New Mexico Accidents Glossary

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

A bad outcome can happen fast: someone in their 40s, 50s, or 60s gets pushed out, passed over, or laid off, and misses the chance to challenge it because they did not realize...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-24

Americans with Disabilities Act

You just got a letter that says your employer cannot change your schedule, workstation, or job duties after an injury because "the ADA does not apply." The Americans with...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-26

arbitration agreement in employment

Defense lawyers often wave this around early and say your case cannot go to court because you already "agreed" to private arbitration when you got hired, signed onboarding...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-28

brachial plexus injury

Think of a bundle of electrical wires running from the neck into the shoulder and arm. If those wires get stretched, pinched, or torn, the signals to the arm may not travel the...

GLOSSARY 2026-04-01

contingency fee

Yes - 33⅓% to 40% is a common range, and that money usually comes out of the recovery, not out of your pocket up front. A contingency fee means an injury lawyer gets paid only...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-21

costs vs fees

You'll usually see this split on a settlement statement, medical bill, or attorney contract as two separate lines: one for "fees" and one for "costs." They are not the same...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-22

disparate impact in hiring

A hiring rule can be illegal even when nobody says the quiet part out loud, if it screens out a protected group at a much higher rate and the employer cannot prove the rule is...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-30

disparate treatment in employment

Was I treated differently at work because of who I am? That is the core question behind disparate treatment in employment. It means an employer intentionally treats one worker...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-26

duty to warn

A duty to warn is a legal obligation to give people a clear heads-up about a danger they may not reasonably notice on their own. In everyday terms, it means the person or...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-23

EEOC complaint

Miss the deadline, say the wrong thing to HR, or assume an internal report is enough, and a strong workplace discrimination case can die before it ever gets heard. An EEOC...

GLOSSARY 2026-04-01

Family and Medical Leave Act

The part that trips people up most is that this leave is usually unpaid. The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, is a federal law that gives eligible employees up to 12...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-28

hostile work environment claim

Miss the warning signs, and months of slurs, threats, sexual comments, intimidation, or repeated humiliation at work can get brushed off as "just how the job is." A hostile...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-27

interactive process

What trips people up most is that this is not a one-time form, script, or magic phrase. It is an ongoing, good-faith back-and-forth between an employer and a worker or...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-27

invitee

Was the person who got hurt supposed to be there? If the answer is yes because the property owner invited them in for business, public access, or another expected purpose, they...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-23

misclassification as independent contractor

People often confuse being an independent contractor with simply being paid by 1099 or working without a set schedule. Those are not the same thing. A true independent...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-28

net to client

The part that trips people up most is that the settlement number you hear first is usually not the amount you actually take home. "Net to client" means the money left for the...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-22

non-compete agreement enforceability

People often confuse this with a non-solicitation agreement. A non-solicitation clause limits a worker from contacting former customers, clients, or coworkers for competing...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-25

overtime exemption

The part that trips people up most is this: being paid a salary does not automatically mean a worker is exempt from overtime. An overtime exemption is a legal rule that lets an...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-30

quid pro quo harassment

You may see this phrase in an HR complaint, an EEOC charge, a lawyer's letter, or a meeting where someone says a supervisor "wanted something personal in exchange for the job."...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-25

reasonable accommodation

You just got a letter that says your employer will "consider a reasonable accommodation" after your injury, pregnancy-related limitation, or medical condition changed what you...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-27

retainer agreement

What the insurance company does not want you to know is that signing a lawyer's paperwork does not automatically mean you are paying money up front. People often confuse a...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-21

retaliation claim

Defense lawyers and company insurers often try to shrink this into a "hurt feelings" complaint or say the employer was just enforcing rules, cutting costs, or dealing with a...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-29

right to sue letter

Without one, a discrimination case can stall before it even starts, no matter how strong the facts are. A right to sue letter is the formal notice from an agency - most often...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-29

severance agreement

It usually shows up in a termination packet, an HR email, or a meeting where someone slides papers across the table and says, "You'll get X weeks of pay if you sign by Friday."...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-31

sexual harassment

Is what happened actually sexual harassment, or just "how that place is"? If the conduct is sexual, unwelcome, and serious enough to affect someone's job, safety, or basic...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-24

slip and fall

Like stepping onto a patch of diesel on a shop floor that looks dry until your boots shoot out from under you, a slip and fall is an accident caused by losing traction or...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-23

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

A federal law that bars employers from discriminating against workers and job applicants based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Passed as part of the Civil...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-29

trespasser

People often mix up a trespasser with a licensee. A licensee is on the property with permission, even if only for their own reasons, such as a social guest or someone allowed...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-23

vacuum extraction injury

The worst-case version is a baby or mother suffers a serious delivery-room injury, and no one realizes that a vacuum-assisted birth may have caused or worsened it. A vacuum...

GLOSSARY 2026-04-02

wage and hour violation

You just got a letter that says your employer is "reviewing payroll practices" after workers complained about missing overtime and short paychecks. A wage and hour violation...

GLOSSARY 2026-03-24

waiver of inadmissibility

Insurance companies and defense lawyers may throw around a phrase like this to suggest an injured person has a shaky immigration history, less credibility, or fewer options....

GLOSSARY 2026-03-23