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We fully appreciate that our website is full of technical legal terms and the jargon will not stop coming once you start your claim. Your solicitor will guide you through all these complex turns of phrase during your claim but to help break through the legal language barrier, we’ve written up this handy glossary.
For additional guidance or to ask any questions you might have, get in touch with our advisors today using the contact information given here:
- Call the team on 0161 509 2856.
- You can also contact us by completing a callback form.
- Or open the live chat in the bottom corner of your screen.
Glossary Of Legal Terms
We can’t go through every legal term you may encounter during your claim, but we’ve done our best to be thorough.
Expert or Expert Witness
An expert, or expert witness as they’re sometimes referred to, is a person with a high level of situation-specific knowledge who is called upon during the claim to provide an assessment of what happened.
So for a case of medical negligence, other doctors may be asked what they would have done had you been a patient in their care.
Issue of Court Proceedings
A claim form is submitted to the court if the matter cannot be resolved outside of a trial. The form will then be served to the defendant as the official issuing of court proceedings, notifying them that the claim is going to trial.
Fees
Fees refer to the cost of a solicitor’s, or barrister’s services if the matter goes to court, during the claims process.
Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU)
The CRU is part of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and recovers benefits that were paid as a result of an accident if compensation has been paid out following a claim.
Defendant
The defendant(s) are the third party you are making your claim against. This could be your employer, the local authority, or another road user, depending on what type of claim you are making.
Limitation/Time Bar
A limitation or time bar refers to the expiry of the time limit to begin a claim. Per the Limitation Act 1980, you have 3 years to begin your claim. Once these 3 years elapse, if no claim has been started, the claim is said to be “time barred” and you can no longer seek compensation.
There are, however, exceptions that can apply to the general 3-year limit in certain circumstances. Our advisors can provide more details on these so get in touch today if you want to know more.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a Ministry of Justice funded agency that provides victims of violent crimes an avenue of claiming compensation. Claims for criminal injuries are made through the CICA and compensation is awarded in line with the fixed tariff from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.
No Win, No Fee Agreement
No Win No Fee agreements refer to any contract between claimant and solicitor where no fees are to be paid unless the claim is won.
Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)
A CFA is a specific type of No Win No Fee contract that was introduced by The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. A CFA also imposes a maximum 25% success fee, so you know that the majority of any payout you receive will go to you.
Success Fee
This is the fee taken by the solicitor as a capped percentage of the compensation in the event the case is won. The success fee amount will depend on the contract that has been signed between the solicitor and the claimant.
Protective Proceedings
When a claim is approaching the end of the limitation period, court proceedings can be issued “protectively” to stop the time limit from running out.
General Damages
General damages are one of the two heads of claim that compensation may be awarded under during a claim. Under general damages, you can receive compensation for the physical and psychological harm caused by the accident.
Special Damages
This is the other head of claim. Financial losses resulting from your injuries, such as a loss of earnings, care costs or travel expenses for example, can be reimbursed under special damages. It is also worth noting that because special damages payments are awarded for both current and future losses, it is very often the case that compensation awarded under this head of claim will be significantly higher than that paid out under general damages.
Trial
A trial, also referred to as court proceedings, is the final stage of a dispute. Most cases do not go to trial as it is expensive and time consuming so there is benefit to both parties to resolve the dispute before this. The solicitors for both parties will instruct barristers to present their arguments before the judge, a decision for the claimant or defendant is then given and the matter is considered resolved.
There are different types of trials. In civil matters, such as personal injury and medical negligence claims, the judge makes the decision themselves. In criminal trials, there is a jury who hand down the verdict, either guilty or not guilty.
Statement of Evidence
This is a written account of the facts of a dispute presented to the judge in court. This document is to inform the court of what evidence a party intends to bring to the court for consideration.
Litigation Friend
A litigation friend may be appointed in cases where the injured person is a minor or does not possess sufficient mental capacity to claim for themselves. A litigation friend has the authority to make decisions regarding the claim on behalf of the injured person.
Causation
The chain of cause and effect for a given incident. So, for a personal injury, the chain of causation could be: your employer failed to undertake the maintenance inspections in a workshop, a fault with one of the machines was therefore missed, and consequently, you suffered an injury to your hand when the machine malfunctioned.
Duty of Care
A legal requirement to keep a person or persons safe. Different parties owe different duties depending on the circumstances, as we’ll explain in the next few headings.
Breach of Duty
Where the duty of care is not met, this is referred to as a breach of duty. In order to claim compensation following an accident, you will need to demonstrate with clear evidence that there was a breach in the duty of care and that this breach caused you to be injured.
