If you experienced emotional distress due to someone else’s negligence, Texas allows you to sue for compensation as long as you’re also seeking recovery for physical injuries. Depending on the type of emotional distress you seek compensation for, you may have to provide different kinds of evidence. But if you suffered from severe emotional distress due to injuries someone else caused, the law is on your side. Texas recognizes both visible and invisible injuries.
What Is Emotional Distress?
Emotional distress, sometimes called mental anguish, is the emotional harm you suffer due to someone else’s actions. In Texas, emotional distress falls into two categories:
- Negligent – Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is the more common form of emotional distress. It results from another person’s negligent actions that caused you physical harm. If someone did not intend to cause you harm but their actions resulted in your injuries, you may be able to seek compensation for the emotional distress you suffered along with the physical harm.
- Intentional – Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) is the less common form of emotional distress. It results from someone intentionally causing you severe emotional harm through extreme and outrageous behavior. The key factor here is that the act committed against you occurred on purpose, such as in the case of violent crimes.
What Are Some Examples of Emotional Distress?
The most common examples of intentional infliction of emotional distress are violent crimes, such as robbery, physical abuse, and sexual assault. Not only are these crimes meant to harm the victim physically, but they’re meant to emotionally and psychologically hurt them, as well.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress can occur due to a wide range of incidents. For example, let’s say you were in a car accident caused by another driver that resulted in you suffering severe injuries. After such a traumatic experience, you may find it difficult to get behind the wheel of a car again, even after your physical injuries have healed. You may be able to seek compensation for this form of emotional distress.
Another example is if you were attacked and bitten by a dog. An event like this could leave you not only with injuries that require surgery but also with nightmares, anxiety, and a new fear of dogs.
The fear of reliving the trauma you experienced isn’t the only way emotional distress can manifest. It may be that your emotional distress doesn’t stem from the event but instead from your injuries themselves. If your injuries prevent you from doing the activities you once enjoyed or if you have severe scarring, that could cause emotional distress. Contact our Dallas personal injury attorney today.
What Are the Symptoms of Emotional Distress?
Emotional distress has a variety of possible signs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists the following as some of the most common symptoms:
- Changes in your sleep schedule
- Increased levels of anger or sadness
- Depression and suicidal thoughts
- Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness
- Difficulty readjusting to your daily life
Emotional distress can significantly affect your relationships, employment, and overall quality of life. With this in mind, Texas allows injured individuals to seek compensation for emotional distress when filing a personal injury claim.
When Can You Sue for Emotional Distress?
In most cases, you can only sue for emotional distress as part of an existing personal injury claim. Emotional distress is a non-economic loss for which you can seek compensation. However, there may be additional circumstances in which you can pursue financial recovery for emotional distress.
Some more rare examples include cases of extreme stalking or psychological abuse. In these cases, you haven’t suffered a physical injury. However, the other party’s actions intend to cause you emotional harm. These acts could result in intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.
How Do You Prove Emotional Distress?
Proving emotional distress relies on much of the same evidence as proving the rest of your personal injury claim. Evidence that will help your case includes:
- Medical records discussing your injuries and the treatments you have undergone and will need to undergo in the future
- A pain journal where you record your daily pain levels and thoughts
- Pictures of your injuries immediately after the accident and over time as they heal to show their severity and longevity
- Pictures of the accident scene to demonstrate the traumatic nature of the incident, especially if it’s a car crash
- Expert witness testimony from your treating physician and therapist or other mental health professional
By bringing all these types of proof together, your attorney can paint a picture of how your injuries have impacted your emotional state.
What Are Bystander Actions?
Bystander actions are another way to sue for emotional distress without needing to have been directly harmed by the person you’re filing a claim against. These actions come from witnessing traumatic injuries suffered by someone close to you. For a valid bystander action, you must be able to show that:
- You were at or near the scene of the accident or act that caused the injury,
- Your emotional distress is a direct result of witnessing the accident or act that caused the injury, and
- You are closely related to the person injured by the accident or act.
Examples of bystander actions include people who witness close family or friends injured or killed in car accidents.
However, witnessing the aftermath of an accident likely doesn’t count for a bystander action. Seeing your sibling’s severe injuries after their accident doesn’t meet the first two criteria of being at the scene and witnessing the accident.
What to Look for in an Emotional Distress Attorney
When you hire an attorney, it is important that they have a comprehensive understanding of your entire claim. However, these traits are important when seeking damages for emotional distress:
Experience Handling Emotional Distress Claims
Emotional distress cases require more than simply showing that something upsetting happened. You must prove that another party’s negligence or misconduct caused real harm that affected your mental and emotional well-being. An attorney with experience in these claims understands how Texas courts evaluate emotional distress damages and what type of evidence judges and juries expect to see.
Ability to Manage Medical Evidence
Successful emotional distress claims often depend on strong documentation of an underlying injury. An effective attorney works closely with medical professionals to show how the event affected your daily life.
Litigation Experience
Insurance companies frequently challenge emotional distress claims because these damages do not come with a simple receipt like a hospital bill. A lawyer who regularly handles injury cases knows how to negotiate with insurers and present evidence in a way that makes the seriousness of the harm clear. If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, trial experience becomes critical.
Clear Communication
At the center of any successful emotional distress claim is an attorney who understands how to communicate clearly. Your lawyer should explain your options in plain language and help you understand how the legal process works. Emotional distress claims can take time to investigate because medical treatment may continue for months. A lawyer who communicates clearly will help you understand what to expect at each stage of the case.
The Deadline to File a Claim for Emotional Distress
Texas law limits how long you have to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for emotional distress. In most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations is two years from the date the injury occurred.
Waiting too long to file a claim can prevent you from recovering compensation, even if the harm you suffered is serious. Once the two-year deadline passes, courts will usually dismiss the case regardless of the facts. There are some limited exceptions that can give you more time to act, but it is never a good idea to assume they apply to your case.
Getting started on your claim right away also helps preserve evidence that supports the claim. Medical records, therapy notes, witness statements, and documentation of how the incident affected your daily life are often easier to gather soon after the event. Speaking with an attorney as early as possible helps ensure that the claim is filed on time and supported with the strongest available evidence.
Physical Symptoms of Emotional Distress
Emotional distress does not affect only a person’s mood or mental state. In many cases, psychological trauma produces physical symptoms that interfere with daily life. Courts often look at these symptoms when determining what an emotional distress case might be worth. Common physical effects include the following:
- Anxiety
- Sleep disturbances
- Chronic fatigue
- Headaches
- Digestive problems
- Panic attacks
Emotional distress can also disrupt concentration and memory. Some people struggle to focus at work or carry out routine responsibilities because their body remains in a heightened stress response. Over time, these symptoms can affect employment, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Documenting these physical symptoms through medical treatment can be crucial to your emotional distress claim. Our attorneys can help you put this information together in a way that is easy for a judge or jury to understand.
Contact a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer
Did you suffer injuries caused by someone else’s intentional or negligent actions in Texas? Are you still suffering from emotional distress associated with your injuries or the traumatic event? Contact The Wilhite Law Firm for a free consultation with one of our compassionate personal injury attorneys. We understand that not every injury is visible and that invisible injuries sometimes take the longest to heal. Our team will help you seek the maximum compensation available for both your physical injuries and emotional distress.
