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Portsmouth Accident& Injury Center

A plain-English glossary for the days after a car accident

How to use this glossary

Start with the word you were given, then ask the person who used it what it means in your situation. The adjuster can explain the carrier’s process, and the responding agency can explain the crash record. A health-care provider explains findings and recommendations, and an attorney answers legal questions.

If you are dealing with an emergency, skip the glossary and call 911. The definitions below are general education.

Crash scene and report terms

Crash report
The official record created by a law-enforcement agency after a reported collision. It may identify drivers, vehicles, location, reported injuries, citations, diagrams, and an officer’s narrative. A report records information; it is not a medical examination and does not by itself decide an insurance or legal dispute. Start with the official Ohio Crash Retrieval tool(opens in a new tab) or read the Portsmouth crash-report guide.
Reporting agency
The police department, sheriff's office, highway patrol, or other agency that handled the event. The clinic's Portsmouth address does not determine which agency has the report. The crash location and responder do.
Jurisdiction
The geographic or legal area in which an agency has authority. A mailing address, neighborhood name, township road, village street, and state route do not always point to the same agency. Keep the responder's name or card when one is provided.
Report number
An identifier assigned to the incident or crash record. It helps an agency, insurer, clinic, or attorney distinguish one event from another. It is useful to bring when available, but it should not delay emergency or otherwise appropriate care.
Citation
A notice that an officer alleges a traffic or other legal violation. A citation is not a medical finding, and the clinic does not advise anyone how to contest or resolve it.

Health and visit terms

Evaluation
A structured look at the history, current symptoms, function, relevant health information, and examination findings. Its job is to clarify what question needs answering and whether care, monitoring, imaging, medical evaluation, or referral appears appropriate. An evaluation is not a promise that treatment will begin that day.
History
The account of the collision or other onset, symptom timing, prior conditions, medications, other care, and changes in daily activity. A useful history is accurate rather than dramatic. It is acceptable to say that a detail is unknown or not remembered.
Baseline
The starting picture used to compare change over time. A baseline may include pain, movement, strength, sensation, sleep, work, driving, walking, or another meaningful activity. It should reflect what was actually present, including relevant symptoms that existed before the crash.
Range of motion
How far a joint or body region moves in a particular direction. Range of motion is one part of an examination, not a diagnosis by itself. Do not repeatedly force a painful movement at home just to measure it.
Reassessment
A later review of symptoms, function, and findings. Reassessment asks whether a plan remains useful or should be reduced, changed, stopped, or redirected. A visit schedule should not continue on autopilot without a reason.
Referral
A recommendation to see another provider or level of care. Referral is not a failure. It can be the responsible choice when symptoms, findings, imaging needs, medications, or the person's health history fall outside the office's scope.
Contraindication
A factor that makes a particular examination or care method unsuitable or calls for extra caution. The relevant factor depends on the person and the proposed method. This is one reason the history and evaluation must come before a treatment decision.
Conservative care
A broad phrase for non-surgical approaches that may include education, activity guidance, exercise, manual care, medication directed by an appropriate prescriber, or monitoring. The phrase does not identify one required technique and does not guarantee that conservative care is right for every condition.
Spinal manipulation
A hands-on procedure applied to a spinal joint. It is one possible component of some chiropractic care plans, not a synonym for the entire visit and not an automatic first-visit event. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health(opens in a new tab) provides a careful evidence and safety overview.

