Personal Injury, Work Comp, & Social Security Disability Legal Terms
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D
damages. Money payment recovered in the courts for an injury or loss caused by an unlawful act or omission or negligence of another.
declaratory judgment. Judicial adjudication of the rights of the parties in a lawsuit made to clarify the parties' legal positions.
decree. Declaration of the court announcing the legal consequences of the facts found. See also order, judgment.
defendant. In civil law, the party defending a lawsuit ; the party against whom the plaintiff seeks to recover damages from.
demurrer. Defendant's claim that even if the allegations in a complaint are true, they are not sufficient to impose any liability on the defendant.
deposition. Testimony of a witness taken under oath, but not in a courtroom. May be used to discover evidence prior to trial or to preserve testimony for use in court at a later time.
dicta. Plural of "obiter dictum." A remark made by a judge in a legal opinion that is irrelevant to the decision and does not establish a precedent.
direct evidence. Generally, eyewitness evidence. Compare with circumstantial evidence.
disability. In the legal sense, lack of legal capacity to perform some act. Used in a physical sense in connection with workers' compensation acts and is a composite of (a) actual incapacity to perform employment tasks and the wage loss resulting therefrom and (b) physical bodily impairment which may or may not be incapacitating.
disfigurement. A technical term in workers' compensation cases for a serious and permanent scar to the head, neck, or face.
dismissal with prejudice . Final judgment against the plaintiff which prohibits bringing an action on the same cause of action in the future. In contrast, "dismissal without prejudice" allows the plaintiff to sue again for the same cause of action.
doctrine of avoidable consequences or mitigation of damages. Imposes a duty on victims of a tort to take reasonable steps to minimize their damages after an injury has been inflicted.
dram shop. A drinking establishment where alcoholic beverages are served to be drunk on the premises.
Dram Shop Act. In Pennsylvania, this statute imposes liability on drinking establishments, like bars and restaurants, for harm resulting from the establishment's service of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons.
duty. In negligence cases, a "duty" is an obligation to conform to a particular standard of care. A failure to so conform places the actor at risk of being liable to another to whom a duty is owed for an injury sustained by the other of which the actor's conduct is a legal cause. See reasonable man doctrine.
