Bodily injury (or bodily injury) is the consequence of an attack on the physical integrity of a person such as injuries, permanent pain or cosmetic damage. It is often associated with non-pecuniary damage.

Thus, Article 1240 of the Civil Code provides for a right of reparation to victims of bodily injury (or to his assigns in the event of death) in order to restore as much as possible the balance destroyed by the damage.

The risk of damage to others is covered by the civil liability insurance policies present in housing, automobile or legal protection contracts for example.

After appraisal, the amount of compensation will be calculated based on the damage of a heritage nature (medical costs, interruption of work, accommodation adaptation work) and the damage extra-heritage (physical and psychological suffering, harm of pleasure, aesthetic consequences, etc.). Compensation begins from the date of consolidation of the medical condition of the medically established victim.

Many insurance contracts can also cover compensation for bodily injury when it is not the consequence of a third party (e.g. domestic accident). This is the case of the invalidity or permanent incapacity guarantees or the Life Accidents Guarantee (GAV).

How to obtain compensation for bodily injury?

Have you been the victim of bodily injury through the fault of a third party, because of a domestic accident or within the framework of a work accident? Adapt our letter templates to request compensation below according to your situation. In your letter, you will explain the facts by attaching photos of the place of damage, a medical certificate of your injuries and possibly testimonies which will corroborate your statements. The pittsburgh personal injury lawyer can help you in this.

Similar letters: Obtain compensation for the damage suffered , Inform the insurer of the consolidation of his injuries , Request an arbitration procedure , Implement repatriation insurance , Enter the CIVI (victim of crime) , Enter the commission conciliation and compensation for medical accidents (CCI) , Reporting the fault of a hospital . 

The question of compensation for bodily injury, however, requires specificity in that it often presupposes the intervention of an insurance company and an expert who is a priori suspicious but sometimes rightly so.

Thus, as you have understood, the medico-legal assessment of bodily injury depends on the legal expertise or the medical report drawn up at the request of the insurer.

It is on the basis of medical expertise that the judge will fix the amount of compensation.

However, the assessment of bodily injury relates to two main distinct injury items:

Damage of a patrimonial nature: damage of an objective nature (medical and hospital costs, ITT, PPI, loss of chance, assistance from a third person, accommodation adaptation costs) which are subject to due recourse third-party payers 

Damage of a subjective or extra-patrimonial nature: damage of a personal nature (physical or mental suffering, aesthetic and pleasure damage and other and, if applicable, moral damage of the beneficiaries reserved for the victim, depending on his share of responsibility in the accident). 

The medical expertise is intended to specify for each damage item the extent of the damage suffered.

In this regard, the role of the lawyer is fundamental since he has experience enabling him to verify and negotiate, depending on the situation, the damage positions fixed by the medical expertise and to ensure that the victim can be fully amicably compensated or compensable by the judge.

Thus, for all of the following reasons, it is essential to have a lawyer accompany you during the expertise procedure and, if necessary, negotiation with insurance:

The victims' relationship with insurance companies is unbalanced;

The determination of the compensation items is complicated and varies according to each victim, depending on their age, their professional but also family situation, so that the victim cannot calculate the amount of compensation to which they are entitled on their own;

The interests involved are antagonistic since the insurance aims to compensate the victims to the minimum while the latter seek to obtain the maximum;

The guarantee of a perfect knowledge of the jurisprudence and the possibility of acting judicially for the purposes of compensation which can constitute a good means of pressure within the framework of a possible compensation negotiation with the insurance company. 

Finally, my professional experience leads to the following observation: the amount offered "amiably" by insurance companies is below 3 to 5 times the amount of compensation likely to be obtained in court.

Thus, we never negotiate with insurance companies, except when the client is faced with the need to obtain compensation quickly, and prefers, by mutual agreement with the client, to go to court in order to obtain fair and true compensation. Harm suffered. In any case, for the reasons explained above, it is essential that you call on a legal professional specialized in compensation for damage so that he can defend your interests as well as possible.