Injury and Accidents Glossary Terms

In common law, the law that details the maximum period of time that legal proceedings may be enacted after certain events. The statute of limitations will vary by the event and by state and country. In civil law, these legally maximum periods of time to begin legal proceedings are referred to as “periods of prescription”.

An agreement for the financial settlement of a lawsuit to be paid out in installments rather than in a lump sum. Structured settlements usually result from large settlements and are often created through the purchase of annuities. The payments can be structured in any way the parties choose (monthly, yearly, quarterly, etc.). Structured settlements are common in large recovery cases, often in anticipation of long-term financial and health care costs.

This literally means substitution. In law, it refers to the fact that once a person or entity (i.e. insurance company) has paid expenses or a debt for someone else, they can then assume the legal rights of that person related to that debt. For instance, after a car accident, if an insurance company has paid for property damages and personal injuries for their client, they can then turn around and sue the other motorist responsible for causing the accident. Subrogation comes up often when an insurance company’s client has been in an accident with an uninsured motorist. It also can also arise when the injured party is required to reimburse the insurance company or hospital for medical expenses from their award.