Filing a Lawsuit for Emotional Distress

Filing a Lawsuit for Emotional Distress

Often, an injury or accident causes more than physical pain. It causes emotional distress. In some situations, the amount of physical injury is made worse by the emotional trauma involved. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the person who caused you to suffer. However, this is a complex area of law simply because it is hard to define how much emotional distress you feel or what dollar amount represents that trauma.

If you feel you have suffered emotional distress, it is essential to provide evidence and details proving this. This often takes some experience. Our attorneys at Siler & Ingber, LLP can help you to learn if you have a case and, if so, how much compensation you are owed.

What Is Legal Emotional Distress?

An accident creates more than physical trauma. It also creates mental distress. Generally, when you file a personal injury claim against a party, you will include emotional distress as a component of that claim. It is possible to file your claim solely on this type of loss, but it is very hard to prove it occurred. Most personal injury cases will have some level of emotional distress – it is not overlooked. However, some states will toss out cases that do not contain a physical component.

For example, you may have been involved in an altercation with another person. That person strikes you, and you suffer a broken nose. This leads to medical bills and lost time at work. This action itself is very traumatic and creates emotional distress. But, if you get into a verbal argument with someone and he or she angers and upsets you, but no physical loss is suffered, filing a lawsuit for this is very challenging.

How Do You Prove Emotional Distress Occurred?

Alongside your personal injury claim for any property loss or physical injury loss, you will need to determine how much loss you suffered as a result of emotional trauma. The court will use numerous factors to determine this type of loss. To determine your likelihood of having a case, consider these things.

What Form of Emotional Distress Occurred?

There are two main forms. Negligent infliction of emotional distress occurs when:

  • The party acted in some way that was negligent, meaning he or she had the ability to avoid the incident and failed to do so and is responsible for this.
  • This led to some type of severe emotional distress.
  • There was a physical injury that occurred that caused or in some way contributed to your emotional distress.

The second form is intentional infliction of emotional distress. To prove this, you must show:

  • The other party acted in a reckless and intentional manner.
  • The behavior of the defendant was outrageous or considered inexcusable.
  • This caused the emotional distress.

When Can You Bring a Claim for Emotional Distress?

Not just anyone can claim emotional distress. The person witnessing the violent altercation may not have suffered enough to file such a claim. Generally, if you suffered trauma you can bring this type of claim. However, there are instances in which emotional distress claims may come from others involved. For example, you may have been a bystander in an incident that was fearful of your own injury or death because of the actions or inactions of the defendant. Or, you may have witnessed a family member’s death at the hands of another person.

Proving Your Case Can Be Challenging

If you do not have a physical injury claim, it can be challenging to prove your emotional distress claim. As attorneys, it is our job to help you to do that. We work with clients who are faced with serious loss as well as emotional trauma resulting from the actions or inactions of another person. Our goal is to prove two things:

  1. You suffered emotional distress resulting from the other party’s outrageous or extreme behavior.
  2. You suffered some type of emotional harm resulting directly from the conduct of the defendant.

With a comprehensive understanding of your case, it becomes possible to better understand what your losses are. In addition, you may need to verify witness statements and gather data to support your claim. These are steps we can help you with at Siler & Ingber, LLP.

Ready to Find Out if You Have a Case? Schedule a Free Case Review

Even if you have been turned down previously, we encourage you to schedule a free case review with our legal team at Siler & Ingber, LLP. We offer an opportunity to learn about your case and whether or not you can get compensation for your losses. There’s no risk and plenty of answers. With over 20 years of experience and having helped our clients to over $50 million in settlements, we are confident we can help you. Use our online contact form to request more information or call us now at 877-718-6079.

Share this post

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

PROMOTION PERIOD: The Siler & Ingber Mineola MegaStar Contest begins on March 20, 2023 at 12:00 am ET and
ends on May 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.

ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, a MegaStar must be a legal U.S. resident at least 16 years of age as of date of
Nomination. A Mineola MegaStar is defined as a person who lives or works in Mineola and is admired or idealized for their courage, dedication, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. By participating, Entrants agree to be
bound by the official rules. Sponsors reserve the right to verify and determine eligibility in their sole discretion.

TO PARTICIPATE: During the Promotion Period, Siler & Ingber will accept from the members of the public (herein, the “Nominators”) nominations of Eligible Entrants (Mineola Megastars) who live or works in Mineola. Nominations may be entered by visiting www.nylawnet.com/mineolamegastar and completing the online form and essay submission or by emailing photo and essay to marketing@nylawnet.com during the Promotion Period to receive one (1) entry. Essay must not exceed 500 words. Acceptable essay formats are word documents or pdf ONLY. Nominations submitted without all required information or after the Promotion Period will be disregarded.
Online submissions must be received by May 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET to be eligible. All entries become the exclusive property of Siler & Ingber and will not be acknowledged or returned.

