Not all injuries you can suffer in an accident are physical. As difficult as dealing with broken bones can be, it’s often more complex to battle emotional and psychological trauma such as depression, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). That is why the law allows you to file emotional distress personal injury cases, with or without accompanying physical wounds. These are difficult claims, however, because evidence might not be as easily available. After all, you can’t see anxiety on an MRI. Even if you did suffer a physical injury and are claiming pain and suffering damages, you will still have an uphill battle to show the emotional stress you’re under.
To have a chance to receive compensation for the losses you suffered because of another party’s negligent or wrongful conduct, hiring a team of lawyers is vital. At Wapner Newman, we offer the trusted representation you deserve as you navigate the claims process.
Contact Wapner Newman at (800) 529-6600 to speak with one of our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers.
Understanding Emotional Distress
What It Means in Personal Injury Claims
Emotional distress refers to the mental anguish you can experience as a result of a traumatic accident. This distress can be as unique as you are, causing you to experience symptoms of depression or preventing you from living your daily life because of unmanageable flashbacks. Some people find it impossible to sleep, while others can’t find any joy in their days. If you’ve been in a severe car accident, you may be afraid to go anywhere near motor vehicles, and if you were bitten by a dog, you could develop a phobia that makes everyday life impossible.
There are two main types of emotional distress in personal injury claims. Negligent infliction of emotional distress refers to distress you develop as a result of another party’s negligence. You could develop it if you suffer injuries in an accident in which the other person behaved with less than the reasonable care they should have shown. You can also suffer intentional infliction of emotional distress, which occurs as a result of the defendant’s intentional or reckless conduct.
Emotional distress can linger long after physical injuries have healed, yet insurance companies can fight you on how important getting damages for these losses can be. You could be accused of “faking” your distress and, because pain and suffering damages are subjective, could easily face low offers that aren’t appropriate for what you’re going through.
Claim for Emotional Damages: Challenges You Face
Proving torn ligaments or herniated discs requires medical examinations and imaging studies. Once you show that the injury exists, it can be easier to prove what caused it, which helps establish liability.
It’s not nearly as simple to do the same for emotional distress personal injury claims. You can’t point to objective diagnostic exams to show that you’re suffering psychological issues, and it can be even more difficult to prove that the cause of your distress is the defendant’s conduct. Because of these complexities, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to hire experienced personal injury lawyers.
At Wapner Newman, we help people throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have suffered losses because of negligence or misconduct. We never charge an upfront fee, so don’t wait to contact us to learn more about the claims process.
How Personal Injury Lawyers Can Prove Emotional Distress
Having a lawyer helping you means being able to gather the most pertinent information for your claim. Experienced counsel will focus on the evidence that paints a picture of the distress you’ve experienced, beginning with medical records.
If you suffered physical injuries, these records demonstrate the actual trauma you experienced and the treatments you’ve had to undergo. The more severe the injuries are, the more obvious their impact on your life and emotional well-being will be.
Other important records are any related to therapy, counseling services, or other mental health treatments you may have received. If you have participated in support groups, keeping a record of all of this is essential. You might also begin a journal that details everything you feel. If you have physical injuries, make sure to write about pain levels and mobility issues you face and how they may fluctuate from day to day.
Other evidence your lawyer can rely on is expert testimonies from mental health professionals. A therapist can explain how an accident such as the one you experienced could impact your mental health. Alongside this testimony, your lawyer can gather witness statements from family and friends who have seen the distress you’ve experienced because of the defendant’s conduct.
Although it’s not necessary to prove emotional distress, it can help to have evidence of any disturbances that the mental anguish might have caused. Often, people develop stomach issues, chronic headaches, or other stress-related problems. If you’ve never had trouble sleeping but now require sleeping medications, that could be used as evidence.
Compensation for Emotional Distress Claims
Because emotional distress isn’t something you can place an easy price tag on, the compensation you could receive in a personal injury claim will depend on the severity of the incident that led to your losses. If you experienced financial losses, one of the options for calculating emotional distress compensation is the multiplier method, which takes your actual losses and multiplies them by a factor of 1.5 to 5. The resulting amount would be your pain and suffering damages. The factor will depend on the severity of the physical injuries you suffered and how long your recovery period will be.
In other cases, the formula used could be the per diem method. It sets a daily value and multiplies it by how long it will take for you to heal from either physical or emotional trauma. The severity of the incident and how the losses impact your daily life will play significant roles in assigning the daily value.
Contact Trusted Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers
Wapner Newman Fights for Fair Compensation
After being involved in an incident that left you with physical or emotional trauma, you may be entitled to file a claim against the liable party and receive compensation. All personal injury claims have their complexities, but those that focus mainly on emotional distress can be even trickier. You shouldn’t attempt them without experienced representation.
At Wapner Newman, our team provides the guidance you need as you navigate the claims process. We’ll take care of the legalities so that you have one less thing to worry about as you heal.
Contact our team by calling us at (800) 529-6600.