Glossary

Glossary of Terms for Accident Claims

TermDef­i­n­i­tion
Com­par­a­tive NegligenceA legal con­cept that appor­tions fault among involved par­ties based on their lev­el of respon­si­bil­i­ty for the acci­dent, poten­tial­ly reduc­ing the vic­tim’s compensation.
Con­trib­u­to­ry NegligenceA legal doc­trine in some juris­dic­tions that bars a plain­tiff from recov­er­ing dam­ages if they are found to have con­tributed to the acci­dent in any way.
Dimin­ished ValueThe decrease in a vehi­cle’s mar­ket val­ue after it has been in an acci­dent and repaired.
Insur­ance AdjusterA rep­re­sen­ta­tive of the insur­ance com­pa­ny who eval­u­ates claims, inves­ti­gates acci­dents, and nego­ti­ates set­tle­ments with claimants.
Lost WagesThe income that a vic­tim is unable to earn due to injuries sus­tained in an acci­dent, both past and future.
Med­ical ExpensesThe costs asso­ci­at­ed with med­ical treat­ments, ther­a­pies, and med­ica­tions nec­es­sary for a vic­tim’s recov­ery fol­low­ing an accident.
Pain and SufferingNon-eco­nom­ic dam­ages rep­re­sent­ing the phys­i­cal and emo­tion­al dis­tress a vic­tim expe­ri­ences due to injuries sus­tained in an accident.
Per­son­al Injury Pro­tec­tion (PIP)A type of insur­ance cov­er­age that pro­vides ben­e­fits for med­ical expens­es and lost wages, regard­less of fault, in no-fault insur­ance jurisdictions.
Prop­er­ty DamageThe dam­age sus­tained by a vic­tim’s per­son­al prop­er­ty (such as a vehi­cle) dur­ing an acci­dent, for which they may seek compensation.
Statute of LimitationsThe legal­ly pre­scribed time lim­it with­in which a vic­tim must file a claim or law­suit fol­low­ing a car acci­dent, which varies by jurisdiction.
Total LossA sit­u­a­tion in which the cost of repair­ing a dam­aged vehi­cle exceeds its pre-acci­dent mar­ket val­ue, lead­ing to the insur­ance com­pa­ny declar­ing the vehi­cle a total loss.
Under­in­sured Motorist CoverageA type of insur­ance cov­er­age that pro­tects the pol­i­cy­hold­er if they are involved in an acci­dent with a dri­ver who has insuf­fi­cient insur­ance to cov­er the damages.
Unin­sured Motorist CoverageA type of insur­ance cov­er­age that pro­tects the pol­i­cy­hold­er if they are involved in an acci­dent with a dri­ver who has no insurance.
Wrong­ful Death ClaimsA type of claim filed by the sur­viv­ing fam­i­ly mem­bers of a per­son who died as a result of a car acci­dent, seek­ing com­pen­sa­tion for dam­ages such as funer­al expens­es and loss of companionship.