Bodily Injury vs. Personal Injury

Although they are often used interchangeably, bodily injury and personal injury have two different definitions in the eyes of the law. If you are the injured party (plaintiff) in a personal injury claim in Texas, you should understand the differences and nuances between these two terms. A personal injury lawyer in Houston can help you explore this topic in more detail.

What Is a Bodily Injury?

A bodily injury refers to the specific injury or illness suffered by a plaintiff in an accident during a personal injury claim. Bodily injury can refer to a broken bone, laceration, muscle strain, soft-tissue injury, brain injury or spinal cord injury. It can also refer to an illness or disease, as well as a mental health condition or psychological injury if the psychological injury arose from a physical injury. Finally, bodily injury can refer to a death during a wrongful death claim.

What Is Bodily Injury Liability Insurance?

Bodily injury liability insurance is a type of car insurance that is required for all drivers in Texas. Texas is a fault-based insurance state, meaning the driver guilty of causing a car accident will be financially responsible for victims’ injuries and property damage. After a car accident, the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage will pay for the injuries and medical expenses of others injured in the crash.

The required amount of bodily injury liability insurance in Texas is at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. Drivers are also required to carry at least $25,000 in property damage liability coverage. Bodily injury also refers to a type of coverage on a homeowners insurance policy. In this case, it will cover a victim’s medical bills and lost wages if they are the result of an accident caused by a defect on the policyholder’s property.

What Is a Personal Injury?

The definition of personal injury is not as specific as bodily injury. It is an umbrella term that can encompass physical, mental, emotional and financial harm caused to a person by someone else’s negligence or wrongful act. In personal injury law, negligence is a careless act that a reasonable and prudent party would not have committed in the same or similar circumstances.

Personal injury can refer to many different types of harm inflicted by a defendant. Unlike bodily injury, its definition is not restricted to only physical and emotional injuries. Personal injury can refer to bodily injuries, emotional injuries, property damage, invasion of privacy, harassment or discrimination, definition, humiliation, fear, financial harm, and more.

A personal injury claim specifically refers to a lawsuit brought by an injured plaintiff against the person or party allegedly responsible for causing his or her injuries. A personal injury claim in Texas seeks financial compensation to make the plaintiff whole again. In other words, the plaintiff is pursuing a monetary award from the defendant to restore him or her to the economic state he or she would have been in had the accident not occurred.

What Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?

Personal injury protection insurance, also called PIP, is a type of auto insurance that is required in no-fault states. PIP insurance pays for the policyholder’s own medical bills and lost wages after an automobile accident. It also pays for the medical expenses and damages of injured passengers. Personal injury insurance will pay for these losses whether or not the policyholder was at fault for the auto accident.

This is the difference between a fault and a no-fault state; in a fault state, the driver at fault for causing the accident will pay for victims’ losses using his or her bodily injury liability insurance. In a no-fault state, all injured victims will seek payment from their own insurance carriers through their personal injury protection insurance.

For more information about the difference between bodily injury vs. personal injury, or for legal advice tailored to your specific case, consult with an attorney in Houston.