Liability
A legal responsibility. Anyone found liable for an incident is considered responsible for it occurring and any harm that has occured because of it.
Employers’ Liability
Employers’ liability is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The law requires that employers take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees. Accident at work claims can be made if an employer’s failure to meet their duty of care caused your injuries.
Occupier’s Liability
As per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the party in control of a public place, the occupier, must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of all visitors to the premises. You could be eligible to claim for an accident in a public place if that accident was caused by a failure to ensure your reasonable safety.
Public Liability
This refers to the legal responsibility to keep all visitors to your premises safe. A public liability claim is made against the occupier of the premises under the Occupiers’ Liability Act.
Interim Payments
The court can award interim payments in cases where compensation is likely to be awarded, but the claim has taken longer than expected, and the claimant has costs that mean they cannot wait for the compensation to be paid out. For example, if a mortgage payment is due and the claimant has been out of work, interim payments can be made to cover this expense. Any interim payments will be deducted from the final compensation amount.
Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB)
The Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB) is an organisation comprised of and funded by every insurer in the UK who’s aim is to combat uninsured drivers. If you are involved in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault and the responsible party had no insurance, failed to stop or is in a stolen vehicle, your claim is made through the MIB.
MIB claim amounts are calculated in the same way as other personal injury claims, and can include both general and special damages.
Contributory Negligence
Where the injured person is deemed to have contributed to their injuries to some degree.
Barrister
A barrister is a legal professional with specific training and qualifications that allow to present cases in court. This is referred to as advocacy. If your claim goes to court, your solicitor will contact a barrister who will then present the claim. Most barristers are self employed and work out of chambers, but some are employed directly by firms as their legal representatives.
Counsel
A “counsel” is the lawyer who presents the case in court. Most of the time, this will be a barrister, but not always. A barrister who is employed by a firm to be their legal representative is known as “in-house counsel.” Barristers who demonstrate significant knowledge and experience in their fields may be appointed as a King or Queen’s Counsel (KC/QC). This is informally known as “taking silk.”
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the professional regulator for all solicitors firms in England and Wales. Every law firm is required to be registered with the SRA and are expected to upload certain professional standards when providing legal services.
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who have completed the Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE) and undergone a training contract with a law firm. Their training gives them the right to carry out the reserved legal activities. In most cases, it will be a solicitor who is undertaking your claim.
Negligence
Negligence refers to a breach of duty that causes harm to an individual or individuals. There are many different types of negligence.
Pre-Action Protocol
The Pre-Action Protocols are the steps that must be followed during the claims process. The protocols differ for personal injury and clinical negligence cases.
We more than understand how intimidating these steps seem. However, if you are eligible to claim, a solicitor from Advice can undertake many of these tasks on your behalf and support you throughout the claims process. You can check your eligibility for free by contacting our advisors.
Compensation or Damages
Compensation refers to the sum of money awarded to the claimant if they win their case. That can be for the injuries themselves, the psychological impacts or the financial harm caused by the accident.
Non-monetary compensation can also be awarded, such as public apologies or ordering the defendant to attend a speed awareness course for example.
Letter of Claim
The letter of claim is a formal notification to the defendant that you are beginning litigation against them. It should clearly state what injuries were sustained and on what grounds the claim is being made.
Litigation
The process of taking a claim to court.
Claimant
The individual or party making the claim. Anywhere you see us discussing claimants, we could very well mean you!
Witness
A witness is someone who saw the incident occur. During the claims process, witnesses will be interviewed so their accounts of what happened can be used as evidence.
Admission of Liability
This is where the defendant admits responsibility for the incident.
Judgment
The final decision in a case, although the term can also refer to the written summary of the court’s decision. In civil claims, the decision is predominantly the judge’s alone. In criminal cases, the judgement is given by the jury.
Fundamental Dishonesty
Fundamental dishonesty means the claimant has misrepresented the facts of the case, exaggerated their injuries or financial losses, or, in some cases, told outright falsehoods about what happened. The claimant is then said to be fundamentally dishonest, and the claim can be struck out.
As well the claim being dismissed, the court can order the claimant to pay all legal costs, and refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on charges of contempt of court.
Settlement
The agreed upon final compensation amount that brings the matter to a formal close.
Need Further Help?
We’ve just thrown a lot of information at you, so do not worry if you have questions. Our team are available 24 hours to offer free advice, answer your queries and provide a no obligation assessment of your eligibility to claim.
Get in touch today using the contact information given here:
- Call the team on 0161 509 2856.
- You can also contact us by completing a callback form.
- Or open the live chat in the bottom corner of your screen.
We’d like to thank you for taking the time to browse our legal glossary.
