Personal injury is the term used to describe physical and mental injuries that occur because of someone else's negligence, intentional actions, or strict liability.

• Negligence means the other party failed to act with reasonable care. For example, imagine you are in your car stopped at a red light when another driver rear ends you because he or she isn't paying attention. If you suffer physical injuries in the crash, those could be personal injury due to negligence. (Any damage to your car is property damage, not personal injury, because the car is an object, not a person.)
• Intentional harm means the other person set out to hurt you. This includes cases of battery, assault, and false imprisonment.
• Strict liability means that anyone involved in the production, distribution, or sale of a defective product can be held responsible if the product injures someone.