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Arizona Accidents Dictionary
Legal and insurance terms explained plainly
30 terms
arthroscopic surgery
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
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