Forty terms that decide New Mexico injury cases, defined in plain language by the attorneys at Keeler & Keeler in Gallup. Short enough to quote, specific to how each one works in New Mexico, federal, and Navajo Nation courts.
Three that decide most cases
Comparative negligenceNew Mexico's rule that each party's fault is measured as a percentage. Your recovery is reduced by your share, never barred. Adopted in Scott v. Rizzo (1981).Read the definitionTort Claims Act noticeThe written notice required by Section 41-4-16 within 90 days of an incident (six months for a death) before a government entity can be sued. A police report does not count.Read the definitionFTCA presentmentDelivering a written claim with a dollar amount to the responsible federal agency, usually on Standard Form 95, within two years of accrual. Suit cannot be filed until this is done.Read the definition
- Administrative denial
- The agency's rejection of an FTCA claim, or six months of silence, which opens a six-month window to file suit in federal court.
- Allotment
- An individual parcel of tribal land held in trust for a tribal member or heirs. Common on the Navajo Nation checkerboard near Gallup and Crownpoint.
- Checkerboard
- The pattern of tribal trust, allotted, state, federal, and private land around Gallup and Crownpoint created by railroad-era land grants. It makes jurisdiction questions common in McKinley County.
- Childhood sexual abuse claim
- A civil lawsuit under Section 37-1-30 for abuse that happened before age eighteen. It must be filed by the survivor's 24th birthday or within three years of first disclosing the abuse to a licensed medical or mental health provider while receiving care, whichever is later.
- Comparative negligence
- New Mexico's rule that each party's fault is measured as a percentage. Your recovery is reduced by your share, never barred. Adopted in Scott v. Rizzo (1981).
- Contingency fee
- A fee that is a percentage of the recovery and is owed only if the case succeeds. Keeler & Keeler handles injury cases this way: no fee unless we win.
- Damages
- The money a court can award. In New Mexico injury cases: medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and in reckless cases punitive damages.
- Discovery rule
- A limited exception that starts the deadline when a person knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause, applied in New Mexico to hidden injuries such as toxic exposure and defective products.
- Electronic logging device
- The tablet in a commercial truck that records driving time. Its data is preserved only for a limited period, which is why a preservation letter goes out in the first week of a truck case.
- Federal Tort Claims Act
- The federal law under which the United States can be sued for negligence by its employees, including care at Indian Health Service facilities. Requires an administrative claim first.
- FTCA presentment
- Delivering a written claim with a dollar amount to the responsible federal agency, usually on Standard Form 95, within two years of accrual. Suit cannot be filed until this is done.
- Hours of service
- Federal limits on how long a commercial truck driver may drive without rest, in 49 C.F.R. Part 395. Electronic logging data shows whether they were followed.
- Indian Health Service
- The federal agency that runs hospitals and clinics for Native Americans, including Gallup Indian Medical Center and Northern Navajo Medical Center. Malpractice claims against its facilities are FTCA claims.
- Institutional liability
- A church, school, foster program, or agency can be liable for abuse by its people when it hired, kept, or failed to supervise the abuser, or ignored warnings. This is the claim that reaches an organization's insurance rather than an individual's pocket.
- Joint and several liability
- The older rule, still applied in New Mexico to intentional wrongs, vicarious liability, defective products, and inherently dangerous work, where any defendant can be made to pay the whole judgment.
- Lien
- A legal claim on part of a settlement, for example by a hospital, Medicaid, or the Indian Health Service, which must be resolved before the client is paid.
- Loss of consortium
- A separate claim by a spouse or close family member for the loss of companionship and support caused by a serious injury to a loved one.
- Mandatory reporting
- New Mexico requires every person, not only professionals, to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement or CYFD under Section 32A-4-3. Failing to report is a misdemeanor and can be evidence of an institution's negligence.
- Medical payments coverage
- Optional auto coverage that pays medical bills regardless of fault, typically in small amounts, without waiting for a liability claim to resolve.
