‘Emotional distress’ is the term commonly attributed to the effects of emotional anguish, psychological damage, and mental pain and suffering. In a word, it is trauma.
Trauma is caused by an incident or act that left a mark on the victim’s psyche. There is no standard metric to measure what may cause emotional trauma. What deeply affects one person may slide right off the next. And what we, as outside observers, may believe to be a minor accident may cause lasting mental anguish for the accident victims.
There are many causes of emotional distress, and they vary wildly. A personal injury victim may suffer mental anguish due to the traumatic event (a violent car accident, for example), or their emotional suffering may be more related to the injuries. If an accident victim’s injuries require a long road to recovery – or if their lives are left forever altered, like instances of being left disabled or permanently scarred – those physical injuries may cause emotional pain.
Emotional distress can also arise from other, less extreme circumstances, for example:
Just as emotional distress can have a wide range of origins, it can also come in many forms.
Common examples of emotional distress include the following:
Yes. Whether you’ve suffered physical injuries or mental anguish from an accident, you may be entitled to seek damages from those responsible for the incident. A successful case may reward plaintiffs with economic damages (such as medical bills, property damage, and lost wages), non-economic damages (like pain and suffering), and even punitive damages in cases of extreme conduct.
As with any personal injury claim, it’s wise to retain the services of legal professionals. But when seeking to prove emotional distress, it’s downright essential.
It can take a lot to prove emotional distress, and you must hire an attorney to help make your case.
The lawyer may attempt to establish a timeline, indicating that your symptoms only began after the accident. The more severe the symptoms, the easier this will be to prove. Similarly, the more intense the inciting incident, the more likely others will be to believe your claim.
If there is any physical injury or bodily harm, then the personal injury attorneys will likely point to that as a cause for your mental distress. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes people can’t accept what they do not see, so if there’s an associated injury, it may help convince others.
It may also be necessary to speak with doctors and psychologists, then present their findings to the courts.
The Attkisson Law Firm is one of Ohio’s most experienced personal injury firms. Our lawyers have more experience than most other trial lawyers could ever hope for, so we bring a sense of accomplishment and confidence to every case. But we also strive to provide compassionate, client-first legal representation because we understand that your case is not a simple legal matter; it may very well be a defining chapter in your life. You deserve respect and care from your attorneys; we will provide you with that.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Add to that our no-obligation, free case evaluation, and you may consider hiring our lawyers as a risk-free choice.
Call our Ohio law offices at (937) 400-0000 for your free initial consultation today.