Glossary of Personal Injury Law Terms
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Joint and Several Liability: Refers to a
plaintiff's ability to sue one or more defendants
separately or all together at his or her option. Permits
a group of defendants to be held both individually and
collectively liable for all damages suffered by the
plaintiff. The plaintiff can recover the entire amount
of damages from one defendant, even if all of the
defendants are liable.
For incidents arising after August 17, 2002: Due to a
new Pennsylvania law, joint and several liability has
been changed so that a plaintiff may no longer be able
to collect all his damages from one defendant, even if
more than one defendant is found responsible. A
percentage of fault will be assessed against each
defendant and, unless a defendant's negligence is 60% or
greater, an at fault defendant will be responsible for
only its percentage of fault.
Joint Tenancy: A form of legal co-ownership of
property (also known as survivorship). At the death of
one co-owner, the surviving co-owner becomes sole owner
of the property. Tenancy by the entirety is a special
form of joint tenancy between a husband and wife.
Judge: Workers' compensation judges are
appointed and are representatives of the Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and Industry. They conduct hearings
in an administrative proceeding for workers'
compensation cases.
Judgment: Official decision of a court
resolving the issues in a legal action and stating the
rights and obligations of the parties. See also decree,
order.
Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (n.o.v.): An
order by the trial judge entering a judgment in a manner
contradictory to the jury’s verdict. This is granted
only when the verdict is unreasonable and unsupportable.
Judicial: Pertaining to a judge.
Judicial Notice: The procedure by which a judge
recognizes the existence of the truth of a certain fact
having bearing on the case without the production of
evidence because such fact is established by common
notoriety. For example, if the accident happened on
Thanksgiving, the judge can take judicial notice that
the accident happened on a Thursday.
Judicial Review: The authority of a court to
review the official actions of other branches of
government. Also, the authority to declare
unconstitutional the actions of other branches.
Jurisdiction: The legal right by which judges
exercise their authority.
Jurisprudence: The study of law and the
structure of the legal system.
Jury: Persons selected according to law and
sworn to inquire into and declare a verdict on matters
of fact. A petit jury is an ordinary or trial jury,
composed of six to 12 persons, which hears either civil
or criminal cases.
Jury Commissioner: The court officer
responsible for choosing the panel of persons to serve
as potential jurors for a particular court term.
Justiciable: Issues and claims capable of
being properly examined in court.
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