Why does an insurer use words like this?

Mostly not to confuse you. These are the working terms of the field, and an adjuster uses them all day. The problem is that a few of them decide real things about a claim, and the difference between the ones that matter and the ones that are just jargon is not obvious from outside.

Which of these actually change what happens to my claim?

The deadlines change everything, and cannot be argued about afterwards. Policy limits decide whether there is anything to claim against. Comparative fault decides how much of it you keep. Those three do more work than the rest combined.

Is this legal advice?

No. These are definitions and general explanations. What any of them means for a particular case depends on facts a page cannot know.

Plain-English glossary of California injury terms

Reviewed by Slick Nick, California licensed attorney · State Bar #324789 · Last updated September 2, 2026

These are the words other people will use at you — adjusters, defence lawyers, doctors writing reports, and the forms you are asked to sign. Each entry says what the term means and what it does to a claim, which is the part that usually goes unexplained. This is general information, not legal advice.

Three of them do more work than all the others together. The deadline cannot be argued about after it passes. Policy limits decide whether there is anything to claim against at all. And comparative fault decides how much of it you keep. If you read three, read those.

Fault and responsibility

Who is responsible, and how the law decides it.

Comparative fault: Your share of the blame reduces what you recover — it does not end your claim.
Duty of care: The obligation to use reasonable care — the first thing a negligence claim has to establish.
Negligence per se: Breaking a safety law creates a presumption of negligence, which the other side can rebut.
Proximate cause: The link between the careless act and your injury — in California, whether it was a substantial factor.
Res ipsa loquitur: "The thing speaks for itself" — some accidents do not happen without negligence, and the law lets a jury infer it.
Tortfeasor: The person or company that committed the wrong. Lawyers say it; nobody else does.

Damages

The categories a claim is actually made of.

Future medicals: The cost of the care you will still need after the case is over.
General damages: The losses with no receipt — pain, suffering, and what the injury took out of your life.
Loss of consortium: A spouse's own claim for what your injury did to the marriage.
Mitigation of damages: Your obligation to take reasonable steps to limit your own losses.
Special damages: The losses you can add up — medical bills, lost earnings, property damage.

Money out of a recovery

Who else has a claim on what comes in, and what your lawyer is paid.

Contingency fee: The lawyer is paid a share of what is recovered, and nothing if there is no recovery.
Lien: A right to be paid out of your recovery before you see it.
Quantum meruit: "As much as deserved" — what a discharged lawyer is paid for work already done.
Subrogation: An insurer that paid your bills steps into your shoes to recover from whoever caused the loss.

Insurance

Coverage words that decide whether there is anything to claim against.

Bad faith: An insurer's unreasonable handling of a claim it owes a duty of good faith on.
Med-pay: Optional coverage on your own auto policy that pays medical bills regardless of fault.
Policy limits: The most an insurance policy will pay, whatever the claim is worth.
Stacking: Combining the limits of more than one policy or vehicle — and in California, mostly not allowed.
Underinsured motorist: Coverage that fills the gap when the other driver had insurance, but not enough.
Uninsured motorist: Coverage on your own policy for when the driver who hit you had none — including a hit-and-run.

Deadlines

The clocks that end claims, and the narrow things that stop them.

Discovery rule: For some claims the clock starts when you knew or should have known you were harmed.
Statute of limitations: The deadline to file a lawsuit. Miss it and the claim is gone, however good it was.
Tolling: Pausing the deadline clock. It happens in narrow, defined situations.

Medical and expert terms

Words from the medical side of a case that end up deciding its value.

Impairment rating: A percentage figure expressing how much function you have permanently lost.
Independent medical examination: An examination by a doctor the other side chose. The word "independent" is doing a lot of work.
Life care plan: A costed schedule of the care a seriously injured person will need for the rest of their life.
Maximum medical improvement: The point where your condition has stabilised and further recovery is not expected.

Court and process

What happens to a case once it is filed.

Demand letter: The written presentation of a claim to an insurer, with the evidence, asking them to pay.
Fast track: Case management aimed at moving civil cases along to a decision without unnecessary delay.
Final status conference: The hearing shortly before trial where the court checks that everyone is actually ready.
Release: The document that ends the claim. Signing it is the point of no return.

All 32 terms, alphabetically

Common questions

Why does an insurer use words like this?: Mostly not to confuse you. These are the working terms of the field, and an adjuster uses them all day. The problem is that a few of them decide real things about a claim, and the difference between the ones that matter and the ones that are just jargon is not obvious from outside.
Which of these actually change what happens to my claim?: The deadlines change everything, and cannot be argued about afterwards. Policy limits decide whether there is anything to claim against. Comparative fault decides how much of it you keep. Those three do more work than the rest combined.
Is this legal advice?: No. These are definitions and general explanations. What any of them means for a particular case depends on facts a page cannot know.

Start a case review call

On a case review call, I go through the facts with you: what happened, when, whether you were hurt, whether anyone represents you, and how to reach you. It is not legal advice, and I will not put a value on your claim.

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Sources: each term page carries its own citations. Where a term has no statute or case behind it — ordinary practice vocabulary such as maximum medical improvement or a life care plan — the page says so rather than attaching an authority that does not fit.