Wrongful Death Legal Glossary I

Impairment or Intoxication: Those states that refer to Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving While Impaired (DWI) usually have definitions that are similar to being under the influence.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability: Warranty that guarantees that goods purchased by consumers are reasonably fit for their ordinary purpose.

Inadequate Warning: These cases refer to injuries, or even death, caused as a result of a product which was sold without a proper warning to the consumer. In North Carolina, an injured person must prove that the manufacture acted unreasonably in failing to provide such a warning, that the failure to provide such warning proximately caused the injury, and also one of the following: when the product without an adequate warning left control of the manufacturer, it created an unreasonably dangerous condition that the manufacturer knew, or should have known, posed a substantial risk of harm; or after the product left the manufacturer’s control, the manufacturer became aware of or should have known that the product posed a substantial risk of harm to a reasonably foreseeable user and failed to take reasonable steps to give adequate warning. In wrongful death cases, a family member could attempt to provide this information/ evidence on behalf of the deceased person.

Injury: Detrimental changes to a victim’s physical, mental or emotional state for which the victim should be entitled to reasonable compensation.

Investigator: Often, a lawsuit will require more extensive investigation. An experienced law firm can properly provide a private investigator for collection of additional evidence, such as witness statements, photographs of an accident site, or background research and/or location of potential defendants.

Insurance Defense Attorney: When the negligent parties in a personal injury claim become the defendants in a lawsuit and the formal complaint is served upon them, their insurance company will secure the services of a defense attorney to represent their interests. The defense attorney is legally representing the defendant, but is actually being paid by the insurance company. This can occasionally produce conflicts of interest which an experienced personal injury attorney can make use of to his client’s benefit.