What type of injury have you suffered?
Car Accident
- Car Accident
- Head Injury
- Premises Liability
- Products Liability
- Truck Accident
- Wrongful Death
Car Accident
HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL
(877) 880-4090It’s easy to see why many people are unclear about the difference between bodily injury and personal injury. The terms are often used interchangeably in everyday language. However, legally speaking, they don’t have the same meaning.
If you’ve been injured in an accident due to another person’s negligence, it’s essential you understand the difference between the two terms so you know what steps you need to take to pursue fair compensation.
In legal terms, bodily injury is one facet of personal injury. You can think of personal injury as an umbrella category for harm to personhood. This type of injury includes physical harm as well as damage to mental and emotional health or reputation.
You occasionally see cases that primarily involve mental or emotional health or reputation harms — such as defamation lawsuits — but personal injury claims arising from accidents require bodily injury as the primary damage. The other types of personal injuries stem from physical damage to the body or, sometimes, from the accident itself.
Personal injury claims are civil suits regulated under individual state laws. These statutes establish the requirements claimants must meet when filing a lawsuit. There are numerous types of personal injury lawsuits, and each has a set of criteria that provide guidelines for filing and settling the claims.
Most personal injury lawsuits involve traffic accidents or slip-and-fall accidents. Fielding Law personal injury attorneys also regularly work with clients filing claims for injuries sustained from dog bites or using a defective or dangerous product. Wrongful death claims also fall under personal injury laws. If you lost a loved one due to someone else’s wrongful action, you have a right to pursue damages.
State laws stipulate the conditions that must exist before you can file a personal injury lawsuit. The conditions can vary depending on what type of personal injury suit you are filing. However, most claims involve incidents that result in bodily harm, as opposed to, for instance, a defamation or libel claim. Therefore, you generally must file based on the bodily injury before the legal system considers whether you suffered other types of personal injury.
State regulations require you to demonstrate that you sustained serious physical harm. The specific language may vary, but generally, you must show that your injuries resulted in one or more of the following:
In some states, you must also meet a minimum medical expense requirement before filing. A personal injury lawyer can help you determine if your injuries meet your state’s filing requirements.
If your case satisfies the legal stipulations for filing a lawsuit, you can proceed with your claim. As the plaintiff, you are responsible for proving that the defendant was responsible for your actions. Depending on your claim type, you must demonstrate fault in one of three ways: negligence, strict liability or wrongful acts.
In personal injury cases that involve accidents, negligent behavior is usually the cause of the accident. Negligent behaviors lack malicious intent, though it does not mean an individual isn’t aware that their actions pose a danger. Proving liability in these cases requires that you establish the following:
Establishing fault in personal injury cases is not as easy as you might think.
In demonstrating that the defendant was negligent in their obligation to act in ways that protect the safety of others, you also have to prove that you could not have reasonably anticipated the danger you were in at the time of the accident. Furthermore, you must show that the defendant knew they were creating a hazard. You may share some of the blame for your accident, which can significantly impact the outcome of your case.
In cases that involve strict liability, the defendant’s intent is immaterial to the case. Very few types of personal injury cases qualify for strict liability. In some states, dog bite cases are strict liability cases. In these instances, the dog’s owner is responsible for the dog’s behavior, even if the owner did not have reason to believe the dog would attack.
In other states, dog owners aren’t held liable the first time their dogs bite someone. In these states, dog bite cases fall under negligence rules. Dog bite claims still require plaintiffs to demonstrate bodily harm that meets state requirements for personal injury claims.
Product liability cases also sometimes fall under strict liability laws. In these cases, the manufacturer is held responsible for product safety. There is no need to demonstrate intent, but you still must prove that the product — and not your own actions — caused you physical harm.
Unlike negligence, wrongful acts have a purposeful intent. Often, the behavior is malicious, and the perpetrator intends physical harm. Personal injury lawsuits that center on wrongful acts are frequently civil suits that stem from criminal acts. Examples of wrongful acts personal injury cases are:
These civil trials are entirely separate from any criminal proceedings.
If you file a personal injury claim, you may be able to seek compensation for damages other than those you incur from your physical injuries. Many personal injury claims involve damages that fall under the umbrella definition of personal injury, including bodily injury and mental and emotional health harms. Damages fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are calculable losses or expenses you incur due to your injuries. Generally, bodily injuries result in monetary damages. If you file a personal injury legal claim, you may be able to recover the following economic damages:
While you should have tangible evidence for accumulated expenses, future expenses are estimates. An attorney can help you calculate these estimates and may call on testimony from relevant professionals to validate these costs.
Non-economic damages are those that you can’t measure in concrete terms. These damages generally apply to non-physical harms. Bodily injury is frequently still the foundation for non-physical injuries. However, the accident or incident itself may cause emotional or psychological trauma.
Non-economic damages place a monetary value on injuries that are less tangible but often just as harmful as the bodily injuries you might suffer. Non-economic damages include:
In some states, laws place caps on the amount of non-economic compensation allowed.
Fielding Law personal injury attorneys are here for you. Whether you need assistance in fighting the insurance company or are ready to file a legal claim, our team provides quality representation, giving you the attention and help you deserve. We won’t charge any fees unless we win your case for you, so contact us today for a no-risk, free case review.