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Glossary of Personal Injury Law Terms
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Legal Glossaries Main Page
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Lapsed Gift: A gift made in a will to a person
who has died prior to the will-makers death.
Larceny: Obtaining property by fraud or
deceit.
Law: The combination of those rules and
principles of conduct promulgated by legislative
authority, derived from court decisions and established
by local custom.
Law Clerks: Persons trained in the law who
assist judges in researching legal opinions.
Lawsuit or Suit: Generally, a court action
brought by one person, the plaintiff, against another,
the defendant , seeking compensation for some injury or
enforcement of a right.
Leading Case: Case regarded as having
determined the law on a particular point, thus becoming
a guide for later decisions.
Leading Question: A question that suggests the
answer desired of the witness. A party generally may not
ask one's own witness leading questions. Leading
questions may be asked only of hostile witnesses and on
cross-examination.
Legal Aid: Professional legal services
available usually to persons or organizations unable to
afford such services.
Legal Cause: Substantial factor in bringing
about the harm. See also proximate cause.
Legal Fiction: Assumption of a fact that may
or may not be true made by a judge to decide a legal
question.
Leniency: Recommendation for a sentence less
than the maximum allowed.
Letters of Administration: Legal document
issued by a court that shows an administrator's legal
right to take control of assets in the deceased person's
name.
Letters Testamentary: Legal document issued by
a court that shows an executor's legal right to take
control of assets in the deceased person's name.
Liability: An obligation that one is bound in
law to perform; usually involves the payment of money
damages.
Liable: Legally responsible.
Libel: Published words or pictures that
falsely and maliciously defame a person. Libel is
published defamation; slander is spoken.
Liberal construction: Judicial interpretation
of the law whereby the judge expands the literal meaning
of the statute to meet cases that are clearly within the
spirit or reason of the law. Compare with strict
construction whereby the judge adheres to the literal
meaning of the words.
Licensee: In civil law, a person who enters
land with consent, but nothing more.
Lien: A legal claim against another person's
property as security for a debt. A lien does not convey
ownership of the property, but gives the lien holder a
right to have his or her debt satisfied out of the
proceeds of the property if the debt is not otherwise
paid.
Limine: A motion requesting that the court not
allow certain evidence that might prejudice the jury.
Limited tort option: In Pennsylvania,
purchasers of motor vehicle insurance can choose
"limited tort," which restricts their right to
seek money damages for an accident caused by another
driver. Under limited tort, the insured can only seek
money damages for economic loss, including medical
bills. The insured is prohibited from seeking damages
for pain and suffering, except under certain limited
circumstances. Compare with full tort option.
Limited Jurisdiction: Refers to courts that
are limited in the types of criminal and civil cases
they may hear. For example, traffic violations generally
are heard by limited jurisdiction courts.
Litigant: A party to a lawsuit. Litigation
refers to a case, controversy, or lawsuit.
Living Trust: A trust set up and in effect
during the lifetime of the grantor. Also called inter
vivos trust.
Loss of consortuium: Damages awarded to a
family member (usually a spouse) for loss of
companionship. |