- Medical review panel
- The New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act's required first step for claims against qualified private providers. It pauses the three-year deadline while the panel considers the claim.
- Minimum financial responsibility
- New Mexico's required auto insurance: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per crash for injury, and $10,000 property damage, under Section 66-5-215.
- Personal representative
- The person appointed to bring a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family. In New Mexico the proceeds go to the statutory beneficiaries, not the estate's creditors.
- Preservation letter
- A written demand that a company keep evidence such as camera footage, logs, and maintenance records. Also called a spoliation letter.
- Punitive damages
- Money awarded to punish reckless or intentional conduct, such as drunk driving, rather than to compensate. Available in New Mexico when the conduct was willful, wanton, or reckless.
- Pure comparative negligence
- The version New Mexico uses: even a person 90 percent at fault can recover the other 10 percent. Many states cut off recovery at 50 percent; New Mexico does not.
- Recorded statement
- An insurance adjuster's taped interview after a crash. You are not required to give one to the other driver's insurer, and it is where comparative fault arguments are built.
- Several liability
- Each defendant pays only its own percentage of fault. New Mexico abolished joint and several liability for most negligence cases in 1982 and codified several liability in Section 41-3A-1.
- Sexual abuse
- A civil claim for sexual assault or abuse, brought against the abuser and any institution that enabled it. Adult survivors have three years under Section 37-1-8; childhood abuse follows the longer deadline in Section 37-1-30. See also Childhood sexual abuse claim and Institutional liability.
- Sovereign immunity
- The principle that a government cannot be sued without its consent. New Mexico, the United States, and the Navajo Nation each waive it only in specific ways and with specific deadlines.
- Stacking
- Adding together the uninsured or underinsured motorist limits from more than one vehicle on the same policy. New Mexico allows it in many policies, which can multiply available coverage.
- Standard Form 95
- The federal government's claim form for damage, injury, or death. Filing it with the right agency starts the Federal Tort Claims Act process.
- Statute of limitations
- The deadline to file a lawsuit. For personal injury in New Mexico it is three years from the injury under Section 37-1-8. Several shorter deadlines apply to government and federal defendants.
- Subrogation
- An insurer's right to be repaid from your settlement for what it paid on your behalf. Health insurers, Medicaid, and workers' compensation carriers commonly assert it.
- Tolling
- Pausing a deadline. In New Mexico the personal injury clock is tolled for minors until one year after age eighteen, and for people who are incapacitated.
- Tort Claims Act
- The New Mexico law that lets injured people sue cities, counties, schools, and state agencies in listed situations, with written notice within 90 days and suit within two years.
- Tort Claims Act notice
- The written notice required by Section 41-4-16 within 90 days of an incident (six months for a death) before a government entity can be sued. A police report does not count.
- Tribal exhaustion
- The rule from National Farmers Union v. Crow Tribe that a federal court generally waits for a tribal court to rule on its own jurisdiction before stepping in.
- Tribal trust land
- Land held by the United States in trust for a tribe. Where an injury happened, and whether it was on trust land, is one of the facts that decides which court hears the case.
- Tribally operated (638) facility
- A hospital or clinic operated by a tribe under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Public Law 93-638). Many are covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act for malpractice.
- Underinsured motorist coverage
- Coverage on your own policy that pays the gap when the at-fault driver's policy is too small for the injury. Often the only meaningful source of recovery after a serious crash in New Mexico.
- Uninsured motorist coverage
- Coverage on your own auto policy that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance. New Mexico insurers must offer it in amounts equal to your liability limits under Section 66-5-301.
- Wrongful death
- A claim under the New Mexico Wrongful Death Act brought by a personal representative when a preventable injury causes a death. The deadline is three years from the date of death under Section 41-2-2.
No term matches that. Try another word, or ask us directly.
Need more than a definition? Our deadlines guide, the comparative negligence article, and the Navajo Nation jurisdiction page go deeper, or call (505) 722-5608 for a free consultation.
Definitions are general information about New Mexico, federal, and Navajo Nation law, not legal advice.