While bodily injury and personal injury appear to be the same, there’s one major difference.
Bodily injury describes a type of damage you can collect compensation for, while a personal injury is a type of claim that you file.
Think about it this way: bodily injury entails any damages suffered in an accident. (You’ll also see this phrase in insurance policies, as it refers to a specific type of coverage.) On the other hand, personal injury describes a type of civil court claim filed against a negligent party.