When one gets injured because of someone else, a personal injury claim is one of the first things that you should do. However, there are situations when people mistake certain situations for personal injury.
So, what doesn’t qualify as a personal injury? Before you hire a personal injury lawyer, here’s what you have to know.
What Is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a situation when someone has been injured due to the negligence of another person. With a personal injury case, one can recover compensation when the damage has been done to a person – damage that caused physical pain and suffering.
Some of the most common causes of personal injuries are work accidents, road traffic accidents, assault claims, tripping accidents, and product defect accidents. Moreover, some medical and dental accidents can be classified as personal injury too, which may lead to medical negligence claims. Industrial disease cases are included, as well.
For someone to receive compensation for a personal injury, they have to prove that someone else was responsible for the injury in the first place. The amount of compensation that one can receive depends on how bad the injury is and the expenses the sufferer or immediate family has to deal with as a result.
What Is Not a Personal Injury?
Many people may end up mistaking certain damages with personal injury. So, it’s essential to know what isn’t a personal injury so that you know what course of action to take.
If someone damaged property, it doesn’t classify as a personal injury. The damage has been done to property and not a person’s body, which is why it can’t be considered a personal injury. Property damage could include damage to anything that belongs to the affected person, such as a house or car, for instance.
Moreover, if a physical injury has been caused by the one suffering from the injury, then it can’t be considered a personal injury either. Simply put, if you are the one responsible for your own injury, you can’t blame someone else for doing it and asking for compensation as a result.
If you caused your injury, then you have to deal with the consequences yourself, and you shouldn’t sue anyone else for the event. Keep in mind that for a personal injury case, you need proof to show that it was someone else who caused the injury. Without any evidence, you’d only waste time.
Final Thoughts
Personal injury is something serious that could affect someone physically, mentally, and financially. So, it’s important to know when you can receive compensation. At the same time, you should know what doesn’t qualify as a personal injury, so you don’t end up suing an innocent person.
If you’re the one who caused your injury, then it cannot be considered a personal injury. The same goes if the only thing damaged was property, and not your body. Make sure to remember this before suing someone.
