If you’ve recently been injured and think you have a case, it’s important to know the difference between personal injury and bodily injury. Personal injury law encompasses various unfortunate situations where others caused you harm, whether intended or not. Bodily injuries are more specific and describe injuries sustained by another individual, such as in a car accident. In some cases, you can file a personal injury claim for a car wreck, but a personal injury also entails slip and falls, defective products, and wrongful death claims. As it pertains to insurance, bodily insurance is an insurance policy that pays accident victims with the insurance policy of the at-fault or negligent party.
Proving Negligence In a Personal Injury Claim
You can suffer a personal injury from a defective product or if you’re in a public place with hazards that the property owner didn’t address or repair. Medical or professional malpractice, car accidents, and nursing home neglect or abuse are also classified as personal injury. If your injury wasn’t intentional but occurred because of the carelessness of someone else, your case is likely described as a personal injury.
You need to have certain elements to prove your personal injury, including:
- the at-fault party did not practice their duty of care;
- the defendant did not meet the duty of care toward you specifically;
- the at-fault party is directly responsible for your injury;
- damages resulted from the defendant’s actions or lack of action.
Compensation for Personal Injury
Your settlement funds are categorized as economic or non-economic damages. Your economic damages are based on the losses you incurred due to your injury. This includes lost wages, rehabilitation, medical bills, and any out-of-pocket costs related to the accident. It is difficult to place a value on non-economic damages, which is why you should hire a lawyer. Pain and suffering are part of non-economic damages and some states place a cap on how much of an award you can receive. The limit is often around $350,000. The average payout for your claim depends on the type of injuries you suffered. On average, you can expect to receive between $3,000 and $75,000. As for mass tort claims, payouts are typically much larger, usually reaching amounts in hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you work with an experienced attorney, you’re likely to receive more compensation.
The Law Pertaining to Bodily Injury
Bodily injury claims are usually filed in reference to insurance. This means you can claim medical coverage for your injuries and request that the driver at fault pays for your medical bills from their insurance policy. The liable driver’s insurance will pay for the injuries of injured drivers, passengers, or pedestrians who were involved in the accident. Keep in mind that a bodily injury claim is not the same as a property damage liability claim.
To file a bodily injury claim, try to remain as calm as possible and contact the police as soon as the accident occurs. Make sure the police create a report and gather all documentation related to your accident. Take pictures of all the automobiles in the accident and get contact information for each driver. Talk to any witness of the crash and get their contact details as well.
Bodily Injury Compensation
If you’ve sustained bodily injury, you deserve compensation for any lost wages and the inability to generate income. You should also be paid for any treatment and repairs related to the accident, such as rehabilitation, transport to the hospital, and X-rays.
If you’re filing a bodily injury claim, you can also claim future losses and expenses. If you’ve been injured severely, this could affect your life long-term. You could be paid for permanent or temporary disability, long-term physical therapy, or impairment. The amount you receive in your settlement will depend on how serious your injuries are.
Bottom Line
Be sure to meet with an attorney right away whether you’ve suffered personal or bodily injury. A lawyer will look over all aspects of your case and work with the defendant or insurance compensation to make sure you are compensated fairly.
