ESPANOL
You would want to seek justice whenever you or someone you care about suffers. However, lodging a claim and understanding how the legal system operates can be intimidating and complicated, especially with terminologies like bodily injury and personal injury that sound almost the same.
Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they’re different. At George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, we can help you understand the key differences between these two types of personal injury compensation claims.
What Is the Difference Between Bodily Injury and Personal Injury?
Personal injury refers to damages suffered outside of the workplace, which a victim suffers due to a tort. In contrast, bodily injury refers to any harm that involves physical pain or impairment.
The significant difference between these two terms lies in the context in which they’re used. Both refer to injuries sustained by individuals, but only the former may be applied to an accident or incident that results from a crime. The latter pertains only to situations that occur outside of the workplace.
In addition, there are many different types of personal injury, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. On the other hand, bodily injury is not separated into specific categories. It simply refers to any physical harm an individual can sustain in daily life.
What Is Bodily Injury?
A bodily injury is a form of personal injury that involves physical harm to a person. Bodily injuries may subject you to temporary or permanent disability, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and in some cases, wrongful death. In the legal sense, bodily injury describes any physical injury caused by another party’s negligence or intentional acts. This could involve a brain injury, knee pain, or other physical injuries.
The majority of personal injury lawsuits involve bodily injuries. These include car accidents, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and nursing home neglect. Some examples of damages you can receive from bodily injuries include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of mobility
- Pain and suffering
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Diminished earning capacity
What Are Personal Injury Claims?
Personal injury claims are usually filed by an individual who has been physically or mentally injured due to negligence, wrongdoing, or defective products. A personal injury claim is a civil case, meaning it’s outside the criminal court system.
The most common types of personal injury claims include:
- Car accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Medical malpractice
- Defective medical devices
- Wrongful death
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
If you’ve been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, carelessness, or willful behavior, you may file a personal injury claim. At George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, we’re ready to handle your case and pursue fair compensation. The losses we’ll help you recoup don’t have to be tangible; they could include emotional distress or reputational harm.
How Do You Prove Negligence in Personal Injury?
Negligence is the failure to use ordinary care and caution to prevent injury to another person, but proving it in a personal injury case can be difficult. Fortunately, you don’t have to prove the defendant intended to injure you, only that they were careless.
Tort law requires a victim to prove all of the following elements of a negligence claim:
- Duty of care: The at-fault party should have ensured the victim is safe by taking the necessary steps to prevent any incident from happening.
- A breach of duty: A person breaches their duty of care if they fail to protect another person they should have protected.
- Negligent act: An accident or injury occurs due to the at-fault party’s breach.
- Losses: When the at-fault party is negligent, they can cause the victim harm or even wrongful death.
Since people have different duties to avoid incidents that hurt others. The duty of care varies depending on the circumstances. For example, store owners should wipe up spills that could result in falls, and drivers should not text and drive. These are some of the elements of negligence claim your attorney will have to prove to get compensation.
Contact George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers for Legal Assistance
While you can imagine that the difference between bodily injury and personal injury is the injury itself, it’s more nuanced than that. In some cases, your injury might overlap both categories. Your lawyer can explain the complexity of personal injury cases.
If you’ve sustained severe injuries due to the negligence of another individual or organization, reach out to George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, for legal assistance. Contact us and we’ll work to complete a successful claim and get you the closure you need.