Legal Definitions - personal injury

A personal injury refers to any harm caused to an individual's body, mind, or reputation, as distinct from damage to their property. This legal term encompasses a wide range of injuries, from physical wounds and illnesses to emotional distress and damage to one's good name.

Claims for personal injury typically arise from situations where someone's actions, or lack thereof, directly cause harm to another. These situations generally fall into three main legal categories:

• Negligence: When someone fails to act with the reasonable care that a prudent person would under similar circumstances, leading to injury.
• Strict Liability: When a party is held responsible for harm regardless of their intent or whether they acted carelessly. This often applies in cases involving inherently dangerous activities or defective products.
• Intentional Acts: When someone deliberately causes harm to another.

If a personal injury claim is successful, the injured party may receive financial compensation, known as "damages," to cover losses such as medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Examples of Personal Injury:

• Example 1: Physical Injury due to Negligence

  A shopper slips and falls on a wet floor in a grocery store that had no warning signs or barriers, suffering a broken wrist. The store management was aware of the spill but failed to clean it up promptly or warn customers.

  Explanation: This is a personal injury because it involves direct physical harm (a broken wrist) to the shopper's body. The store's failure to maintain a safe environment or provide adequate warnings, despite knowing about the hazard, constitutes negligence. The shopper would seek compensation for their medical treatment, lost wages if they couldn't work, and the pain and suffering caused by the injury.

• Example 2: Emotional and Reputational Harm from an Intentional Act

  A disgruntled neighbor intentionally spreads false and damaging rumors throughout the community about a local business owner, accusing them of criminal activity they did not commit. These lies cause the business owner significant emotional distress, anxiety, and a substantial loss of customers and income due to their damaged reputation.

  Explanation: This constitutes a personal injury because it involves harm to the business owner's reputation and emotional well-being, rather than just physical property. The neighbor's deliberate act of spreading false information falls under an "intentional act" (specifically, defamation), causing non-physical but very real and quantifiable harm, including emotional distress and financial losses.

• Example 3: Physical Injury due to Strict Liability

  A construction worker is severely injured when a newly purchased power tool, used according to its instructions, unexpectedly malfunctions due to a manufacturing defect, causing a deep laceration to their arm.

  Explanation: This is a personal injury because it involves direct physical harm (a severe laceration) to the worker's body. The manufacturer of the power tool could be held liable under "strict liability" because the injury resulted from a defect in their product, even if they did not intend for the product to be faulty or act negligently in its production. The worker's claim would focus on the inherent defect of the product itself, not necessarily the manufacturer's intent or carelessness.