What’s the Difference Between Bodily Injury and Personal Injury?

In the legal world, personal injury and bodily injury are terms used on a regular basis. While it may seem like they are one-in-the-same, the reality is they are very much different terms that have different meanings. If you have been in an Arizona accident and you are beginning the process of pursuing compensation, you will undoubtedly be discussing personal injury and bodily injury in relation to your lawsuit with your Arizona serious injury attorney. For this reason, getting a firm grasp on what these terms mean is useful.

What is the Difference Between Personal Injury and Bodily Injury?

If you have been in an accident where your body was physically injured, you have endured a personal injury. In terms of civil law, you would pursue a personal injury lawsuit and you would be deemed the plaintiff. If you are successful, you would receive some amount of monetary compensation for your damages.

If a person involved in an accident dies as a result of a personal injury they were inflicted with, a representative of the deceased’s estate becomes the plaintiff. The lawsuit would then be one of a wrongful death lawsuit. Regardless of if your case is a personal injury case or a wrongful death case, the individual or individuals who were responsible for your accident would be called the defendant.

Examples of personal injury include:

• Any type of slander to a person or a business in both writing or through speech.
• False arrest or imprisonment.
• Wrongful eviction or entry by an owner or landlord into a private space that is occupied by another person.
• Violations of a person’s right to privacy in both writing and speech.
• Malicious persecution.

A personal injury can occur in almost any situation. Motor vehicle accidents, defective products, slip, and fall accidents, or a drowning accident are all examples of accidents where a personal injury can be sustained. Personal injury is a term that encompasses the total amount of damage caused to a victim.

Bodily injury has a more narrow scope. It defines the specific physical harm that was done to a person by another party and will come into play when a car accident takes place. Some examples of bodily injuries include:

• Bodily harm
• Illness and disease
• Required care
• Death

A driver’s bodily injury insurance will cover injuries to pedestrians, other drivers, and car occupants who were injured during an accident. When seeking compensation, bodily injury insurance will pay for lost wages as a result of an inability to work due to one’s injuries, future lost earning capacity, current and future medical costs, medical treatments and procedures, and transportation between medical appointments. It will not pay for pain and suffering like a personal injury will.

Are You Ready to Pursue an Arizona Personal Injury Claim?

The statute of limitations in Arizona for filing a personal injury claim is two years from when the accident took place. ELG is an Arizona personal injury law firm that is dedicated to providing exceptional legal services to victims in the state of Arizona. Call the Phoenix personal injury lawyers at ELG today at (623) 877-3600.