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Interrogatories
A form of discovery in which one party submits a series of written questions to the other party, and to which the latter is bound to answer under oath.
Medical negligence
Failure of a physician or other medical personnel to meet the standards of conduct for duties relating to the medical profession. Those standards are based on what a reasonable person with the requisite knowledge and skills would or would not do.
Assumption of risk
In the law of negligence, as a defense, a defendant's allegation that the injured plaintiff recognized the danger of the plaintiff's course of action but, nonetheless, willingly chose to risk such danger.
Collateral source rule
Under this rule, compensation awarded to an injured party shall not be reduced by the amount of compensation available to him from his insurance company or other independent sources.
Joint-and-several liability
Liability in which each liable party is individually responsible for the entire obligation. Under joint-and-several liability, a plaintiff may choose to seek full damages from all, some, or any one of the parties alleged to have committed the injury.
Punitive damages
Damages awarded in addition to compensatory (economic and noneconomic) damages to punish a defendant for willful and wanton conduct.
Terminal sedation
Terminal sedation is the use of high doses of sedatives to relieve extremes of physical distress. Its purpose is to render the patient unconscious to relieve suffering until the patient dies from his or her disease processes and their complications.
Duty of Care
Once a doctor or health care professional agrees to diagnose or treat a patient, he or she has assumed a duty of care toward that patient.
Arbitration
A process for deciding a legal dispute out of court; a substitute for an ordinary trial.
Miscarriage
When circumstances cause the mother's body to react to a problem in the pregnancy. This may cause bleeding, cramping, and will ultimately cause the loss of the pregnancy.
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