You often hear the terms personal injury and bodily harm when a individual will get hurt. Even though some people today tend to use private injury and bodily harm interchangeably, both of these terms have entirely different meanings. Here is what you need to know more about the legal definitions and implications of bodily and personal injuries.
What is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a part of law. A personal injury claim compensates victims of accidents or societal wrongs, like defamation of character.
The plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit is the man who is injured. The defendant is the individual whom the case is brought against.
In cases where an injury results in the death of this victim, the plaintiff is the representative of the deceased’s estate. The defendant at a personal accident claim is the person whose negligence caused an injury or loss to the sufferer. When the defendant asserts blame to another party, the other party is known as the cross-defendant.
Legal Facets of Personal Injury
Statutory Limitations
In Nevada, you’re required to file an injury claim within two years from the time of an crash. If you fail to make a claim within this statutory limitation window, then you may lose the right to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Liability
The other legal issue arising from personal injury cases in Nevada is that the question of liability. There are cases in which a jury could conclude that the plaintiff was partly or wholly at fault for their injuries or the crash. Nevada uses a special rule called modified comparative negligence.
According to the legal idea, the compensation an injured person stands to receive is decreased by using their share of liability for an accident. Another vital component of this rule is that if the injured party is discovered to be greater than 50 percent liable for the accident, they’re no longer entitled to recover damages in the suit.
Burden of Proof
The burden of proof in a personal injury case is relatively low when compared with criminal cases because these cases are concentrated on compensating the plaintiff for their losses or injuries. To get compensation, the plaintiff in a personal injury case has to show that the defendant acted negligently, or did not behave as a reasonable person could have in the same situation.
What Are the Elements of Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim?
Personal accidents may arise due to defective products, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, professional malpractice, nursing home abuse, and many other incidences.
The main elements of neglect you need to prove at a personal injury claim are:
- That the party at fault owed a duty of maintenance
- That the accused failed to fulfill their duty of care towards you
- That the direct cause of your losses or injuries had been due to the activities of the party at fault
- That harms resulted from the at-fault party’s actions.
While the lawful duty of a defendant can fluctuate based on one’s jurisdiction and the situation in question, everybody is obligated to do everything in their ability to prevent accidents. By way of instance, drivers should not operate vehicles while drunk, shopping malls should have dry floor surfaces that have no debris that might result in slip and fall mishaps, and producers shouldn’t provide defective products.
Compensation in Personal Injury Cases
The damages given in personal injury cases are categorized as economical and non-economic damages. Economic damages are calculated based on one’s actual losses. They include medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, and rehabilitation costs. Non-economic damages are hard to value.
A fantastic example of non-economic damages is suffering and pain. Nevada places caps on non-economic damages awarded in medical malpractice claims. The cap put on non-economic damage awards in such cases is 350,000. However, there is currently no limit on non-economic damages in other types of cases, including auto accidents.
That number actually depends on each exceptional case as well as the injuries sustained. A seasoned injury injury lawyer will be able to help you get the maximum amount for your damages.
What is Bodily Injury?
Bodily injury differs from personal harm because it deals with a specific harm to the body of a individual that is caused by somebody else. The physical harm definition refers to specific injuries sustained. Although this term is more commonly employed for harms in criminal cases, in addition, there are implications of bodily injury when it comes to insurance.
Legal Aspects of Bodily Injury
A bodily injury claim normally arises in the insurance context with regard to motor car insurance. By way of instance, the Nevada bodily injury notion means you will maintain medical coverage from the at-fault motorist after an auto incident .
Bodily injury liability insurance compensates the harms of different motorists, passengers, or pedestrians in cases where the insured would be to blame for the crash. This compensation will be provided to your specific injury involved in the insurance claim. It is different from property damage liability coverage.
Filing a bodily injury claim:
- Breathe, and stay calm. The very first thing you should do after a car accident has happened is assess the situation. Make sure that everyone is okay and move everyone away from danger, if it’s acceptable for them to be transferred.
- Call the authorities. The police officer can help mediate communications between you and others who have been involved in the accident, and he/she can track traffic and determine if intoxication was, at all, connected into the incident.
- Gather and collect documentation. Take photographs of any injuries you may have sustained, and don’t neglect to keep documenting them as they progress. You will also need pictures of all vehicles involved. If it’s possible, try to grab photos of the entire scene as well.
- Talk to those involved in the accident. Be sure to receive a comprehensive collection of information about every driver. You’ll need information like their names, phone numbers, addresses, and insurance details. Also, provide this information about yourself to the other drivers.
- Speak with Witnesses. Attempt to obtain information from as many witnesses as you can. Just after the mess happens, ask each person in the area for their names, phone numbers, and addresses.
Compensation For Bodily Injury
When you suffer physical injury, you are eligible to receive compensation for out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, medical expenses, treatment procedures for example x-rays, treatment costs, and transportation to the hospital. Although it’s possible to get compensation for pain and suffering, this is complicated in relation to bodily injury as this is generally reserved for bodily harms.
In bodily harm cases, one can further claim prospective losses and expenses. These harms arise when a person has acute injuries that are most likely to impact their life negatively for a long duration. Under those costs, you may receive compensation for future lost income, disfigurement, future therapy, permanent disability, and impairment. The settlement amount will depend on the intensity of your injuries.
Summing it Up
Personal injury suggests any type of injury sustained in accidents.
On the flip side, bodily injury is much more restricted and may imply injuries sustained by someone else, usually in a car accident. In an insurance context, bodily injury is a sort of insurance policy that compensates victims of a collision through the at-fault party’s insurance plan.
If you find yourself in a situation in which you’ve been hurt, it is important to retain a qualified personal injury attorney to help you navigate the complex injury law process of recovering damages. Insurance companies are well versed in different tactics to ensure they pay the lowest amount possible.
Consider hiring a lawyer who will use their experience to get you a settlement that is commensurate with the injuries you are suffering from. Don’t jeopardize your entitlement to a just resolution; schedule your free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers today.