How Do You Prove Emotional Distress?

When you’re involved in an accident and get hurt, or even if you just witness one, you will most likely suffer from emotional distress. Emotional distress is a type of damage for which you can get compensation if you file a personal injury claim. To receive compensation for emotional distress damages you must work with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas to prove your losses. 

So, how do prove your emotional distress? Can you sue for it? Who is responsible for your emotional distress damages? Here’s all you need to know.

What Is Emotional Distress?

Emotional distress is basically all of the ways you can emotionally suffer when an accident happens. It is a category of personal injuries that you are able to include in your personal injury claim. Examples of emotional distress include:

• Worrying
• Loss of concentration
• Stress
• Replaying of the events
• Crying
• Insomnia 
• Anxiety
• Confused Emotions
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Depression
• Rage
• Hallucination
• Sleep-Deprived
• Extreme Lethargy
• New-Onset Phobias
• Loss of consortium

If you have suffered emotionally after an accident you may be able to file an emotional distress lawsuit with the help of a personal injury attorney. Don’t play down your pain and suffering. It is a very real consequence of being involved in an accident and you should get the compensation you deserve. Consider consulting with a Cogburn Law attorney for emotional distress to see whether you have a valid case or not.

What are the Different Emotional Distress Lawsuits?

There are two different types of lawsuits for emotional distress in the State of Nevada in which both of them the defendant’s conduct must be connected directly with the victim’s distress. Intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Let’s go over them.

Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress

The at-fault party must have shown extreme, reckless, and intolerable conduct, proven to be intentional beyond a reasonable doubt. The victim’s emotional distress must be severe, however, it can’t coincide with their physical injuries.

Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress

The at-fault party must have acted in a negligent way that caused the victim’s traumatic experience from which the victim suffered from emotional distress. The distress suffered must have resulted from their physical injuries or have been to severe that it turns into physical symptoms. The best example for negligent infliction of emotional distress are car accident injuries, the majority of them are unintentional.

How Do You Prove Emotional Distress?

Before you think about suing for emotional distress you should evaluate if you can prove it. You must be able to prove your distress was a direct consequence of the accident. You can prove it following these steps:

1. Look into the ways you’ve been emotionally impacted by your accident. For example, fear, anxiety, lack of sleep, crying, or the ones listed above. You can use your own testimony or testimony from friends and family. Make sure you keep a journal of your symptoms to show just how emotional the impact of the accident was.
2. Support your personal proofs with additional evidence about the gravity of the accident in general, like the duration and gravity of physical injuries.
3. When you file for compensation you should also include emotional distress damages. They may be part of another claim that already includes physical injuries and other damages.
4. You should include additional evidence, as well as prepare your legal strategy and negotiate fair compensation.

Evidence Needed To Prove an Emotional Distress Claim

The evidence you need to prove emotional distress damages include witness testimony, documentation, among others. For example, you can provide your own testimony of the inability to sleep, flashbacks, anxiety and other symptoms associated with the accident. Your family and friends can also testify how the accident has emotionally impacted you. It is important to keep a journal of your symptoms, it can be helpful as evidence.

You can supplement your testimony with additional evidence to demonstrate the gravity of the accident. Your emotional trauma is likely greater if the accident was very severe. By presenting additional evidence such as physical injuries and facts of the accident, you can complete the scenario of the emotional trauma related to the accident.

How Do I Qualify For an Emotional Distress Claim?

There are two ways, First, you have to have been the victim of a personal injury accident. When you suffer from severe injuries from an accident, it’s almost a certainty that you are dealing with emotional trauma related to it. You qualify for an emotional distress settlement.

The other way you can qualify for an emotional distress claim is by having witnessed a severe accident happen. You must be a close relative of the victim suffering from injuries from the accident.

To define ‘closely related’ to the victim, here is what Nevada deems plausible:

• The person is a member of your immediate family, or;
  • You are related by blood or marriage, and
  • The nature and quality of the relationship reflects the actual closeness

Examples of people who may be closely related to you include (without limitation):

• Your spouse
• Your children
• An in-law who is one of your best friends.

You are NOT closely related to someone if that person is:

• A friend who is not related to you by blood or marriage,
• Your housemate/roommate
• Your fiancé(e) or significant other
• A member of your non-immediate family who you have unfrequent contact with

Do you want to know if you qualify for emotional distress damages? Call us right now and we can advise you over the phone.

How Do You Win an Emotional Distress Claim?

To be able to win an emotional distress claim you must demand compensation in your legal filings. Prepare all the evidence you need to prove your claim and the severity of your injuries. You also need the help of an experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer that can guarantee you win compensation for your emotional distress damages. 

Emotional Distress Lawyers in Las Vegas

You should never take emotional distress injury lightly. If you or a loved one is suffering from emotional distress by the actions or negligence of someone else you need an injury attorney to help you get compensation. At Cogburn Law, we will fight for you. Call us today at (702) 748-7777 for a free consultation.

If you would like to learn more about the personal injury claims process, or you would like a guide on how to win your personal injury case, just add your email below. We will send you our top tips for absolutely free.