Your Personal Injury Glossary: Terms You Need to Know

Oct 30, 2026 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

If you are injured by the negligence of another party in Alabama, you may be able to file a lawsuit and recover damages. Car accident and medical malpractice lawsuits fall under personal injury lawsuits, a branch of civil law. To recover on a personal injury claim, a plaintiff must show the following legal elements:

• The plaintiff was owed a duty of care by the defendant
• The defendant breached that duty of care
• The breach of the duty was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries
• The injury was compensable

If you are considering bringing a personal injury lawsuit, you should be familiar with the terms and concepts involved.

Personal Injury Terms and Concepts

Breach of the Duty of Care – A breach of the duty of care is deemed to occur legally when a person fails to meet the standard of behavior of a reasonable person. 

Causation – Causation is a critical element in establishing liability in a personal injury case. Causation means the defendant’s negligent action led directly to the plaintiff’s injuries. For example, if you were injured when a driver failed to yield at a stop sign, you must show that without the defendant’s negligent behavior, you would not have been injured. Causation can be hard to prove because it is often subjective and nuanced.

Contributory Negligence – This is an extremely important concept to understand if you are suing in an Alabama court. Contributory negligence is the situation where a plaintiff is deemed by the judge or jury to have shared some negligence for his accident or injury. For example, if you fell down the stairs of a public building while texting, you may be deemed contributorily negligent. This is so important in Alabama because the state is a “pure contributory negligence” state, meaning that if you shared any responsibility for your losses, you will be barred from recovering any damages. This differs from the vast majority of other states that follow comparative negligence, which allows the defendant and the plaintiff to share fault and lets the plaintiff recover reduced damages based on their share of fault.

Damages – If you prevail in a personal injury lawsuit, you may be entitled to three types of damages. Economic damages are your out-of-pocket costs and include past and future lost wages, medical care, rehabilitation costs, and similar types of costs. Non-economic damages, sometimes called pain and suffering damages, include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of companionship and consortium, and other losses that are harder to quantify. In some cases, your Tuscaloosa personal injury attorney will advise that punitive damages should be sought. In Alabama, punitive damages may be ordered when the defendant has exhibited a reckless disregard for the safety of others. Under Alabama law, punitive damages are capped at three times compensatory damages – economic and non-economic – or $1.5 million, whichever is greater. However, if the defendant knowingly committed fraud or intentionally hid evidence, punitive damages have no cap.

Defendant – In a civil case, this is the party being sued by the plaintiff. 

Discovery – Discovery is the phase of a personal injury action where each party collects information from the other side. Discovery can include documents, written answers to questions, or depositions.

Docket – The docket is a written chronological list, maintained by the Clerk of Court, of what has happened in the case. 

Duty of Care – The duty of care is the legal obligation that a person has to another to act in a reasonably safe manner. For example, vehicle drivers have a duty of care to follow traffic laws, and property owners have a duty of care to keep their premises reasonably safe for people lawfully on their property. 

Interrogatory – An interrogatory is one party’s written question to another party that is asked as part of discovery.

Mediation – Mediation is a process where the parties attempt to reach a settlement without going to trial, often with the help of a trained third-party neutral.

Negligence – Negligence is a critical element in proving a personal injury case. It refers to the failure to act with reasonable care. To prove negligence, a plaintiff must show the elements listed above: that the defendant had a duty to the plaintiff; that the duty was breached; that the breach caused the injury; and that the injury is compensable.  

Plaintiff – The plaintiff is the injured party who starts the personal injury action by filing a complaint in an Alabama court. 

Pleadings – Pleadings are the written statements filed by the plaintiff and the defendant that set forth their respective factual or legal assertions about the case. Pleadings may comprise a complaint, an answer, a motion, or a brief.

Scheduling Conference – A scheduling conference is held with the court, either in person or remotely, and involves the attorneys representing the parties to the litigation. The purpose of the scheduling conference is to discuss how the case will proceed.

Statute of Limitations – The statute of limitations sets forth the period of time within which a lawsuit must be brought. In Alabama, personal injury actions must be brought within two years of the accident or incident. Exceptions exist, such as for wrongful death claims and claims against a government entity. The clock is paused on minors until they reach adulthood. 

Contact Cross & Smith, LLC for Immediate Assistance With Your Case

At Cross & Smith, we have years of experience litigating and mediating personal injury lawsuits for our clients. We have the depth and breadth to ensure that you receive the best financial result possible. Contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you.