Can You Sue For Emotional Distress
Jason Stephens | November 29, 2020 | Personal Injury
Most people who file a personal injury claim focus their efforts upon seeking compensation for their physical injuries. They seek reimbursement for their medical bills and loss of income. They also seek compensation for their diminished earning capacity and other damages related to permanent impairments and disabilities.
However, accident victims are also entitled to compensation for their emotional distress and mental trauma. Individuals who sustain injuries also experience stress and trauma because of the accident and their injuries. These damages are just as real and as serious as the physical injuries and financial damages caused by the accident.
How To Prove Emotional Distress
Before suing someone for emotional distress, you need to prove that it is directly caused by the incident. Mental distress that is caused by physical injury is much easier to prove. Nonetheless, even without permanent scarring or physical disability to show, emotional distress can still be proven through the following:
- Assessing your symptoms of emotional distress such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, crying, and many others.
- Supporting your journals and testimonies with evidence about the incident and the severity of physical injury if it applies.
- Including emotional anguish damages when suing for compensation. Negligent infliction of emotional distress may also be an independent legal claim.
- Filing your claim through the appropriate legal system , which includes documenting evidence, preparing a legal plan, and negotiating for compensation.
Making A Ptsd Claim For A Workplace Injury
An injury that happens at work is usually covered under a workers compensation claim. The goal of the workers compensation system is that it provides no-fault benefits to any worker injured on the job. It also insulates the employer from liability, which means the employers insurance pays the claim and the injured worker isnt permitted to sue the employer for their injuries.
A PTSD claim can be covered under workers compensation in some states.
What kinds of PTSD injuries happen in the workplace?
Workers who are exposed to particularly traumatic events are more likely to experience PTSD from a workplace event police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, first responders and other people who work in high-stress or dangerous environments are at higher risk.
PTSD can also occur in someone who witnesses a tragic or frightening event at work, like seeing a fellow employee die or suffer serious injury in a workplace accident.
An employee can file a workers compensation claim for PTSD without an accompanying physical injury in some states. Each state has its own rules for when PTSD is compensable under workers compensation.
If you make a claim for workplace-related PTSD, you can receive benefits for medical treatment related to the condition, compensation for permanent mental health impairment, lost wages, and any other benefits to which youd be entitled for a physical injury through a workers compensation claim.
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Are You Emotionally Strong Enough To Handle The Stress Of A Lawsuit
Lawsuits are stressful and emotionally taxing. You will want to ask yourself if you are, at the moment, mentally able to handle the often intense stress of initiating an emotional distress lawsuit against your employer. Lawsuits of this nature may demand that you re-experience certain uncomfortable or distressing moments that gave rise to your experience of mental anguish in the workplace, or that you reveal private facts relevant to the case.
If you want to wait a bit before initiating a lawsuit because you feel that you will not be able to emotionally stomach any sort of legal action, you will want to consider the statute of limitations for claims of emotional distress. In New York, the statute of limitations for IIED is one year after the relevant act, and for NIED, the statute of limitations is 3 years following the incident.
Symptoms Of Psychological Injury
Psychological injury can manifest in a broad range of symptoms, including mental, emotional and even physical ones. Diagnosis and treatment of such injuries is not a straightforward process. It can often take a long time to identify a treatment plan that works for the particular circumstances of the injured party. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder can cause an unpredictable number of symptoms including, but not limited to: mood swings, insomnia, irritability, dissociation, difficulty concentrating, difficulty eating, fatigue, chronic anxiety and fear, withdrawal, dissociation, periods of mania, confusion, and more.
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How Is Ptsd Proven In Court
There are 2 kinds of witnesses in a trial: fact witnesses and expert witnesses.
A fact witness testifies about their own observations specifically about what happened in the case. An expert witness testifies about what they believe based on the evidence that was presented to them, which is related to their knowledge and experience in their field of expertise.
The average jury member isnt qualified to judge whether a plaintiff has PTSD. Theyll rely heavily on expert testimony. But the expert cant just say even under oath that the plaintiff has PTSD in order to convince a jury. The expert must provide evidence that explains to the jury why they believe the plaintiff has PTSD.
The plaintiffs own therapist might be both a fact witness and an expert witness if theyve personally observed the plaintiff demonstrating the symptoms of PTSD or if theyve treated the plaintiff for the condition based on the plaintiffs descriptions of their thoughts and behaviors.
Some experts will claim that PTSD can only be caused by a large-scale traumatic event. Others say that PTSD can be caused by a variety of events, and what might not seem traumatic to one person could be intensely triggering for another.
Ultimately, if youre the plaintiff in a PTSD personal injury lawsuit, the jury will decide whether your lawyer has presented enough evidence that you have PTSD.
