When thinking about personal injury, we tend to forget that there is also an aftermath of mental and physical struggles. Even long after the outcome of a claim or lawsuit, victims of accidental injury may face significant trauma from the incident. Because both mental and psychological injury affects everyone differently, emotional distress damages are an area of legal practice that aims to compensate personal injury victims.
Psychological Injuries
Various possible mental impacts can arise from accidental injury. These impacts can be struggling to cope with daily tasks due to the injury, sudden stress about not working or earning an income for weeks or even months, and several others. As a result, personal injury victims can face depression, various anxiety disorders, chronic stress, and even conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms long after the injury itself. These impacts can often extend to friends and family by putting strains on relationships. What’s more, the psychological injuries obtained from a personal injury instance can often be life-altering.
When To Pursue An Emotional Distress Damages Claim
Suppose you have experienced a personal injury and the emotional weight of the incident seems to be causing havoc on your emotions and mental state. In that case, you can legally pursue emotional distress damages as compensation for the unfair ordeal. So, if you had slipped and fallen at a Walmart while shopping and the impacts of the injury have caused you further psychological distress, you can sue Walmart for your pain and suffering following the incident.
However, emotional distress claims are somewhat more challenging to prove as opposed to physical injuries. For this reason, when pursuing a lawsuit, even sometime after the incident, you should be sure to have valid evidence available to compile a solid case. Your evidence should include medical documentation of your treatment for your psychological symptoms, even if only therapy sessions. You should also have a journal that logs your personal experience of symptoms as often as possible.
Proving Mental Injuries
Even though you are entitled to just compensation after experiencing a mental injury, proving symptoms can be a bit of a challenge. This is just one reason why you should obtain expert legal representation to help you compile your case, navigate the law, and fight for your compensation on your behalf. If you are concerned about the costs of obtaining a lawyer, you should weigh in the fact that you can include your legal fees in your claim as a financial impact of the personal injury. Getting a lawyer is just as essential as seeking medical treatment and collecting accurate medical records to prove that your pain and suffering is legally deserving of compensation.
It is crucial to gather as much valid evidence as possible when claiming for emotional distress damages. Therefore, even details from friends and family that document your experience can be used in your lawsuit to validate further how the personal injury has negatively affected your daily life. It is also beneficial to consider a second opinion by consulting additional medical practitioners as the opinions of experts who specialize in conditions of the mind can differ in cases that are not severe.
