Personal Injury Glossary Terms: D - F

- D -

Damages: A monetary award that has been ordered to be paid to another party.

Decree: A decision that has been entered by the court. If the order is a final decree the litigation will be disposed of.

Defamation: A false or negative and derogatory statement regarding a person’s morals, values, character, abilities, and business persona or status.

Default: The action of failing to respond in a prescribed time allotment to a plaintiffs complaint or in the event in which a defendant does not appear in court after being officially notified to do so.

Defendant: A person that is accused in a court of law of committing an act which, as a direct result of those actions, caused another party to suffer a loss.

Deliberation: A deciding process that is recognized in the US court system whereby after the jury or court has reviewed the evidence and arguments in a case, a verdict is passed regarding the outcome of the jury’s decision.

Deposition: A preliminary meeting prior to a court case where the testimony of the witnesses and defendants are taken.

Direct Examination: The initial interrogatories that are given to a witness of the opposing party.

Discovery: The litigation process where information regarding the factual evidence in a case is requested to be produced by the opposing counsel.

Docket: A log book which contains the court proceedings.

Due Process: The guarantee in the United States Constitution Amendment XIV section 2 which states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without a fair and adequate process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

- E -

Evidence: Any form of proof which is provided to the court which supports the existence of a fact. Evidence may be presented in several forms such as testimony, documents, material objects or records.

Exclusion of Witnesses: An order given by the courts which requires that all witnesses are to remain outside of the actual courtroom until they are expressly requested to testify.

Exclusive Jurisdiction: States the proceeding can be filed in one single court exclusively.

Exhibit: A form of evidence that is provided to the court which may be presented as a document, paper, article or other form of presentation that may be used in proving facts of a case.

Ex Parte: Exclusively for one party. Under normal circumstances the courts are not permitted to engage in conversation with one party exclusively. There must be both parties present.

Expert Testimony: A testimony that is provided by a professional expert regarding specific scientific, technical or professional information of the evidence in order to support the given facts.

- F -

False Pretenses: A fact or circumstance that is not true and is construed as an act which misleads, or deceives to obtains monies, goods or services in an unethical manner.

Foundation: The establishing of a basis regarding the admissibility evidence. For instance, the qualifications of an expert witness being verified prior to accepting the witnesses’ testimony as valid professional opinion.

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