Enjuris tip:
Can Stress Kill You
Whether its work deadlines, debt or even road rage, we all get stressed from time-to-time.
While for most the feeling passes, others become overwhelmed and unable to cope.
In the short term, stress can leave us anxious, tearful and struggling to sleep.
But over time, continuously feeling frazzled could trigger heart attacks, strokes, and even suicidal thoughts.
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In short, yes, stress can kill you, Dr. Diana Gall from Doctor4U told Yahoo UK.
Though its not the stressful situations that kill you, its how you deal with stress that affects your health.
When we encounter a stressful situation, our body produces hormones that send us into fight or flight.
This causes a surge in the hormone adrenaline, which gets our heart pumping and raises our blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The stress hormone cortisol also gets released, curbing functions that are non-essential in a fight or flight scenario, like the immune and digestive systems.
Fight or flight can be helpful, with the sudden release of adrenaline giving us the boost we need to get through a big work presentation or even escape danger.
Once the stressful situation has passed, our hormone levels should return to normal.
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Over time, sufferers may endure digestive problems, weight gain, and even heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Emotional Abuse Can Cause Nervous Breakdown
The effects of emotional abuse can be painful and destructive, both in the short and long-term. Survivors are often plagued by low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Many experience deep shame, guilt, and self-loathing, in part because these are feelings the abuser has deliberately cultivated in you and as a result of of the stigmas and misunderstanding that surround abusive relationships. Often, shame and guilt drive you to stay silent about your experiences and may act as a barrier to leaving the relationship. Even if you have already walked away from the relationship, psychological pain can remain pervasive, shaping your understanding of yourself and the world around you. This may be particularly true in the absence of a strong social support network, which abusers so often strip from you in order to fuel your dependence.
For some, emotional abuse eventually leads to nervous breakdown. While there is no clinical definition of this phenomenon, it typically refers to the point at which psychological distress disrupts functionality. This loss of function occurs when the effects of emotional abuse become too much to bear. Dr. Philip Timms describes a common trajectory of breakdown:
How To Sue For Emotional Distress With Donotpay
Suing for emotional distress may let you recover some financial damages. However, to do so, you may need to jump through bureaucracies and fill up countless forms and documentation. DoNotPay lets you sue for emotional anguish without going through additional distress than youre already experiencing. Our robot lawyer in an app has been helping users sue anyone from their local insurance companies to big brands such as ATT or Verizon. With our app, all you have to do is:
Thats it! DoNotPay will then generate a demand letter or court filing forms for you. Well even mail a copy of your demand letter to the individual or business you are suing!
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Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress
A victim can suffer emotional distress as the direct result of another person’s negligent behavior. When this happens, the victim may pursue compensation through a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. This is a type of legal claim through which a victim may pursue financial compensation for emotional damage even if she did not suffer a physical injury.
The rules for NIEDs vary from state to state. In some states, if the defendant’s negligent actions caused the plaintiff to suffer an impact, the plaintiff might have an NIED claim. In other states, the plaintiff being close enough to the defendant’s actions to potentially suffer harm is enough to render a claim valid. In most states, the defendant must have been able to reasonably predict that his actions could harm another person in order for an emotional distress claim to lead to compensation for the victim. In every state, the defendant must be shown to have acted negligently, that is, without exercising the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in that situation.
How Much Money Can You Sue For Pain And Suffering From Emotional Distress
Pain and suffering is subjective and often difficult to measure. However, an experienced injury attorney will be able to determine and fight for fair compensation for your distress. Emotional distress can often qualify for both special and general damages. Because of this, pain and suffering compensation usually amounts to 2 to 5 times the total costs of medical bills and lost wages from missed work. This amount can vary significantly on a case-by-case basis. These damages are determined based on a number of factors including total out-of-pocket cost, damages caps, and the severity of your pain and suffering.
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Should I Hire A Lawyer
Yes. If you are planning on filing a lawsuit for emotional distress, it is in your best interest to seek the counsel of an experienced lawyer. However, make sure that your case is worth pursuing. Most lawyers will not take this type of case unless there is a clear opportunity to win the case. Emotional distress cases can become complex and challenging very quickly, so ensure that you have enough evidence to move forward in the case.
Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress
An intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is a bit different than an NIED. With this type of claim, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant intended to cause him emotional trauma through outlandish, violent or otherwise irrational behavior, and that he did, in fact, cause such trauma.
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How Do You Prove Mental Anguish In Court
Mental anguish is much more extreme than emotional distress such as anxiety, embarrassment or bitterness, and can substantially damage a persons daily life.
That being said, emotional distress and mental anguish are considered equal under the law.
