What is a personal injury

A personal injury can be:

• a physical injury, disease or illness, or
• a psychological injury or illness.

A personal injury could result in death.

Examples of personal injuries are:

• an injury at work. This includes work-related illnesses such as a disease caused by working with asbestos
• a psychological illness caused by stress at work
• an injury caused in a traffic accident
• an injury received as a result of faulty goods or services
• an injury caused if you trip over paving stones
• a psychological illness suffered as a result of abuse as a child
• an injury caused by errors in hospital treatment or by vaccinations
• a physical or psychological injury sustained by a victim in the course of a crime
• a psychological illness caused by discrimination or harassment in your work-place.

If you have suffered a personal injury, or if you are acting on behalf of someone who has died because of a personal injury, you may want to consider the following:

• do you want to make a complaint to the person or organisation you believe was responsible for the injuries (see under heading Making a complaint)
• do you want to make a claim for compensation to cover losses you have suffered as a result of the injury (see under heading Compensation)
• are there any immediate financial problems arising because of the injury, for example, you are unable to work (see under heading Financial problems)
• do you want to contact an organisation that could offer support or counselling (see under heading Support and counselling).