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Personal And Bodily Injuries: How To Differentiate Them

Lots of people assume that if you suffer an ‘injury’, this is a catch-all term that covers everything from minor cuts and grazes to broken bones, concussions and other severe traumas.

Unfortunately, as with any term that has legal implications, there are actually different definitions that apply in different contexts.

Two of the main categories are personal injuries and bodily injuries. But what separates these two, and when will each be relevant to you?

Personal injuries unpicked

In a legal sense, a personal injury claim is one which seeks to recoup compensation for people who have either been injured in an accident, or suffered intangible damage to their reputation as a result of the actions of a third party.

In this sense, a personal injury does not need to be purely physical, although more often than not this is at least one aspect of a case being brought against defendants by the plaintiff.

Damage done to your body, as well as the emotional effects of everything from accidents at work to vehicle collisions on the road, fall under personal injury law.

Most importantly, personal injury is a facet of civil law, rather than of criminal law. Cases of this kind can still go to court, and compensation can be claimed both on the economic fallout the plaintiff suffers, as well as the emotional impact.

If you believe you are eligible to make a personal injury claim after an accident or an act of defamation, then finding an experienced, knowledgeable attorney is essential. If this sounds like a tricky task in its own right, check out the questions to ask a personal injury attorney on this page so you can tell if you are hiring the right person to represent your interests.

Bodily injuries explained

While personal injury is a term that applies to civil law, bodily injury is a definition which is most useful in a criminal law context.

As the name suggests, a bodily injury is one which details the exact nature of damage suffered by a person, whether that happens as a result of an accident or due to deliberate criminal actions.

More often than not, bodily injuries are discussed in relation to auto accidents. When making a claim, you will need evidence to demonstrate what injuries you suffered, as well as to prove who was liable for the incident in the first place.

Reporting accidents and incidents to the police is the best way to ensure that your version of events is properly recorded. You must also notify insurers, depending on the scenario. For auto accidents, this is a legal requirement.

Further points to consider

As you can tell, there is a degree of overlap between personal and bodily injuries, with personal injury cases potentially involving elements of bodily injury law, according to the details of the specific incident.

As mentioned earlier, if you think you are eligible to make a claim after an accident, then you do not need to go through this challenging and stressful process alone. Having an attorney on your team will ensure that even the most taxing legal terms and definitions can be carefully explained to you, to minimize confusion.

Of course not all attorneys are well versed in personal injury law, so selecting a specialist to tackle your case is best.

Lastly, it is worth learning about personal injury law and what to do after being involved in an accident even if you have not yet found yourself in this situation. The more you know and the more prepared you are, the more effectively you will be able to cope when catastrophes arise.


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Personal And Bodily Injuries: How To Differentiate Them

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