Personal Injury Legal Glossary
Glossary of Personal Injury Terms
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Habeas Corpus: A writ commanding that a
person be brought before a judge. Most commonly, a writ
of habeas corpus is a legal document that forces law
enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are
holding and to legally justify his or her confinement.
Harmless Error: An error committed during a trial that
was corrected or was not serious enough to affect the
outcome of a trial and therefore was not sufficiently
harmful (prejudicial) to be reversed on appeal.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): A type of managed
health care system that contracts with medical
facilities, physicians, employers, and sometimes
individuals to provide medical care to a group of people
known as "members." Generally, members of HMOs don't
have any significant "out-of-pocket" expenses because
the medical care is most often paid for by an employer
at a fixed price per patient.
Hearing: A proceeding usually without a jury.
Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear
the incident in question but heard about it from someone
else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in
court.
Hemorrhagic Stroke: Occurs when an artery in the brain
tears or bursts, causing blood to spill out.
HMO Negligence: Generally, a type of medical malpractice
that can be defined as the carelessness of an HMO,
acting through its physicians, in making treatment
decisions for a member that results in injury to that
member.
Homeowner's Insurance: Policy that insures individuals
against any, some, or all of the risks of loss to
personal dwellings or the contents of personal dwellings
or the personal liability pertaining to personal
dwellings.
Hostile Witness: A witness whose testimony is not
favorable to the party who calls him or her as a
witness. A hostile witness may be asked leading
questions and may be cross-examined by the party who
calls him or her to the stand.
Hung Jury: A jury whose members cannot agree upon a
verdict.
Hurt on the Job: In order to establish a right to
workers' compensation benefits, there must be an
employment relationship during which an accident or an
injury arises in the course of employment and is related
thereto, and includes aggravation, reactivation,
acceleration or death resulting from the injury.
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