogation
also: Right of subrogation, Subrogation claim
Subrogation is the legal right of an insurance company or other party that has paid for damages or losses to "step into the shoes" of the insured and recover those payments from the at-fault party.
Read entryMedical
Medical terms that show up in PI claims, with the settlement angle.
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
also: MMI, Maximum medical recovery
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is the point at which a claimant’s injury has healed as much as it is going to heal, even if symptoms remain.
Read entryWhiplash
also: Cervical strain, Cervical sprain
Whiplash is a soft-tissue neck injury caused by the rapid back-and-forth motion of the head during a sudden impact, most commonly a rear-end car accident.
Read entryTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
also: TBI, Concussion (mild TBI)
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is any disruption to normal brain function caused by an external force — a blow, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head.
Read entrySoft Tissue Injury
also: Sprain, Strain
Soft tissue injuries are injuries to muscles, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue that do not involve broken bones or major organ damage.
Read entryPre-Existing Condition
also: Prior injury, Prior medical condition
A pre-existing condition is any medical condition, injury, or impairment a claimant had before the accident that may overlap with or be aggravated by the injuries from the accident.
Read entryProcedural
Steps in the claim and lawsuit process.
Recorded Statement
also: Recorded interview, Sworn statement
A recorded statement is a question-and-answer interview, audio-recorded by an insurance adjuster, in which the claimant describes the accident and injuries under questioning.
Read entryStatute of Limitations
also: SOL, Limitations period
A statute of limitations is the legal deadline by which a personal injury lawsuit must be filed in court; missing it bars the claim entirely, regardless of how strong the underlying evidence is.
Read entryIndependent Medical Examination (IME)
also: IME, Defense medical exam
An Independent Medical Examination (IME) is a medical evaluation of the claimant conducted by a doctor selected and paid by the insurance company or defense, intended to dispute the treating physician's diagnosis, prognosis, treatment plan, or impairment rating.
Read entryWhy a glossary that talks about money
Standard legal glossaries (Black’s, Cornell LII, Wikipedia) own the “what does this term mean?” query. We don’t try to compete on that. We own a different question that legal glossaries don’t answer: given this term applies to my case, how does it change my settlement dollars?
Knowing that “Maximum Medical Improvement” means “the point at which further significant improvement is unlikely” is technically accurate but commercially useless to an injured person. Knowing that settling before MMI typically costs claimants 30–70% of their potential recovery is actionable.
Informational only and not legal advice. The settlement-dollar implications described in each entry reflect typical patterns observed in U.S. personal injury claims and may differ in any specific case. Confirm the analysis for your situation with a licensed attorney.