Legal Dictionary

Legal Dictionary

There are a plethora of legal terms involved in your case. Our legal dictionary helps define terms that can become confusing from A-Z.

Pain and Suffering

Symptoms resulting from an injury which may vary person by person or by the extent of a victim’s injury. Examples of how pain and suffering may take form include: physical and mental distress over an injury, agony or grief from the loss of a loved one, the difficulty processing a major life change, depression, embarrassment […]

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Permanent Disability (PD)

Any lasting disability that results in a reduced earning capacity, or that will affect your overall health or quality of life, after maximum medical improvement has been reached.

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Permanent disability rating (PDR)

A percentage estiment of the level an injury will limit the type of work you are able to do in the future.  Your PDR is based on several factors including: your current medical condition and prognosis, date of injury, age when injured, occupation when injured, how much of the disability is caused by the job […]

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Premises Liability

Businesses open to the public must act to protect all parties from unreasonably hazardous conditions and activities on their land.  If they fail to do so, a plaintiff may bring a suit under the area of law known as premises liability.

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Products Liability

Businesses who manufacturer, distribute, or sell unreasonably dangerous products may be liable for personal injury, property damage, and other harm caused by their products. Plaintiffs may be able to bring a claim under several theories of law including: breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranty; negligence; or strict liability.

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Proof of service

A form used to show important documents have been sent to specific parties.

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Proximate Cause

A cause that is a reasonably foreseeable result.  Insurance companies, judges or juries, may use several methods to determine whether an action was a proximate cause, including: consideration of whether the action was a direct and natural result; consideration of the chain of causation; and whether or not there were any unforeseeable intervening events.

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Punitive Damages

Punitive Damages /ˈpjunətɪv ˈdæmɪdʒ/ A form of damages awarded to plaintifs that are intended to deter further misconduct by the defendant. Punitive damages are not strictly measured by the actual injury suffered by the plaintiff. See also: General damages.

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Case Results

  • $300,000: Recovery for a Shooting Victim
  • $8,600,000: Auto Accident Judgment
  • $500,000: Head-on Collision
  • $1,400,000: Motorcycle Accident
  • $1,600,000: Car Rollover
  • $290,000: Minor Injured in ATV Accident
  • $725,000: Auto Accident by car running stop sign; multiple blunt force injuries resulting in death
  • $529,000: Workers Compensation

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Testimonials

Douglas H

I don’t know how my wife and I could have navigated my recovery from a spinal cord injury/auto accident and the accompanying legal and insurance complexities without the help of Gary and his staff. From the day following my injury, they guided, advocated on my behalf, and managed to track all of my medical bills. […]

KE & SE

Kent & Deanna were wonderful!

Crystal M

I used Patterson Legal Group for my disability case and I can’t begin to say enough good things about the entire team. My husband had success getting his disability case won when using them so, I knew right away I would use them as well. I spoke primarily with Nicole and Stephanie up until my […]

Debbie S

They were very understanding of my issues and worked with me to complete the necessary forms and documents. This process took several months and they kept in touch with me and kept me informed through the whole process. My attorney was always available to answer any questions that came up and she was very prompt […]

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