Personal injury emotional distress is a major component of financial recovery in many personal injury cases, including car accidents as well as slips and falls. If you have been experiencing stress, embarrassment, or other psychological issues due to your accident, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses.
The availability and amount of emotional distress compensation will vary depending on the specifics of your case. Our expert Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys at El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers can help you through the process of determining and pursuing damages.
What Is Emotional Distress?
Emotional distress is an injury category you can include in your settlement claim. Emotional distress refers to all the ways you may suffer emotionally because of a personal injury accident. Common examples of emotional distress brought in a claim or lawsuit include:
- Crying
- Insomnia
- Worrying
- Loss of concentration
- Stress
- Replaying the events of the accident
While most people discount emotional distress after an accident, it is considered a real consequence of injury in all states, and the law allows you to seek compensation for it. An experienced attorney can help determine whether you have an emotional distress claim and what it should entail.
What Are Emotional Distress Damages?
Emotional distress damages are exactly what the name suggests; they are designed to compensate you for the emotional and psychological impacts an injury has had on your life. They are very subjective and will often vary from person to person. Because of this, there is no hard and fast rule about what constituted emotional distress damages and what doesn’t.
It is also important to note that what is distressing to you may not distress the next person. This is why it is advisable to note down any physiological issues you experience after the accident, such as fear, anxiety, or humiliation, and discuss them with your attorney.
Intentional vs. Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
In California, a victim may bring an emotional distress claim under negligent or intentional infliction. Negligent infliction of emotional distress refers to when the at-fault party’s actions result in emotional harm, even though they may not have necessarily meant to cause harm. Negligent emotional harm may occur in car accidents, slip and falls, and wrongful death cases.
Intentional infliction, on the other hand, refers to when the at-fault party engages in purposeful and reckless conduct that is almost certain to cause emotional harm.
How Can You Prove Emotional Distress?
Proving emotional distress in a personal injury claim will usually involve the following steps:
- Evaluating the emotional impact of the accident
- Journaling your symptoms
- Providing a personal testimony or asking close loved ones to do so
- Supplementing the testimonies with evidence about the severity of your injuries
- Pursuing a claim or lawsuit
Talk to a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney
When you get injured in an accident, you suffer more than physical injuries. The psychological and emotional impacts of your injuries can be just as traumatic as the pain of, say, a back injury. Fortunately, the law allows you to seek compensation for personal injury emotional distress.
El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers is a leading personal injury law firm. Our Los Angeles Car Accident Attorneys are dedicated to helping you get the best outcome from your case. If you have been injured in a reckless driving accident, contact us today online or at 888-542-6021 to schedule a consultation.