EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
Emotional Distress – A claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress: The responsible party exhibited negligent behavior that caused the distress (i.e., rear end collision). You must be able to prove a connection between the wrongdoer’s conduct and the emotional distress. The distress must result from a physical injury or be so extreme that it results in physical symptoms.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: The responsible party demonstrated intentional behavior that caused distress (i.e., sexual harassment). The conduct was outrageous and intolerable. You must prove a connection between the wrongdoer’s conduct and the emotional distress. To be successful in collecting damages, the distress must be very extreme or outrageous.
Originally Courts would only allow damages for emotional distress if a person has suffered physical harm (i.e., car accident, physical assault, etc.). Recently courts in many states have now recognized a person’s right to an award for money damages without actual physical harm (i.e., sexual harassment).
Some symptoms of a person suffering from emotional distress are as follows: mental anguish, depression, fright, anxiety, grief, humiliation, embarrassment and/or physical pain. So if you are already involved in a personal injury lawsuit and begin seeking treatment for any of these components, documentation of your own activities while experiencing these symptoms is crucial to support your claim. More than likely, if one has been suffering from any or all of these symptoms, they have already been seeking treatment from a medical provider, whether it be a family physician, counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist. Medical testimony is necessary to support this claim.
