La diferencia entre lesiones corporales y lesiones personales en California

To most Californians, the terms “bodily injury” and “personal injury” sound similar, if not identical. But for California lawyers, they have distinct, albeit related, meanings. Bodily injury is insurance-industry terminology for physical injuries covered by an insurance policy. Personal injury is an area of law that deals with seeking compensation for physical, emotional, or financial harm caused by someone else’s misconduct.

Here’s an overview of the key differences and overlaps between bodily injury and personal injury and an experienced California personal injury lawyer’s role in handling matters involving them.

Lesiones corporales en California

Californians purchase insurance to protect themselves and others against risks of harm. Many insurance policies — including auto, homeowners, renters, and workers’ compensation insurance — cover the risk of bodily injury to the policyholder or others. In covering bodily injuries, an insurance company promises to pay the insured party up to a certain amount (the “policy limit”) for expenses and losses stemming from the harm they suffered. A request seeking payment from that insurer is known as a bodily injury claim.

What constitutes a bodily injury? Every insurance policy supplies a definition, but generally speaking, a bodily injury is any physical harm, including illness, disease, or death, that isn’t expressly excluded from coverage under the policy’s terms. Examples of bodily injuries covered by insurance include brain trauma suffered in a car accident or broken bones from a slip and fall. In California, emotional distress on its own does not usually constitute a bodily injury for insurance purposes, but it might be covered when accompanied by a physical injury.

La manera más confiable de determinar si una póliza de seguro cubre sus lesiones corporales es consultar con un abogado especializado en lesiones personales en California. Un abogado puede revisar su póliza de seguro y determinar el alcance y la cantidad de cobertura que ofrece para cualquier lesión que haya sufrido.

Lesiones personales en California

California lawyers use the term personal injury to refer to the area of law concerned with obtaining compensation for the harm you suffer because of someone else’s dangerous or wrongful actions. In that context, a personal injury is any physical, emotional, or financial injury caused by a preventable accident or incident that was someone else’s fault.

El proceso de solicitar una indemnización por lesiones personales se denomina demanda por lesiones personales. Una demanda por lesiones personales puede adoptar diversas formas. Para obtener una indemnización para una víctima de accidente lesionada, un abogado podría:

• Solicitar y negociar informalmente un pago de la parte culpable o de otra persona responsable del daño causado.
• Submit a bodily injury claim under an insurance policy covering the victim’s losses
• Presentar una demanda contra la parte culpable o una compañía de seguros solicitando daños y perjuicios.

Lawyers usually aren’t limited to just one of these options. Depending on the circumstances, they might pursue all of them simultaneously or one at a time to achieve a favorable outcome for their client. If you sustained injuries in California because of someone else’s careless, reckless, or intentionally harmful actions, contact a lawyer to discuss whether you have a personal injury claim to make and how much you might stand to receive.

Diferencias entre demandas por lesiones corporales y demandas por lesiones personales

Como se refleja en las explicaciones anteriores, las reclamaciones por lesiones corporales y lesiones personales difieren, pero también se superponen. Sufrir daños físicos en un accidente podría darle derecho a presentar una reclamación por lesiones corporales con una póliza de seguro. Y dicha reclamación podría formar parte de la acción por lesiones personales que un abogado gestiona en su nombre.

Still, not all bodily injury claims necessarily lead to personal injury claims. For example, suppose you lost control of your car on a rain-slick road, crashed, and suffered injuries. You might have a bodily injury claim to make under your auto insurance policy (assuming you paid for that kind of coverage). But because the accident wasn’t anyone else’s fault, you might not have a personal injury claim to make.

Similarly, not all personal injury claims necessarily involve you submitting a bodily injury claim directly to an insurance company. For instance, if you slip and fall in a grocery store, the grocer’s general commercial liability (GCL) insurance might cover their legal liability for your bodily injury. But your lawyer might decide to sue the grocer immediately on your behalf to meet California’s two-year statute of limitations, rather than submitting a bodily injury liability claim to the store’s insurer first.

Bodily injury and personal injury claims can also differ in the compensation you can achieve from them. In a bodily injury claim, the categories and amounts of payments you can claim are defined by the terms of the insurance policy. For example, the typical workers’ compensation insurance policy covers you only against specific expenses related to a work-related bodily injury (medical care and a portion of your lost income) but not others (your pain and suffering), up to a maximum amount.

In contrast, a personal injury claim can generally seek compensation for all the harm you suffered because of someone else’s wrongdoing, including your medical and non-medical costs, past and future financial losses, physical pain, emotional suffering, and diminished quality of life.

Comuníquese hoy con el abogado Jeff Injury Lawyers para obtener ayuda con su reclamo por lesiones en California.

Si sufrió una lesión recientemente en California, podría tener derecho a recibir una compensación significativa mediante una demanda por lesiones corporales o lesiones personales. Para explorar sus opciones, contacto Llame hoy al abogado Jeff Injury Lawyers para una evaluación gratuita de su caso.

Preguntas frecuentes sobre lesiones corporales y personales en California

Escrito por

Michelle Jaco

Estratega de contenido y redactora publicitaria radicada en el Condado de Orange, cuenta con más de diez años de experiencia profesional en redacción. Licenciada en Inglés por la Universidad Estatal de San Diego, se especializa en la creación de identidad de marca y la mejora de la interacción con el lector, con experiencia en contenido legal, redacción publicitaria para startups de software y branding de estilo de vida. Cuando no está escribiendo en su cafetería favorita, Michelle suele viajar, correr por la playa y disfrutar de su afición deportiva animando a los Kansas City Chiefs y a los Los Angeles Dodgers (aunque insiste en que no es una oportunista).