Legal Terms "D"

Damages: The term damages refers to any loss or impairment that the plaintiff suffers quantified in monetary terms. There are many types of damages that are to be considered to ensure that the victim gets a fair recovery. For example, if you are injured in a car accident and your medical expenses are $20,000 you may sue the defendant for that amount but that is not likely to be all of your damages. A good Dallas injury accident attorney will prove up and quantify all of your damages so that you may receive compensation for all losses that you have suffered including: Medical Expenses both past and future, Lost Wages both past and future, Mental Anguish both past and future, Physical Pain and Suffering both past and future, Physical Impairment both past and future, Consequential Damages, Property Damages, Punitive Damages, & Loss of Consortium.

Decedent: A deceased person.

Decree: An order of the court. A "final decree" is one that fully disposes of the litigation.

Default Judgment: A judgment entered against a party who fails to appear in court or respond to charges.

Demurrer: A defendant's claim that even if the allegations in a complaint are true, they are not sufficient to impose any liability on the defendant.

Deposition: Process by which someone's testimony is taken under oath but not in the court house. For example, the witness to an accident may be called to tell their account of the story under oath but before the trial begins. In civil cases all parties involved in the incident are generally deposed in order to gather evidence prior to a trial.

Disfigurement: When the victim of an incident suffers superficial alteration. In some cases disfigurement is permanent and in some cases it may be repaired with plastic surgery. Disfigurement is one of the forms of damages that a law firm may seek compensation for on behalf of the plaintiff.

Dissent: To disagree.

Docket: A list of cases to be heard by a court.

Dram Shop: The term dram shop is used in several different context (dram shop cause of action, dram shop liability) but under Texas law generally refers to the liability that a bar or restaurant assumes when they serve an obviously intoxicated person. Statutes related to dram shop law are passed to discourage establishments from serving patrons to the point of intoxication by making them liable in civil court for damages to the patron or a third party. For example, if someone visits a pub and is served enough alcohol for them to become intoxicated and that person later causes a car accident that kills a third party, the family of the third party would have a wrongful death claim against the establishment.

Denied Insurance Claims: Denial of insurance claims due to a technicality. Denied insurance claims require experienced denied insurance claims lawyers who may be able to reverse the insurance company's decision.

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