Workplace Injury
Legal Glossary

Accepted claim: A claim in which the insurance company accepts that your injury or illness will be covered by workers' compensation.

Accident Cause: The last occurrence in a sequence of events which directly contributed to or produced an accident or incident.

Accident Costs: The monetary losses associated with an accident or incident. These costs include direct and indirect costs.

Accident Investigation: A detailed, defined, and recorded review of an occurrence, done to uncover and record the factors and causes and their relationships which led up to and caused an accident or incident.

Accident: An occurrence in a sequence of events that produces unintended injury, death, or property damage. Accident refers to the event, not the result of the event

Accident Prevention: The application of measures designed to reduce accidents or accident potential within a system, organization or activity. An accident prevention program is one which aims to avoid injury to personnel and/or damage to property.

Accident Records: Recorded information in the form of reports and records detailing what accidents or incidents have occurred in a company or industry and what losses and injuries resulted.

Accident Report: A document containing the information and facts about an individual accident or incident put in chronological order to province a complete picture as to what happened. May also be used as a tool to help establish the ROOT cause.

Adjustable suspension scaffold: A suspension scaffold equipped with a hoist that can be operated by an employee on the scaffold.

Affidavit: A written statement or declaration whose contents are sworn to be true by the signer before a notary or some other judicial officer authorized to take oaths. A witness's affidavit carries such weight that a judge will frequently accept it place of oral testimony in court.

Agreed medical evaluator (AME): This is a physician that treats you and is agreed upon by your attorney and the insurance company. The AME will be the one to conduct your medical evaluations.

Alternative work: If your doctor says you will not be able to return to your job because of your injury, your employer is encouraged to offer you alternative work instead of your regular work duties. There are requirements to this alternative work, such as meeting your work restrictions that vary by state.

American Medical Association (AMA): National physician's group. The AMA has published the permanent impairment guidelines.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A federal law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.

Ampere: The unit by which the flow of current through a conductor is measured.

Anchorage: A secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards or deceleration devices.

Answer: A defendant's written response to a plaintiff's initial court filing, called a complaint. An answer normally denies some or all facts asserted by the complaint and may sometimes include counterclaims of allegations or charges against the plaintiff. A defendant usually has 30 days to file an answer after being served with the plaintiff's complaint.

AOE/COE (Arising out of and occurring in the course of employment): Injury caused by and happened while on the job.

Appeal: Request to a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final judgment or other legal ruling, citing legal reasons for overturning the ruling. No new evidence is admitted on appeal, for it is strictly a legal argument.

Appeals board: A group of seven commissioners appointed by the governor to review and reconsider decisions of workers' compensation administrative law judges.

Applicants' attorney: A lawyer that can represent the injured worker in a workers' compensation case.

Apportionment: A way of figuring out how much of your permanent disability is due to your work injury and how much is due to other disabilities.

Approved: Where a procedure, practice, equipment, etc. is said to be "approved", this means it complies with written company standards. Where no such standards exist, the applicable legislation is considered to be standard.

Audit (Safety): A management tool used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a safety program and company operations which provides an accurate picture of the safety and health of an organization.

Authorized: Given the authority to act in the referenced manner by the responsible management.