Injury or bodily injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. Personal Injury also refers to damage caused to the reputation of another rather than physical harm to the body. A severe and life-threatening injury is referred to as a physical trauma.
Contents |
Serious bodily injury is any injury or injuries to the body that substantially risks death of the victim.
Various legal remedies may be available for personal injury (eg. under the law negligence) or for injury to the reputation of another (eg. see damages and restitution) for slander or libel. In the United States, the legal definition of malicious injury is any injury committed with malice, hatred or one committed spitefully or wantonly. Such an action must be willfully committed with the knowledge that it is liable to cause injury. Injury involving element of fraud, violence, wantonness, willfulness, or criminality.
Injuries may be feigned by a person or animal for various causes.
Faking an injury may allow a person to receive compensation, injury cover, or may result in a team being awarded a penalty in a game of football.
The phrase "playing possum" is derived from the behaviour of the opossum, a mammal which will mimic the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal when threatened. Birds such as the killdeer are known to feign injury to lead a predator away from their nest. The predator gives chase, believing them to be easy prey, but the bird then flies away, hopefully having distracted the predator sufficiently to prevent it from finding its nest.