How to Sue physical and emotional injury lawsuit in 2024
If you or your loved one is suffering from mental anguish as a direct consequence of negligence or intent to harm, you can sue for emotional distress by filing physical and emotional injury lawsuit in 2024.
Due to some tough situations, we all experience emotional distress at some point in our lives. It is a broad term that covers any type of mental pain, often linked with feelings of depression and anxiety. People suffering from emotional pain suffers have various symptoms, such as:
- Feels overwhelmed and helpless.
- Have difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much.
- Struggle to recall information.
- Isolate themselves from people or activities.
However, the symptoms of emotional distress are extremely varied. In some people, it may manifest as a continuous state of loneliness and depression, while others may experience emotional distress through sudden, angry outbursts.
Therefore, if you are suffering from physical and emotional injuries in an accident and file a successful personal injury lawsuit, you can easily get compensation for your emotional harm, such as pain and suffering, in addition to recovery from physical injury and emotional distress for the most straightforward economic losses, such as lost wages, medical bills, and other related to your physical injuries.
What is the zone of danger?
Most of the jurisdictions ask people to make a physical and emotional injuries Lawsuit claim within the “zone of danger.” In legal terms, the zone of danger is the area within which one is in actual physical danger from the negligent conduct of another person. Consequently, if you want to recover maximum compensation for your emotional distress, you must either be directly injured yourself or you are also in danger of physical injury.
For example, if you are injured in an accident with your family due to the negligent driving of a drunk person, you can recover from the emotional distress from both your physical injuries and injuries to your family.
Here is another example;
A drunk driver drives onto a sidewalk and hits a child walking with their family. In such a case, the family members, who were also in danger of being physically injured by the driver can recover from the emotional distress that they suffered from a hassle-free procedure.
Types of emotional distress claims
There are two main types of physical and emotional injury lawsuit claims. It includes:
1. Negligent infliction of emotional distress
This type of claim for emotional distress happens when a defendant’s actions are accidental or unintentional. However, there must be a causal connection between the action of the defendant and the emotional distress the plaintiff suffers.
For example, in cases where a person witnessed a physical injury and emotional stress or even death, the drunk driver may qualify for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
2. Intentional infliction of emotional distress
This type of physical and emotional trauma happens when the defendant’s actions are intentional or reckless.
For example, if an employer is firing and escorting you out in handcuffs may be humiliating, the treatment would not rise to a level of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
However, a situation where you have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of the repetitive subject of bullying and workplace harassment. In addition, if your employer knew but took no action, you will be likely to succeed.
Steps to sue for emotional distress
You can easily take legal action by following these steps:
1. Report your emotional state
To win your physical and emotional injury claim, you need to prove your emotional damage. As such, begin by reporting how you feel each day and ensure your work and medical records reflect your current condition. It will back up your case and make it easier for you to receive some form of compensation.
2. Contact an attorney
To understand the whole complex legal system, you need to hire physical and emotional injuries lawyers. They will look through your documents, ask questions about the incident, and begin to build a case.
3. File an emotional distress lawsuit
Once the attorney is up to speed, you can file emotional and physical distress lawsuit against the defendant.
4. Pre-trial Preparations
In this stage, the opposing lawyers will present all the documents and information from both the victim and the defendant. Based on your information, it is often possible to settle the suit and avoid going to trial.
Nevertheless, it is the attorney’s role to advise the victim whether or not to take this settlement deal or go to trial. This is often preferable since a trial can be a stressful experience and may worsen the victim’s mental health at this unstable time.
5. Going to trial
If you are deciding to go to trial, the court will determine a date for your hearing. At the trial, you and the other party will present more information and offer witness testimonies to the courts. Consequently, when both parties argue their sides, the courts, or in some cases a jury, will decide the outcome of the case.
Why do I need lawyers to sue for emotional distress?
Proving physical and emotional wounds are often a difficult matter, particularly when you do not have a physical injury. Further, these types of cases are often very expensive to bring, due to the nature of hiring expert witnesses, such as a doctor, therapist, or psychologist to prove the extent of your injuries and the amount of money needed to allow for a proper recovery. In addition, the state laws will vary as to what will be required to properly prove a claim for emotional distress.
Therefore, for all of these reasons, consulting a well-qualified and knowledgeable physical and emotional pain lawyer in Philadelphia may be your best decision.
They will evaluate your case, build evidence to prove your injuries, hire expert witnesses, represent you in court, and even take your case on a contingency fee basis to help you with the hire case fees associated with cases consisting of claims for physical and emotional distress.
Ethen Ostroff and his connections will help you find skilled and experienced lawyers that will help you win your physical and emotional injury lawsuit case. Contact us to get a free case evaluation today.
