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What Is Considered a Personal Injury?

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Understanding Personal Injury

A personal injury can be an injury to your body, but can also be an injury to your mental state or emotions. So, what is considered a personal injury? The law of personal injury is meant to help compensate the injured party for the damage that the injury has caused them and exists to protect people from harm and help compensate for their losses if they have been injured.

If you have been injured and are considering a personal injury lawsuit, you should consult with an experienced attorney. If you’ve been injured, you may be facing pain and suffering, rising medical bills, and lost wages. This can be very confusing and frustrating. A personal injury lawyer can speak with you to discuss whether you are entitled to compensation and can guide you through the legal process.

What is a Tort?

patrick reganPersonal injury law falls within the branch of the law called “torts.” A tort is a civil wrong, as opposed to a criminal wrong. A criminal wrong is a wrong against society and is meant to enforce justice for the public. The goal of criminal wrongs is to imprison the wrongdoer, which both keeps society safe and rehabilitates the wrongdoer.

Tort law, however, remedies private wrongs (wrongs between private citizens or companies) and is meant to compensate the victim. The goal for the wrongdoer is not imprisonment, but the payment of whatever monetary compensation the victim requires to be fully compensated for the injury he or she has suffered.

There are three different types of tort, which means that there are three types of personal injury claims: Negligence, strict liability, and intentional wrongs.

What is a Negligence Personal Injury?

Personal injury claims are often the result of a negligent action. Negligence is the failure to act with the level of care that a reasonably careful person would have used. A successful personal injury claim must prove all four elements of a negligence claim:

What is a Strict Liability Personal Injury?

A strict liability tort occurs only in specific situations that are so inherently dangerous that the injured party doesn’t need to Attorney Salvtore Zambriprove that the other party breached their duty to them. The action is considered to be so dangerous that it is clear that a duty was breached.

In a strict liability case, all that the injured party has to prove is that the at-fault party caused the injury without proving negligence. Some examples of strict liability personal injury claims are:

What is an Intentional Personal Injury?

An intentional tort is an intentional action causing a private injury that does not rise to the level of criminal liability. Some of the most common intentional torts in personal injury are:

What is the Difference Between a Bodily Injury and a Personal Injury?

Victor LongThough “bodily injury” and “personal injury” sound similar, personal injury is a broader branch of the law that includes bodily injury, as well as injury to a victim’s emotions. Many of the intentional personal injuries listed above are meant solely to protect the mental state of the victim. Assault, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress are all personal injury claims that relate to emotional distress.

The tort of assault, contrary to popular belief, protects only against the reasonable fear of a battery or attack. False imprisonment is meant to compensate the victim for the mental anguish associated with being trapped or held against one’s will. Finally, intentional infliction of emotional distress explicitly protects the mental state of the victim and compensates for emotional distress. None of these types of torts are “bodily injuries,” but they are personal injuries.

Contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at Regan Zambri Long, PLLC

Have you been injured and suspect that your claim falls under one of these types of personal injury? What is considered a personal injury? If you’ve been injured and are considering a personal injury claim, you should consult with an experienced attorney. The legal knowledge and experience that a good lawyer can bring to the table are crucial to the success of a personal injury claim.

Regan Zambri Long has achieved national recognition for personal injury litigation and has obtained millions of dollars in personal injury recovery for its clients for a wide range of personal injury types. Regan Zambri Long PLLC protects the rights of injury victims in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. As well as those affected by government entities.

A lawyer from Regan Zambri Long, PLLC will discuss your claim with you, talk to you about proving the elements of your personal injury claim, and guide you through the litigation process. Call today to schedule a free consultation.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.

Call 202-960-4596

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