AEI -after the event legal expenses insurance. Purchased from a specialist insurer after a claim arises to cover legal costs of that particular claim if it fails. The policy may cover both side's legal costs or if taken out in connection with a CFA will cover only the other side's legal costs and the policyholder's disbursements (subject always to the policy terms and the limits and conditions of cover). If the claim is successful it is normally possible to claim the premium against the other side if reasonable in amount. IMPORTANT: REMEMBER- IF YOU USE OUR SERVICE AND FOLLOW THE LEGAL ADVICE GIVEN, YOU WON'T BE OUT OF POCKET!

BTE - Before The Event legal expenses insurance (see PEI below).

Cervical Spine - the neck (see also lumbar & thoracic spine). Starting from the top the vertebrea in the Cervical Spine are numbered C1-7.

CFA - conditional fee agreement. An agreement under which a solicitor agrees to run a case on a "no win no" fee basis

CRU - the government's compensation recovery unit. They are responsible for reclaiming state benefits paid as a result of an accident

Disbursements - all expenses incurred by a solicitor to progress a client's case except for the solicitor's own fee. Examples: court fees, medical experts fees, cost of medical records.

Forensic  - "to do with Court and preparing Court cases" eg forensic accountants and forensic engineers specialise in preparing expert evidence for Courts.

General Damages - the compensation paid for your pain, suffering and loss of amenity but please note that the pure "inconvenience" of the accident is not compensated (see also special damages).

Highway Code - the rules of the road. (Latest Edition) (Early History).

Lumbar Spine - the lower back (see also Thoracic & Cervical Spine). Starting from the top the vertebrea in the Lumbar spine are labelled L1-5.

MIB - the Motor Insurers Bureau. An official organisation set up by the government and the insurance industry to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. See also the following sections of our web site: Uninsured Drivers    and   Hit & Run (untraced drivers)

Mitigation - the duty which the victim of an accident has to keep his or her loss and expenses to a minimum

Nearside - the side of the car nearest the pavement (usually the front-passenger's side).

Offside - the side of the car nearest the centre of the road, ie usually the driver's side

Part 36 offer - either side can make an offer to settle the case. Such an offer is made "without prejudice" meaning that the judge will not be told about it until he has decided the case. If at the conclusion of a case, a party fails to do better than a Part 36 offer made by the other side then that party will be penalised by the Court.

PEI - pre event insurance, also known as BTE. Similar to AEI but taken out before the claim occurs and covers both sides' legal costs for any insured claims which arise during the period of cover (subject always to the policy terms and limits and conditions of cover). The premium for this kind of policy can never be claimed against the other side even if the claim is successful.

Pre-action Protocol - a series of rules which governs how accident claims are dealt with before Court proceedings are issued. Normally the At Fault insurers are given at least 3 months to investigate the claim and if they admit liability they should make a settlement offer, if not they should say why they dispute the claim. See our page Typical claim procedure.

Prognosis - a doctor's prediction about the likely outcome of an injury or illness.

Special Damages - all other losses and specific past and future expenses resulting from the RTA. See checklist in the  How much will I get section of this web site).

Split liability - an accident which is the fault of more than one party

Success fee - the extra fee the solicitor charges if he takes a case under a CFA. It may be possible to claim most or all of the success fee from the other side if the case is successful (The Basic charges are the fees which the solicitor would have charged under an ordinary non-CFA agreement).

Third party - the party you blame for the accident

Thoracic Spine - the upper part of the back (chest area). See also cervical and lumbar spine. Starting from the top, the vertebrea in the Thoracic Spine are labelled T1-12

Total loss - a vehicle, which has been damaged beyond economic repair (ie a write off).

Vertebrea - 33 pieces of bone which make up the spine. The  spinal column is divided into  5 sections which are, starting at the top, the Cervical (neck), Thoracic (chest area), Lumbar (lower back), Sacrum and Coccyx. The vertebrea in each section of the spine are labelled according to their position within that section: cervical spine C1-7, thoracic spine T1-12, lumbar spine L1-5. The vertebrea are seperated by intervetebral discs which act like shock absorbers. If these become damaged (slipped / herniated discs) this can cause pain as a result of nerves becoming compressed or trapped. The pain may be localised to the spine or appear in different parts of the body seved by the effected nerve supply. One of the most common forms of this complaint is sciatica when one or both of the long sciatic nerves, which run from the lumbar spine down to the feet, become irritated resulting in pain in the back and or legs.

Whiplash - a soft tissue injury to the neck, shoulders or back caused by sudden jerking movement.

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