When claiming mental anguish, a plaintiff must be able to provide evidence of the nature, duration and severity of mental anguish in order to establish a substantial disruption to their lifestyle in order to win their case.
So, similarly to proving emotional distress in court, proving mental anguish will require evidence such as extreme anxiety and depression that requires medication or other treatments, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers caused by extreme stress, an inability to sleep and more.
However, just proving one or two of the above symptoms will not be enough to be upheld in court. A plaintiff will need to prove extreme, long-lasting mental anguish and show how it has disrupted their life.
The Zone Of Danger Rule In New York
New York is unique from many other states in that it honors the zone of danger rule. This means that an individual might be able to recover damages for witnessing an accident involving an immediate family member. This rule allows an individual who was threatened with bodily harm to recover damages for emotional distress due to the fact that they viewed the death or serious injury of their immediate family member. In order to establish a claim under the zone of danger rule, the plaintiff must prove the following:
- There was a possibility that the plaintiff could have been seriously or fatally injured in the accident along with their loved one
- The plaintiff was contemporaneously aware of the serious injury or death of their loved one
- The injury was sustained by the plaintiffs parent, child, or sibling
- The plaintiff sustained a physical or emotional injury due to witnessing the accident
For more information on IIEDs, NIEDs, and suing for emotional distress in New York, call Belushin Law Firm, P.C. at 918-9890 or contact us online. Our firm offers free initial consultations
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Types Of Emotional Distress A Person Can Experience
When it comes to the reasons why a person may experience emotional distress, this can vary from person to person, along with varying depending on the type of job the person has.
Here are a few examples:
- Suffering emotional distress after a co-worker has repeatedly stalked a person or asked them out on a date, refusing to say no
- Being embarrassed in front of the entire business by a manager who wants to showcase your flaws
- Having a jokester in the office who routinely tries to scare people, and it has resulted in people being on edge
- Being witness to something that was physically hurtful, even though they may not have been the ones hurt
The list continues on. That is why it is so hard for a person to realize that emotional distress can be caused by random, everyday events that are greatly affecting their satisfaction of their job and could potentially hurt them in the future.
How To Feel Less Stressed
The good news is, stress can be both prevented and treated.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, the NHS recommends exercising to help clear your thoughts.
Exercise has been shown to release endorphins, chemicals in the brain that elevate mood and lower stress hormones, Dr. Atkinson said.
Confiding in a loved one or taking time out to do activities you enjoy may also make your problems feel more manageable.
Maintaining a strong support network, in general, can help you to identify solutions and change your perspective, Dr. Atkinson said.
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While it may be tempting to turn to alcohol, smoke or coffee to calm your nerves, Dr. Atkinson warns these are only short-term solutions.
New hobbies, such as learning a new language or playing a new sport, can serve as a beneficial distraction for your mind and improve self-confidence through showing to yourself you can take positive action, he said.
Both the NHS and Dr. Atkinson also recommend mindfulness to help stress sufferers feel more in control.
Mindfulness is the act of giving more attention to your thoughts and feelings in the present, as well as to the environment around you, Dr. Atkinson said.
It helps to interrupt the autopilot mode thats very easy to inhabit on a daily basis.
And the increased awareness thats given to our thoughts and feelings can better equip us to notice signs of stress developing.
Original: Alexandra Thompson Yahoo Style UK Nov
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Are You Clear About What You Really Want Out Of Your Lawsuit
As with anything, its important that you are clear about your goals. Before initiating a lawsuit, you will want to think about what you really want out of the lawsuit. It may be the case that you are hoping to recover damages for the emotional or physical injuries you suffered, or it may be the case that you are just looking for some sort of resolution to a difficult situation in the workplace.
Before making a stress claim against an employer and expending the funds required to make a lawsuit, it may be worth approaching your employer and reaching a resolution not involving the legal process. If you need advice, an experienced attorney can help you decide whether a lawsuit is right for the goals that you have.
How A Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
You may be wondering if you can file a lawsuit for emotional distress after suffering severe trauma in Florida. Consider working with the law offices of Florin|Roebig to learn whether your case qualifies and to understand your legal rights.
We help personal injury clients in areas throughout Florida, including Miami, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale. Dont wait until your emotional distress causes severe mental health issues. Contact Florin|Roebig law firm today for a free consultation to discuss your case.
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Florin|Roebig, and its content team, is committed to delivering content of the highest caliber. Our editorial standards check for accuracy, sourcing, objective analysis, and more. Every article is fact-checked by an editor prior to being published. Additionally, our content is legally-reviewed by one of our practicing attorneys. Our attorneys only review content in practice areas that they specialize in.
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