People get injured all the time. Some injuries are simple accidents for which no one is to blame, while other injuries are caused by fault, which may give rise to a possibility of compensation. It’s rare for someone to suffer more than one injury giving rise to a claim.
This clearly explains why injured individuals become involved in a claim just once. You can file a lawsuit or an insurance claim if you’ve been injured in an accident. The terms personal injury and bodily injury are, at times, used synonymously. Just because they’re used interchangeably, that doesn’t mean that you can simply slot one in for the other.
They have very different meanings and legal applications. Knowing the difference between personal injury and bodily injury will enable you to proceed with your legal case. You can pursue financial compensation and calculate economic and non-economic damages.
Personal Injury Vs Bodily Injury
Personal injury is a legal term pertaining to civil law. Personal injury claims are lawsuits that deal with cases involving wrongdoings involving inflicting harm to a person by negligence, carelessness, or recklessness. To put it simply, personal injury describes physical and non-physical injuries resulting from the negligence of another party.
Certain acts with the intention to cause direct harm to another party, such as assault, fall under the personal injury umbrella. An example is domestic violence. As the name clearly suggests, bodily injury is an injury to the body. It’s not a type of claim, but a subset of personal injury losses.
Bodily injury is most commonly used in criminal cases. It often involves car accidents. Common types of injuries include but aren’t limited to cuts, broken bones, disfigurement, sickness, or disease. Injured individuals rely upon their lawyers to do the best for them. They’re experienced in many aspects of the process.
Situations That Can Lead to A Personal Injury Lawsuit
If you or someone close to you has been involved in an accident that resulted in an injury due to someone else’s negligent behavior, you may be looking for examples to better understand this field of law. Common causes of personal injury that can give the right to recover damages include:
- Car Accidents
- Slip/Trip & Fall
- Premise Liability Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Product Liability
- Dog Bites
- Medical Malpractice
- False Accusations (Libel or Slander)
- Construction Site Accidents
Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive. If you don’t see the situation that caused your injuries listed, but suffered because of someone else’s negligence, contact a lawyer. When it comes to choosing one, local counsel is preferable. If you’re from the vibrant city of Daytona Beach, reach out to personal injury lawyers nearby. Legal professionals can make the process less stressful.
Statutory Limitations
You’re required to file a personal injury claim within three years from the time of the accident. The experts at accidentfirm.com point out that the statute of limitations applies to all types of personal injury claims. Attention needs to be paid to the fact that, in some states, certain types of personal injury claims have different prescriptive periods.
This is why you need to be careful. The length of the time allowed under a statute of limitations depends on the severity of the offense and the jurisdiction where it’s being disputed. The statute of limitations for a car accident is generally four years.
Nevertheless, things can become complicated. If the victim passed away, surviving family members have only two years from the date of the death to bring a claim. Due to the fact that Florida is a no-fault state, not all car accident victims are able to seek justice.
Negligence In a Personal Injury Case
The key factor in any personal injury case is negligence. Negligence refers to the failure to meet a reasonable standard of conduct, which is meant to protect individuals against grave risk.
It takes place when someone, such as a person, employer, or manufacturer doesn’t respect the standard of care needed to avoid foreseeable harm to another person or property. Identifying the person liable for the injury is essential in a personal injury case.
The Burden of Proof
The burden of proof represents a legal standard that obliges parties to prove their assertions. This is necessary to make sure that legal claims are made on the basis of facts, not personal convictions. Failure to meet the burden of proof gives a motif for appeal. As far as personal injury lawsuits are concerned, the burden of proof is relatively low.
To receive compensation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant acted negligently – in other words, they didn’t act as a reasonable person. Providing negligence is necessary in most cases, particularly car accidents or slip and fall cases. The elements of a negligence claim encompass duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Proving negligence basically means providing sufficient evidence to construct a viable claim against a defendant. The defendant is the party allegedly responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries. Otherwise, no insurance company or jury will side in your favor. Examples of evidence include police reports, eyewitness accounts, photographs and videos, medical records, etc.
The Amount of Compensation Available in A Personal Injury Lawsuit
Different types of personal injury compensation can be sought throughout a settlement negotiation and/or trial. The amount of compensation depends largely on the specifics of the case, as follows:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages or reduced ability to earn income
- Costs of future medical care
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
The plaintiff can seek compensatory damages or punitive damages. Just to be clear, punitive damages are quite rare. Personal injury compensation does get more specific. All in all, knowing the difference between personal injury and bodily injury matters, as you can build a solid case to receive compensation for your losses.
If you haven’t yet retained the services of a lawyer, there’s no better time than now to do so. This way, you can avoid undesirable scenes and seek justice for your suffering.
