A bodily injury is a physical injury to a person. Five common examples of bodily injury are:
- broken bones,
- nerve damage,
- pain,
- brain damage, and
- internal injuries.
However, some losses are not bodily injuries. Five examples of what is not considered bodily injury are:
- emotional distress,
- property damage,
- loss of consortium,
- lost wages, and
- reputational harm.
Whether someone suffers a bodily injury can impact both personal injury cases and criminal cases.
What amounts to bodily injury?
Bodily injuries are physical wounds or impairments. They can be visible or invisible. Some of them can be fatal. Most cause physical pain, though not all do. Others can negatively affect the victim in other ways.
Some of the most obvious bodily injuries are:
- cuts or lacerations,
- broken bones,
- burns,
- bruises,
- sprains or strains, and
- torn muscles, tendons, or ligaments.
However, other physical impairments can also amount to bodily injuries, including:
- internal damage, such as internal bleeding or organ damage,
- nerve damage,
- chronic pain,
- loss of range of motion or strength, and
- mental disabilities, such as an inability to concentrate from a concussion.
These other symptoms or conditions can also result from a more apparent bodily injury.
What does not amount to a bodily injury?
To be a bodily injury, the condition must be physical. It cannot be:
- mental,
- emotional, or
- financial or monetary.
As a result, some examples of losses that are not bodily injuries include:
- anxiety,
- emotional distress,
- mental anguish,
- loss of life’s enjoyment,
- property damage,
- funeral costs,
- reputational harm,
- loss of money,
- lost income, and
- a family member’s loss of consortium.
Why does it matter in a personal injury case?
Whether a bodily injury occurred will matter in a personal injury case. Victims are entitled to financial compensation for their losses that stem from a bodily injury. Those losses are generally covered by bodily injury liability policies from an insurance company. This liability coverage can come from a car insurance policy or another type of third-party insurance coverage.
Liability insurance typically covers all of the losses caused by a bodily injury. These can include non-bodily injuries, as well. For example, liability insurance will generally cover the victim’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering from a bodily injury, if the injury was caused by the negligence of the insurance company’s policyholder.
Bodily injury liability coverage in auto insurance policies
Nearly every state requires drivers to carry at least some liability insurance for bodily injuries. This liability insurance covers bodily injuries caused by the policyholder in a car accident.
For example, California car insurance laws require all drivers in the state to have at least:
- $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, and
- $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident.[1]
These are minimum limit requirements. Other state’s laws may set different state minimum coverage requirements, potentially with higher limits. Drivers can, and often should, carry more than the minimum. This can prevent them from being held personally liable for injuries that they cause in a crash. By having car insurance coverage with the highest bodily injury liability limits that you can afford, you can insulate yourself from a liability claim that you would have to pay to the injured party out of pocket. It would also mean your legal defense and legal fees would be covered by your insurer.
If you cause an auto accident and someone else suffers a bodily injury, this liability coverage will pay for the victim’s losses. It will cover all of the victim’s losses that are associated with the bodily injury. This includes non-bodily injuries like their medical expenses, lost wages, and mental anguish. It will pay for these losses up to the policy limit. If the victim’s losses are greater than the policy limit, the insurance company will not pay for them anymore. Should this happen, the victim will have to turn to one of the following sources of recovery:
- their underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage,
- the at-fault driver’s personal umbrella insurance policy, if he or she has one, or
- the at-fault driver’s personal assets.
If you cause an accident that only leads to property damage, the bodily injury provisions will not cover the crash. Car insurance policies have separate provisions for bodily injuries and property damage. They each have their own policy limits. Property damage liability coverage limits are generally lower because the medical costs of injured people are almost always higher than the net worth of the vehicles involved.
The only state that does not require bodily injury liability coverage in a car insurance policy is Florida. There, drivers only have to carry liability coverage for property damage of at least $10,000. They also have to carry personal injury protection, or PIP insurance, of at least $10,000.[2] Florida is an example of a “no-fault” state where drivers generally cover their own losses in a crash without regard to who caused it.
Other sources of bodily injury liability insurance
While car accidents are among the most common causes of bodily injuries, they can also happen in other situations as well. These implicate different types of insurance policies and the bodily injury liability coverage that they provide.
Some of the most common situations that cause bodily injuries other than car accidents include:
- slip and falls,
- dog bites,
- electric scooter accidents,
- defective products,
- assaults,
- workplace accidents, and
- medical malpractice.
Victims who get hurt in any of these situations will not be covered by a car insurance policy. Instead, they will have to turn to a bodily injury liability policy in a different type of insurance. Some of these types of policies can include:
- malpractice insurance,
- homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance,
- business insurance,
- personal or commercial umbrella insurance,
- general liability insurance, and
- workers’ compensation
In some cases, the insurance coverage is tenuous. Your claim that the bodily injury liability coverage applies to your case can be novel or disputed. Your claim may be denied, forcing you to take your case to court.
For example: Victims in electric scooter accidents were denied coverage under car insurance policies because the scooter was not a motor vehicle. Many have successfully sued negligent scooter riders under the rider’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, which often covers bicycle accidents.
In some other cases, there will be no liability insurance coverage for your bodily injuries. This can happen if you were hurt by someone’s intentional or criminal conduct.
For example: Ben is attacked in an alleyway by Joe. Joe breaks Ben’s jaw and is later apprehended. Ben sues Joe but no insurance coverage applies to Joe’s conduct because it was intentional. The only way for Ben to recover financial compensation is by holding Joe personally liable.
Getting the legal advice of a personal injury attorney from a reputable law firm is essential if it is unclear whether bodily injury insurance covers your losses.
Why does it matter in a criminal case?
Many states have criminal laws that increase the severity of the charges or enhance the sentence if you cause a:
- bodily injury, or
- great bodily injury.
Different states define these terms differently. If criminal conduct satisfies these definitions, the penalties of a conviction will be higher.
For example, in California, some felony cases are subject to a sentencing enhancement if the defendant caused a great bodily injury while committing a crime.[3]
Under this law, a great bodily injury is a significant or a substantial one.[4] It has to be worse than one that is minor or moderate.[5] Because it requires a bodily injury, it has to involve physical harm rather than emotional trauma or financial loss.[6] However, it does not need to be permanent or severe to amount to a great bodily injury.[7]
These great bodily injuries are commonly associated with the following offenses:
- assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code 245(a)(1) PEN),
- domestic violence offenses,
- elder abuse (Penal Code 368 PEN), and
- sex crimes.
If a crime caused a great bodily injury to the victim, the defendant will face an additional sentence of 3 to 6 years in state prison.[8] This is in addition to the sentence for the underlying offense. It is also served consecutively with the other sentence. It counts as a strike under California’s three strikes law.
For example: Mark robs Nancy. During the robbery, Mark throws her to the ground, where she hits her head. Nancy suffers a traumatic brain injury. Mark is arrested and convicted for the offense. He is sentenced to 5 years in prison for the robbery. Because he caused a great bodily injury during the robbery, he is also given another 3-year sentence. Once he finishes his 5-year sentence for robbery, he starts on the additional 3-year term.
Legal References:
[1] California Insurance Code 11580(b).
[3] California Penal Code 12022.7 PEN.
[4] California Penal Code 12022.7(f) PEN.
[5] California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) No. 3160.
[6] People v. Escobar, 3 Cal.4th 740 (1992).
[7] Same.
[8] California Penal Code 12022.7 PEN.
