Proving Emotional Distress & Recovering Damages

By Dallas Personal Injury Attorney on February 13, 2015

When people are injured, it’s human nature to experience emotional distress. In many cases, emotional distress damages can account for a portion of one’s personal injury recovery. If you are injured in an accident, you may receive compensation for economic damages such as medical bills, and lost income, but you may also receive compensation for pain, suffering and emotional distress.

The amount of non-economic damages such as emotional distress damages, varies from case to case depending on the nature of the injuries; even if you don’t file a lawsuit for your injuries, your attorney may be able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company that will include damages for any emotional distress you may have suffered.

What is emotional distress?

Accidents can cause a host of unwanted, psychological effects such as sleep loss, anxiety, overwhelming fear, and humiliation. In a personal injury case, emotional distress damages compensate the victim for the psychological impact the injury had on the victim’s daily life.

For example, if a child was viciously attacked by a dog and suffered severe facial disfigurement, the disfigurement can certainly affect the way the child feels about going to school or even leaving the house. The psychological impact from an amputation injury, facial disfigurement, or an injury to a woman’s reproductive organs can be profound.

Document Your Emotional Distress

Since your emotional distress can play a key role in your potential recovery, it is very important to document any distress you are experiencing, and ideally through your medical provider.

Talk to your doctor about any sleep loss, anxiety, fear, depression, or any other psychological symptoms you have experienced since the accident, as medically documented emotional distress can be a VERY powerful tool when filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit.

Follow these tips:

1. Talk to your doctor about your emotional distress
2. Keep a journal where you document how you are feeling in light of the accident
3. Record the big and small ways that your life was affected by your emotional distress

Remember, the more evidence that you can gather about your emotional distress, the stronger your claim and the greater your chances of receiving emotional distress damages.

Emotional distress can vary widely, and in severe cases it can have a huge impact on a person’s daily life, their relationships, and their ability to function in the outside world. With that being said, it is very important for you to document how you are feeling through your medical provider.

To discuss your case with a Dallas personal injury attorney, call Lenahan Law Firm or a free consultation. We can be reached at (888) 473-2820.