Symptom and injury language

Symptom
Something a person notices, such as pain, stiffness, tingling, dizziness, or a headache. A symptom can have more than one possible cause. Describing it clearly is useful; choosing a diagnosis from an online list is not required.
Sign
Something observed or measured during an examination, such as a movement change, tenderness, weakness, or altered sensation. One sign rarely tells the whole story.
Whiplash
A common label for a neck acceleration-deceleration event and the symptoms that may follow. The word does not establish severity or determine the right care. Read the site’s whiplash guide for emergency boundaries, evaluation questions, and official sources.
Strain
An injury term generally associated with muscle or tendon tissue. A person should not assume that every sore muscle is a strain or assign a grade without an appropriate evaluation.
Sprain
An injury term generally associated with a ligament. “Sprain” and “strain” are often mixed up in conversation, but they refer to different tissue categories. The MedlinePlus sprains and strains overview(opens in a new tab) explains the distinction and basic medical-care boundaries.
Soft-tissue injury
A broad category that may involve muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, or related tissues rather than bone. It does not mean “minor,” and it does not identify a specific structure without further evaluation. See the soft-tissue guide.
Muscle spasm
An involuntary tightening or contraction of a muscle. Spasm can occur for different reasons and is a description of a symptom, not a diagnosis by itself. Severe, worsening, systemic, or neurological symptoms may require medical assessment.
Radicular symptoms
Pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness that follows a pattern suggesting irritation or involvement of a nerve root. Not every symptom traveling into an arm or leg is radicular, and new significant weakness or loss of bladder or bowel control requires urgent medical attention.
Sciatica
A familiar term for symptoms that travel along a sciatic-nerve distribution, often from the low back or buttock into a leg. It describes a pattern rather than one guaranteed cause. Read sciatica after a crash.
Concussion
A type of traumatic brain injury. Possible symptoms require appropriate medical attention, and danger signs require emergency care. Chiropractic care is not emergency concussion treatment. Use the CDC concussion signs and symptoms(opens in a new tab) and the site’s concussion warning-sign guide.
Delayed symptoms
Symptoms noticed after some time has passed rather than at the scene. The timing should be recorded honestly. A delay does not prove a particular injury, and it does not make severe, chest, breathing, head, or neurological symptoms safe to ignore.

Insurance and billing terms

Claim
A request for an insurer to investigate or provide benefits under a policy. Opening a claim does not guarantee coverage, payment, fault acceptance, or a particular result.
Claim number
The carrier's identifier for the reported event. It is different from the police report number and the policy number. Keeping each label beside the correct number prevents mix-ups.
Adjuster
The person who investigates or administers an insurance claim for a carrier. An adjuster handles claim questions, not the clinical decision about what care is appropriate.
Policy
The insurance contract. Its declarations, definitions, coverages, limits, exclusions, conditions, and endorsements control the coverage question. Only your policy documents and your insurer can answer what your own coverage includes.
Liability coverage
Coverage that may respond when an insured person is legally responsible for covered harm to someone else, subject to the policy and investigation. It is different from a provider's evaluation and from optional first-party coverages.
Medical payments coverage (MedPay)
Optional auto-policy coverage that may pay eligible medical expenses up to a stated limit, subject to the contract. It is not present on every Ohio policy. Check the declarations page and ask the carrier. Read what MedPay means in Ohio and use the Ohio Department of Insurance consumer portal(opens in a new tab) for official assistance.
Explanation of benefits
A health insurer's statement describing how a submitted service was processed. It is not necessarily a bill. Review the provider bill and insurer statement together and ask the sender about unfamiliar entries.
Itemized bill
A bill that lists individual services, dates, and charges rather than only a single balance. An itemized bill is a financial record, not a narrative medical opinion.
Coverage verification
A check of reported benefits or eligibility. Verification is not a guarantee that every service will be paid. Final decisions can depend on the policy, claim, coding, documentation, limits, exclusions, and carrier review.

Records and authorization terms

Clinical record
The health-care record of history, findings, care, response, referrals, and other relevant information. It is separate from the police report and insurer claim file.
Authorization
Written permission that allows specified information to be requested, used, or released for a stated purpose. Read the scope, recipient, expiration, and revocation language before signing. A public callback form is not a records authorization.
Narrative report
A written clinical summary that may describe the history, findings, care, and status. It should reflect the record rather than make promises about fault, coverage, or legal value.
Letter of protection
A written payment arrangement that may direct certain health-care charges to be addressed from possible future claim proceeds. Terms and availability vary. It is not insurance and does not guarantee a settlement. Read the site’s letter-of-protection guide and seek qualified legal advice for an individual agreement.
Lien
A legal claim or interest that may affect money or property. The word is sometimes used loosely in accident conversations, so ask exactly what document or legal right the speaker means. The clinic website does not interpret liens or advise how to resolve them.

Three distinctions worth remembering

Police report versus clinical record: one documents the reported event; the other documents health care.

Evaluation versus insurance approval: one asks what is clinically appropriate; the other asks what a contract will pay.

Symptom versus diagnosis: one is what a person experiences; the other requires an appropriate professional assessment.

Common questions

Is this glossary medical or legal advice?

No. It provides general definitions so a reader can ask better questions. It does not apply a definition to an individual case.

What should I do when two people use the same word differently?

Ask each person to explain what the term means in the document or decision they are discussing. Context matters, especially for insurance and legal language.

Do I need to understand every term before requesting an appointment?

No. Call (740) 876-8394 for scheduling basics. Do not delay emergency or otherwise appropriate care while trying to finish paperwork.

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