ESSAY: During the promotion period, an Entrant can nominate a Mineola MegaStar for the contest by submitting a
photo and essay. The essay must describe why the individual should be chosen as the award winner, including how the individual demonstrates some or all of the following qualifications:

1) an inspiring example to others by helping make Mineola a better place to live (through volunteerism, extra-curricular actives, special projects, giving back, etc.)

2) going above and beyond to aid a friend, family member, stranger or community in a time of need; and/or

3) love of profession and desire, determination and diligence to help outside of normal job responsibilities. The essay must be in English and no more than 500 words. All information provided must be truthful, accurate and complete. An Entrant cannot nominate more than one Hero.

Submitted Materials: Each essay must satisfy all the following submission requirements the Submission


Requirements:

· The essay must be the original creation of Entrant.

· The essay must not portray any recognizable individual without their prior consent, including consent from the
Hero.

· Entrant must either own all rights to the essay or otherwise have the right to submit the essay in the contest and to provide the rights to Sage Surfaces as set forth herein.

· The essay must not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights.

· The essay may not contain illegal, indecent, obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit content, or otherwise offensive material or inappropriate content such as aberrational behavior, graphic violence, drug abuse, or nudity.

· The essay must not promote bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.

· The essay must be non-defamatory and must not invade any third party’s right of privacy or publicity.

· The essay must otherwise be appropriate for publication or broadcast or display on a general interest website.

By submitting an essay, each Entrant represents and warrants that the essay meets all of the submission
requirements and that the distribution, reproduction, display and any other uses of any part of the essay by Siler & Ingber as permitted herein will not infringe any third-party rights. Each Entrant further agrees to indemnify and hold Siler & Ingber harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, costs, liabilities and causes of action of whatsoever nature that are based upon or arise out of any breach by such Entrant of such warranties or representations made by contestant or of these official rules.

By submitting an essay, Entrant grants to Siler & Ingber a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, royalty-free license (and waives all moral rights in and to the essay) to display or otherwise use the essay in connection with this promotion and as set forth herein. If Siler & Ingber determines, in its sole discretion and at any time during the promotion period, that any nomination violates the submission requirements, is otherwise unsuitable, offensive, or in poor taste, or violates these official rules, Siler & Ingber reserves the right to remove and disqualify the essay. Siler & Ingber retains sole
discretion as to whether any nomination satisfies the submission requirements and the official rules.

WINNER SELECTION: For the entry period, a panel of judges will select potential Mineola Megastar finalists based on the compelling nature of the essay based on the criteria set forth herein. Top 5 entries will be announced on May 10, 2023. We will post the top 5 on social media. Final winner announced May 15, 2023. Award Ceremony for Mineola MegaStar will take place on May 19, 2023.


WINNER NOTIFICATION AND RELEASES: We will attempt to notify potential winners via telephone and/or email. If a potential winner: (a) does not respond within 48 hours of initial notification attempt; (b) is not in compliance with these official rules, (c) does not meet the eligibility requirements, (d) declines the prize, he or she will be disqualified, and an alternate winner will be selected by applying the criteria set forth above.
PRIZES: There is 1 Mineola MegaStar. Winner will receive a $500 Cash Prize.

PUBLICITY AND MARKETING: Submission of a nomination in the contest constitutes permission to Siler & Ingber to use Entrants name, identity, title, likeness, distinctive appearance, physical likeness, image, portrait, picture, photograph (whether still or moving), screen persona, voice, vocal style, statements, gesture, mannerism, personality, performance characteristic, biographical data, signature, social media handles and identities, and any other indicia or imitation of identity or likeness for purposes of advertising and trade, in any medium, without further notice, approval, or compensation, unless prohibited by law.

PRIZE RESTRICTIONS: No transfer, assignment, sale, duplication, cash redemption or substitution of Prize (or portion of Prize) is permitted, except by Sponsors, which reserve the right to substitute a Prize (or applicable portion of Prize) with one of comparable or greater value, as determined by Sponsors. Sponsors are not responsible for and will not replace a lost or stolen Prize or any component thereof. All Prize details are at Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion. Non-compliance with these Official Rules may result in disqualification and, at Sponsors’ sole discretion, the awarding of Prize to an alternate winner.

VERIFICATION OF OFFICIAL WINNER: ALL PRIZE WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION BY SPONSORS, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST.

Do I Have A Case

    Skip to content