How to Sue for Emotional Distress

A personal injury incident such as a car crash can result in mild to severe injuries. You may also suffer intangible losses in the form of emotional distress. Under Florida law, you can seek compensation for such distress. A Miami injury lawyer can help you file a lawsuit for damages.

Tangible losses, such as the medical costs of your injury, are easier to calculate and prove. You must show causation between the incident and the injuries. Florida is a no-fault state, so you can recoup up to $10,000 under your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.

However, losses like emotional distress are harder to compute and prove. You need expert legal help when seeking damages for such a loss. You also need to understand what constitutes emotional distress and how to sue for it in Miami, FL.

What Is Emotional Distress?

Emotional distress in a personal injury incident is legally defined as a traumatic or highly undesirable emotional reaction. This reaction occurs due to the negligent actions of another person. For instance, you can sue the negligent driver for damages if you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an accident.

Florida law also recognizes the emotional distress you may suffer as a witness to the injuries of another party. This typically involves showing that you were intimately attached to the victim, or that you were very close to the scene of the incident.

Emotional distress can take many shapes and forms. You may be distressed emotionally if you feel continuous or episodic stress, depression, anxiety, humiliation, insomnia, or thoughts of suicide.

Suing for Emotional Distress

If you suffered physical injuries due to another party’s negligence, you may be able to recover damages for emotional distress, as well. Florida Supreme Court decisions in the past show that emotional distress claims are admissible for damages where a physical injury has also occurred.

When suing for emotional distress, you will need the testimony of an expert witness to back up your claim. This can be a psychotherapist or another medical professional. Friends and family can also testify to relate how the distress from the injury has impacted your daily life.

Learn How a Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

If you have suffered a personal injury in Miami, Florida, it is important to get professional legal help. Here at Fischer Redavid PLLC, we want to help you seek non-economic damages for stress, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of distress you may face after a physical injury.

Our lawyers work with you to prepare a claim for damages and back it up with relevant evidence. We also take the case to court and help you file a lawsuit if necessary.