Contributory negligence

In common law it is the doctrine that if a claimant’s negligence played a part – no matter how small – in that person’s injury then they are barred from seeking compensation.

Comparative negligence

The doctrine whereby all the participants’ involvement in a negligence case is assessed and on that basis it is decided who is the more negligent. For example, if a court decides that the claimant is 25% responsible then any award will be 25% less than if they had been entirely free from negligence.

Collateral Source Rule

The legal doctrine that payments received from alternative sources, such as insurance, should not be held against the claimant and thus allowing to the defendant to escape full responsibility for any damages.

Tort

From the French word for “wrong”, tort is an action that results in injury – whether accidental or with intent. Tort is generally a civil action as opposed to a criminal action, although some tort can also be crimes, for example wrongful death.

Tortfeasor

A person who commits an act of tort whether through negligence or intent.

Joint and several liability

Where there are more than one defendant, they may be classified as jointly liable, that is that they share liability and any one of the defendants is liable for payment of all damages.

Statute of limitations

The timeframe in which a case can be brought

Punitive damages

Damages that are intended as punishment.

Non-economic damages

Damages that are not related to lose of income, but rather pain and suffering, psychological trauma etc.

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability