Glossary
The words of plaintiff practice, defined and cited.
Personal injury, workers' comp and employment terms, each with the rule behind it and why it matters to a plaintiff firm.
A
- Workers' compADJ numberThe case number for a California workers' comp case in EAMS once WCAB jurisdiction is invoked, written as ADJ followed by digits.
- EmploymentAdverse employment actionAn employer action that materially affects the terms, conditions or privileges of a job, such as firing, demotion, a pay cut or a pattern of lesser acts.
- Workers' compAgreed Medical Evaluator (AME)A doctor the applicant's attorney and defense agree on to evaluate disputed medical issues in a represented California comp case, instead of a panel QME.
- Workers' compApportionmentDividing permanent disability between what the industrial injury caused and what other factors caused, so the employer pays only its share.
B
- Personal injuryBodily injury liability coverageThe part of a liability policy that pays for injuries the insured causes to other people, up to a per-person and a per-accident limit.
- Every practiceBusiness associate agreementThe contract HIPAA requires when a vendor handles protected health information on behalf of a covered entity or another business associate.
C
- EmploymentCalifornia Family Rights Act (CFRA)California's job-protected family and medical leave law: up to 12 workweeks in 12 months for eligible employees of employers with five or more employees.
- Every practiceCase management softwareSoftware that keeps a firm's cases, contacts, documents, deadlines, tasks and money in one system, organized around each matter.
- EmploymentCivil Rights Department (CRD)The California agency that enforces FEHA and CFRA, takes employment discrimination complaints and issues right-to-sue notices. Formerly the DFEH.
- Personal injuryColossusClaims-evaluation software some liability insurers use to suggest a settlement range for bodily injury claims from coded injury and treatment data.
- Personal injuryComparative negligenceCalifornia's rule that a plaintiff's damages are reduced by their own share of fault but never barred, even when the plaintiff was mostly to blame.
- Workers' compCompromise and release (C&R)A lump-sum settlement of a California workers' comp claim that usually closes future medical care, valid only once a WCAB judge approves it.
- Every practiceContingency feeA fee paid only if the case recovers money, usually a percentage of the recovery; California requires the agreement to be in writing and signed.
- Workers' compCumulative trauma (CT)A work injury caused by repetitive physical or mental activity over time, rather than one incident, with its own date-of-injury and liability rules.
D
- Workers' compDeclaration of readiness to proceed (DOR)The WCAB form a party files, under penalty of perjury, to put a workers' comp case on calendar for a conference, expedited hearing or trial setting.
- Personal injuryDemand letterA letter to the at-fault party's insurer that sets out liability, injuries, treatment and damages, and asks for a sum to settle the claim.
- EmploymentDual filingFiling one discrimination charge that counts with both the EEOC and a state agency such as California's CRD, under their worksharing agreement.
E
- EmploymentEEOC chargeA charge of discrimination filed with the U.S. EEOC, required before suing under Title VII, the ADA or the ADEA, due within 180 or 300 days.
- Workers' compElectronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS)The DWC's computer case management system for California workers' comp cases, used for filing documents, case numbers and the public case search.
- Personal injuryERISA lienA reimbursement claim by an ERISA-governed employer health plan, whose written terms can override California's lien limits when the plan is self-funded.
- EmploymentExhaustion of administrative remediesThe rule that certain employment claims need an agency filing first, such as a CRD complaint for FEHA or an LWDA notice for PAGA, before a lawsuit.
F
G
- Personal injuryGeneral damagesNon-economic damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life: losses with no bill attached, set by agreement or by a jury.
- Personal injuryGovernment claimThe written claim California requires before suing a public entity for money damages; for injury claims it must be presented within six months.
H
- Every practiceHIPAA authorizationA signed form meeting HIPAA's content rules that lets a provider release a patient's health records to a named recipient, such as the patient's law firm.
- Personal injuryHospital lienA California Hospital Lien Act lien on a patient's injury recovery for emergency and ongoing care, limited to half of what remains after prior liens.
- Personal injuryHowell damagesCalifornia's rule, from Howell v. Hamilton Meats, that an insured plaintiff's past medical damages are capped at what was paid or owed, not the full bill.
I
- Workers' compIndependent Medical Review (IMR)The California process where an independent physician reviewer decides whether treatment denied or modified by utilization review is medically necessary.
- Personal injuryInsurance bad faithAn insurer's breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, like unreasonably refusing to settle within limits, exposing it beyond them.
L
- Workers' compLabor Code 4650 penaltyThe automatic 10 percent increase owed on any late temporary or permanent disability payment in California workers' comp, paid without a petition.
- Workers' compLabor Code 5814 penaltyA penalty of up to 25 percent of a benefit payment, capped at $10,000, when a California workers' comp payment is unreasonably delayed or refused.
- Every practiceLegal intakeThe process of handling a prospective client's first contact: screening the claim, checking conflicts and deadlines, and getting the retainer signed.
- Personal injuryLetter of protectionA letter in which the client's lawyer promises to pay a medical provider from any recovery, so the client can get treatment now without paying up front.
- Workers' compLien claimantA medical provider or other party who files a lien in a California workers' comp case to be paid from the case for services or expenses it provided.
- EmploymentLWDA notice (PAGA notice)The written notice of alleged Labor Code violations an employee files online with the LWDA and mails to the employer before bringing a PAGA claim.
M
- Workers' compMandatory settlement conference (MSC)The WCAB conference set after a declaration of readiness, where parties try to settle, frame the issues for trial and discovery closes.
- EmploymentMeal and rest break premiumsOne additional hour of pay at the regular rate owed for each workday a required California meal period, and separately rest period, isn't provided.
- Personal injuryMedi-Cal lienCalifornia's statutory right, through the Department of Health Care Services, to be repaid from a member's injury recovery for care Medi-Cal paid for.
- Every practiceMediationA confidential settlement negotiation run by a neutral mediator who helps the parties reach agreement but has no power to decide the case.
- Personal injuryMedical chronologyA dated, cited summary of a client's medical care, visit by visit, built from the records to show the injury, the treatment and what it cost.
- Personal injuryMedical lienA claim by a provider, health plan or government payer to be repaid from a client's injury recovery for medical care related to the injury.
- Personal injuryMedical payments coverageOptional auto coverage that pays medical expenses for the policyholder and passengers after a crash, no matter who was at fault, up to a set limit.
- Workers' compMedical provider network (MPN)A network of physicians an employer or insurer sets up with DWC approval, from which an injured worker generally must choose treating doctors.
- Personal injuryMedicare conditional paymentA payment Medicare makes for injury-related care on the condition that it is repaid from any settlement, judgment or award.
- Personal injuryMinor's compromiseThe court approval California requires before a minor's injury claim can be settled, with the money protected until the child turns 18.
P
- Workers' compPanel Qualified Medical Evaluator (PQME)The QME left after the DWC Medical Unit issues a three-doctor panel and each side strikes one name, used when parties don't agree on an AME.
- Workers' compPermanent disability (PD)Compensation for a lasting loss of earning capacity once an injury reaches maximum improvement, rated from the doctor's findings under the rating schedule.
- Workers' compPetition for reconsiderationThe petition asking the WCAB to review a judge's final order, decision or award, due within 20 days of service plus time for mail service.
- Personal injuryPolicy-limits demandA demand asking the at-fault party's liability insurer to pay its full policy limits, usually because the claim is plainly worth more than the coverage.
- Workers' compPrimary treating physician (PTP)The doctor primarily responsible for managing an injured worker's care, whose reports drive treatment requests, disability status and work restrictions.
- EmploymentPrivate Attorneys General Act (PAGA)California's law letting an aggrieved employee sue for civil penalties for Labor Code violations on the state's behalf, reformed by AB 2288 and SB 92 in 2024.
- EmploymentProtected activityConduct shielded from retaliation, like opposing discrimination, filing a complaint, reporting a legal violation or requesting leave or accommodation.
Q
R
- Every practiceRetainer agreementThe written contract between a client and a firm that sets out the scope of the representation and how the lawyer will be paid.
- EmploymentRetaliationAn employer taking adverse action against an employee because of protected activity, such as complaining about discrimination or reporting a violation of law.
- EmploymentRight-to-sue noticeThe CRD notice that closes the administrative step of a FEHA claim and starts the one-year deadline to file the civil lawsuit.
S
- Workers' compSerious and willful misconduct (S&W)A claim that the employer's serious and willful misconduct caused the injury, which raises compensation by one-half and must be filed within 12 months.
- Personal injurySettlement statementThe written accounting a firm gives the client at settlement, showing the gross recovery, the attorney fee, costs, liens and the client's net.
- Personal injurySpecial damagesThe economic losses in an injury case that can be added up from bills and records, such as medical expenses, lost earnings and property damage.
- Every practiceStatute of limitationsThe deadline to file a lawsuit or claim; in California, two years from the injury for most personal injury cases under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
- Workers' compStipulations with request for award (Stips)A WC settlement where the parties agree on the facts, such as the PD rating, and ask a judge to issue an award, usually leaving future medical care open.
- Personal injurySubrogationAn insurer's right, after paying its insured's loss, to step into the insured's shoes and recover that money from the party at fault.
- Workers' compSupplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB)A voucher of up to $6,000 for retraining or skill enhancement, owed when an injured worker with permanent partial disability isn't offered qualifying work.
T
- Workers' compTemporary disability (TD)Wage-loss benefits paid while an injured worker can't do their usual work: two-thirds of average weekly earnings, within state minimums and maximums.
- Personal injuryTime-limited demandA pre-suit offer to settle within the liability policy limits that expires on a set date, governed in California by Code of Civil Procedure 999 to 999.5.
- EmploymentTolling agreementA written agreement between parties to pause or extend a limitations period, often used to negotiate before filing an employment lawsuit.
U
- Personal injuryUnderinsured motorist coverageCoverage on the injured person's own policy that applies when the at-fault driver's liability limits are lower than the injured person's own UIM limits.
- Personal injuryUninsured motorist coverageCoverage on the injured person's own auto policy for injuries caused by an at-fault driver with no liability insurance, including some hit-and-run drivers.
- Workers' compUtilization review (UR)The claims administrator's review of a treating doctor's request for authorization, approving, modifying or denying treatment under the medical guidelines.
W
- EmploymentWaiting time penaltiesA penalty of up to 30 days of wages when a California employer willfully fails to pay all final wages on time to a discharged employee or one who quits.
- Workers' compWhole person impairment (WPI)The impairment percentage a physician assigns under the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition: the starting number for a California permanent disability rating.
- Workers' compWorkers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)California's workers' comp court: a seven-member appeals board plus workers' compensation judges at district offices who hear and decide disputed claims.