Accidents are a regrettable fact of life and they occur for a wide range of different reasons. Every day people get hurt because they were irresponsible or through the carelessness of someone else.
It may be that you or someone you know has recently been involved in an accident, and you’ve been hearing phrases like, ‘bodily injury’ and ‘personal injury.’ But what are they and how are they different? If you want to know the answers, read on because this article will tell you.
Bodily Injuries
When you sustain bodily injuries, it means that your body has been physically damaged by something or someone that has caused you harm. For example, it could be broken bones or lacerations on the skin, bodily scarring, disfigurement, loss of limbs, or death. The situation could have occurred through an automotive accident – and this is the most common scenario for legal claims involving bodily injuries. (Insurance-wise there are differences between the coverage for bodily or personal injuries, and bodily injury cover usually relates to car accidents. If a person has a history of DUI (Driving Under the Influence) convictions their insurance company would require them to pay for bodily injury insurance coverage).
The bodily injury could have occurred from abuse, criminal activity, or the negligence of an individual or organization. The end result could be pain and suffering, disability, illness, loss of earnings and earning capacity, and medical expenses. In these situations, the damages sustained by someone physically will give rise to bodily injury claims against those who are responsible. It’s common for accident victims to harness the knowledge and expertise of a lawyer in order to pursue a fair financial settlement from the responsible party’s insurance company.
For more information on this whole topic, it is advisable to go online and read blogs or visit the sites of personal injury lawyers. You can access guides discussing the difference between a bodily injury and a physical one, as well as the different kinds of compensation. There’s specific help for those who have experienced bodily injuries from car accidents, and it’s possible to have live chats online and to request free consultations.
Personal Injuries
Personal injuries are different from bodily injuries in the sense that people can claim for more than just physical damage. The legal term is broader and it can include things like slander, insult, social defamation, sabotage, or threat of harm. In terms of the damage to the victim, this could include emotional distress, pain, suffering, embarrassment, mental anguish including trauma, insomnia, depression, etc.
In a nutshell, personal injury claims arise when one suffers either physically (bodily) or mentally (emotionally). A claim for personal injuries would include all the expenses associated with this type of injury, such as the cost to treat the bodily or emotional harm and other related damages that may be suffered. Personal injury lawyers often specialize in specific scenarios such as work-related accidents, slip, and fall incidents, dog bites, pedestrian accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, and more.
Personal injury lawyer tallahassee get involved where they are needed to prove that someone breached their duty of care or was negligent. Some scenarios include:
- Drunken drivers
- Faulty equipment, for instance at a sports complex
- Lack of training at work
- Medical malpractice including carelessness, a surgery that went wrong, or incorrect medical diagnoses or prescriptions
- Lack of road maintenance, e.g. poor lighting, loose gravel, potholes, overhanging trees
- A dog bite from an illegal breed or an animal that was not kept on a leash
- A fall down a faulty staircase that had not been repaired
- Tripping on loose cables at work
- Badly stored boxes falling from overhead at work
The Statute Of Limitations
This relates to how long a person has to lodge their personal injury claim. The time period is often a couple of years but the timescale does vary between different states in the USA so it’s important to act quickly.
For instance, if you live in Florida and have suffered a personal injury, such as bodily harm, then you should be aware that state law has placed limitations on the period in which you can pursue legal action. In this regard, a good personal injury lawyer in Broward County will advise you to act quickly because insurance companies are also quite savvy when it comes to knowing the statute of limitations. Plus, evidence can be lost or witnesses unavailable, so it’s usually best to act sooner rather than later – and it won’t cost you anything except your time.
As we have seen, bodily injury claims are related to specific medical issues caused by another person, whilst personal injury claims can also include emotional and psychological harm. While there are subtle differences between the two, the outcome is the same.
A legal advocate can become a person’s voice and help them seek justice through submitting a legal claim for a financial settlement. Should the victim be compensated it won’t turn the clocks back but it will provide the money to help them with their expenses, and to be able to resume their life in the best way possible.