Personal & Bodily Injury
If you have suffered injuries due to an accident, you may be getting ready to file a claim at the advice of your personal injury lawyer. As your case is prepared, you may have encountered such terms as personal injury and bodily injury and wondered whether they mean the same and can be used interchangeably. Understanding the differences between these terms can be useful during your legal proceedings, once your negotiations for a settlement or a date in court seem imminent.
Legal Definition of Personal Injury
In civil law, whoever is injured is the plaintiff. In cases where the victim is deceased, their representatives take on that role. At the other end is the defendant, or whoever acted in such a way as to cause the injuries. Personal injury refers precisely to those injuries, whether they impacted the mind, body, or emotions of whoever suffers them.
A personal injury claim is a way to refer to a lawsuit in which the plaintiff sues the defendant precisely because of the injuries and in order to seek compensation for them. The lawsuit can be filed because of:
- Negligence
- Gross negligence
- Intentional misconduct
- Reckless conduct
- Strict liability
Damages that you may be able to recover generally include medical bills, loss of earnings, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Some Examples of Personal Injury Claims
Several types of accidents may fall under this type of claim. They may involve a car accident where the other driver was driving recklessly or a slip and fall where someone injured themselves while out shopping or enjoying a meal at a restaurant. Nursing homes tend to be sued for personal injury when the elderly residents that live there are neglected or suffer abuse. Healthcare professionals may be sued for medical malpractice. Whatever the case, it is crucial for you and your personal injury attorney to prove that the responsible party breached their duty of care and this is what caused the injury.
Legal Definition of Bodily Injury
Bodily injury is related to a vehicle’s insurance and reimburses damages suffered by either pedestrians or other passengers in the vehicle. It assumes that the insured is at fault for causing these injuries. In general, however, the courts determine that bodily injuries are exclusively physical and not mental ones.
Even though personal injury and bodily injury are clearly two different concepts, it is common to hear them used interchangeably in the courtroom or during an insurance settlement.
When it comes to reimbursement for bodily injury if you have been the victim of this type of injuries you have to be given compensation for out-of-pocket costs you have incurred, such as the cost of your medical treatment and loss of earnings. You may have a difficult time convincing the insurance company to reimburse you for the pain and suffering you have experienced since these policies only address physical injuries.
You may fare better when claiming future losses of earnings and other expenses. Particularly if the injuries are such that they will impact your life for the foreseeable future. If this is the case, you may obtain compensation for therapies to deal with a permanent disability and any impairment.
Some Examples of Bodily Injury Claims
As mentioned above, you may have been injured in a car accident either as a passenger in the car or as a pedestrian. In other cases, business owners might carry bodily injury coverage in case a customer ends up being injured while visiting the property or retail establishment.
Have you suffered a personal or bodily injury? Get the Legal Help You Need
As explained at eslingerlawfirm.com, the process to file a personal injury claim or get compensation for bodily injury is not something you want to tackle on your own. Making a mistake that may end up jeopardizing your ability to receive the damages you deserve is not something you want to risk. And since personal injury attorneys generally work on a contingency basis, it means no out-of-pocket costs to you.
