When someone or something causes a personal injury to another person or damage to another's property, the legal profession calls such an act a " tort " .
A tort is committed when one person is harmed or sustains a personal injury because of the wrongful act or negligence of another.
The purpose of personal injury / tort law is to assign responsibility to the individual, group or company responsible for causing such harm. To hold them accountable.
The term "personal injury" encompasses a wide variety of circumstances ranging from a stubbed toe, to an amputated limb, to death, and everything and anything in between.
Many personal injury / tort laws enacted throughout the United States are governed by Statute of Limitation laws which limit their applicability to certain time spans.
For such reasons it is important to engage the legal services of a personal injury attorney soon after the tort is experienced.