Personal Injury v. Bodily Injury
Posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 5:42 pm
This article will discuss the difference between personal injury and bodily injury.
Personal Injury v. Bodily Injury
The fact of the matter is that personal injury and bodily injury are two different things. Both by legal definition and the cases filed in their name. Personal injury has a broad scope that includes bodily injuries. However, bodily injuries do not include personal injury. According to one definition of personal injury, it is “an injury… to the body, mind, or emotions”.
Therefore, when a person is talking about a personal injury, they could be describing a physical injury, such as a broken bone. They may also be talking about emotional harm such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, personal injury includes financial losses such as property damage and medical expenses.
On the other hand, bodily injury is specific to describing a person’s physical injuries present on a victim’s body. It includes an injury or an illness that was suffered as a result of an accident or incident. Some examples of such injuries include:
- soft tissue injuries like pulled muscles
- muscle strain
- burns
- lacerations and bruises
- bone fractures
Bodily injuries do not include or refer to mental, financial, emotional or psychological harm.
Bodily Injury Claims
As shown above, this refer to physical injuries to a victim’s body. As such, a claim looks specifically at a claim filed for bodily injury liability coverage. Such a from the at fault person’s insurance company. For example, in a car accident, all injured victims can seek compensation for their medical costs through a driver’s insurance.
Personal Injury Lawsuit
These are legal claims brought against one or more defendants for injuries and losses suffered by the victim. They allow the victim to seek money compensation to ‘make him/her whole’. Therefore, a successful personal injury lawsuit pays the victim’s:
- medical bills
- property repairs
- lost wages
- pain and suffering, etc.
Speak to an experienced, professional personal injury lawyer for more information.