Injury and Accidents Glossary Terms

The common term for emotional damages experienced because of an injury, malpractice, defamation, or other issue. Pain and suffering may include embarrassment, harm to reputation, disfiguring scars, permanent physical disabilities, and other negative results of a legal problem. Financial awards or insurance settlements are sometimes calculated to compensate someone in consideration of “pain and suffering” they have experienced.

Patents protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions. A patent grants an inventor permission to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention in the United States or importing their invention into the United States. There are three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Typically, utility and plant patent last 20 years from filing and design patents have a term of 14 years. A utility patent will expire during its term unless appropriate maintenance fees are timely paid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents but the owner has to enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO. Patents are issued and enforced by country.

The party (individual) or entity who starts a lawsuit against another party (the defendant) in a court of law.