Arizona Accidents Dictionary

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

People often mix this up with open surgery. Arthroscopic surgery uses a tiny camera and small instruments passed through small cuts to look inside and repair a joint, usually a...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

bulging disc

Insurance companies and defense lawyers often use "bulging disc" to make an injury sound minor, old, or unrelated to a crash. They may argue it is just normal wear and tear,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

cauda equina syndrome

You may see this listed in an emergency room note, MRI report, discharge summary, or demand letter as "suspected cauda equina syndrome," often next to findings like severe...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

cervical strain

The part that trips people up most is that a "strain" is not automatically minor. In everyday conversation, people use it to mean a small ache, but medically a cervical strain...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

chronic pain syndrome

People often confuse chronic pain syndrome with ordinary chronic pain. Chronic pain generally means pain that lasts longer than expected healing time, often for months. Chronic...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

comminuted fracture

A fracture in which a bone is broken into three or more pieces is called a comminuted fracture, and it usually signals a more severe injury than a simple clean break. These...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

EMG

You just got a letter that says your doctor ordered an EMG after a crash, and the name alone sounds intimidating. An EMG, short for electromyography, is a test that checks how...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

fibromyalgia after trauma

People often confuse fibromyalgia with an ordinary soft-tissue injury or with chronic pain syndrome, but they are not the same. A soft-tissue injury usually involves a more...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

Glasgow Coma Scale

You just got a letter that says the emergency team recorded a "GCS of 13" after a crash, and now you are trying to figure out whether that number means something serious. The...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

herniated disc

You may see this phrase in an ER note, MRI report, workers' comp paperwork, or an insurance letter saying you have a "disc herniation at L4-L5" or "cervical herniated disc." It...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

Hospital lien

What the insurance company does not want you to know is that it may be perfectly happy to settle your injury claim while a hospital still has a legal right to part of that...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

independent adjuster

Who is this person calling about the claim if they do not even work for the insurance company? An independent adjuster is a licensed insurance claims professional hired on a...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

laminectomy

The part that trips people up most is that a laminectomy is not a diagnosis - it is a surgery. It removes part or all of the lamina, the bony section at the back of a vertebra,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

MRI vs CT scan

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers sometimes lean on the difference between these scans to question how serious an injury is. A fast CT at the ER with "no acute findings"...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

nominal damages

Failing to recognize this issue can lead someone to abandon a valid claim simply because the measurable financial harm is small or hard to prove. Nominal damages are a very...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

policy limits

You just got a letter that says the insurer is offering the "policy limits," or that the at-fault driver has "low policy limits." That means the maximum amount an insurance...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

post-concussion syndrome

Persistent headaches, dizziness, memory problems, light sensitivity, sleep disruption, and slowed thinking can sharply increase the value and complexity of an injury claim...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

prejudicial effect

Why would a judge keep out evidence that seems true? Because evidence can be more misleading or emotionally damaging than helpful. Prejudicial effect means a risk that...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

probative value

Yes - think of it like muddy boots by the door after a rainstorm. They do not prove everything by themselves, but they strongly suggest someone just came in from outside. That...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

PTSD

You just got a letter that says your symptoms may be consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after a crash, flood rescue, assault, or other terrifying event....

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

radiculopathy

What trips people up most is that radiculopathy is not just "back pain" or "a pinched nerve" in the casual sense. It means a spinal nerve root is being compressed, irritated,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

recorded statement

Adjusters and defense lawyers often ask for one early, sound casual about it, and hope you talk before you know the full picture. A recorded statement is an audio or video...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

reflex sympathetic dystrophy

Not just "pain that won't go away," and not something that shows up clearly on every scan, reflex sympathetic dystrophy is an older name for a chronic nerve-related pain...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

rotator cuff tear

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers often treat shoulder complaints like a loophole: they may argue the damage was "degenerative," came from age or old work strain, or was...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

soft tissue injury

People often confuse a soft tissue injury with a bone fracture because both can cause pain, swelling, and limited movement after a crash or fall. A fracture involves a break in...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

special damages

Not the same as a pain-and-suffering payout, and not a bonus number a lawyer pulls out of the air. These are the specific, measurable financial losses tied to an injury or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

spinal fusion

You just got a letter that says your surgeon recommends spinal fusion after a crash left you with ongoing back or neck pain, nerve symptoms, and imaging that shows an unstable...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

step-down provision

Why is the insurance company saying there is coverage, but not as much as you thought? A step-down provision is a policy clause that reduces the amount of insurance available...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

subluxation

A partial dislocation of a joint. "Partial" means the bones have shifted out of their normal alignment, but not completely separated the way they would in a full dislocation....

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

umbrella policy

Why does the other driver's insurance suddenly have "more coverage" after everyone said the policy limits were too low? An umbrella policy is extra liability insurance that...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22