Personal Injury Terms and Definitions

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide is often referred to as CO, which is its chemical symbol. This blocks oxygen from getting into your body, which can damage tissues in your body and can kill you. 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. Bodily Injury A cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or disfigurement; physical pain, illness, impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or any other injury to the body, no matter how temporary. 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. Paraplegia Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord. Acute condition Type of illness or injury that ordinarily lasts less than 3 months, was first noticed less than 3 months before the reference data of the interview, and was serious enough to have had an impact on behavior. Falls and Hip Fractures Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths (Murphy 2000) and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma Whiplash injury Hyperextension (over-extension) injury to the neck, often the result of being struck from behind, as by a fast-moving vehicle in a car accident. Ambulatory Surgery Ambulatory surgery refers to previously scheduled surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery center's general or main operating rooms Amicus curiae (Latin: "friend of the court.") Person or organization that files a legal brief with the court expressing its views on a case involving other parties because it has a strong interest in the subject matter of the action.

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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.