Accident victims are often at risk of experiencing serious emotional distress. Accident victims might experience panic and anxiety from the thoughts that flash through their minds, while repercussions like physical injuries can cause an emotional impact that lasts for days or weeks.
You have the right to seek financial compensation in Los Angeles for both the medical expenditures associated with a physical injury and the emotional distress you have suffered as a result of the accident. In order to collect a fair cash award in a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove emotional distress.
Emotional agony can emerge in a number of ways and be triggered by a variety of circumstances following an injury. The following are some examples of situations in which you may be entitled to damages for mental anguish :
- Getting afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an accident
- Suffering severe injuries and being depressed
- Being affected by anxiety issues due to the fear caused by the accident.
- You develop insomnia as a result of the accident or injury.
As you might imagine, there is a clear connection between the emotional trauma you suffered and the injuries you sustained. In order to collect emotional distress compensation, you will have to demonstrate that the injuries you are experiencing are real and that they are linked to the person or company who has harmed you.
Claiming Emotional Distress as Part of an Injury Claim
To begin, it’s important to realize that in Los Angeles, a claimant can only receive compensation for mental distress if he or she has also suffered physical damage. Physical injuries frequently result in mental agony, physical pain, suffering, disability or severe injuries, loss of quality of life, and loss of consortium for victims. Filing a claim for emotional suffering alone is substantially more difficult.
It is feasible, nevertheless, if the claimant can show that the defendant’s actions were extremely offensive, atrocious, or extremely careless, resulting in emotional distress. It may be feasible to establish a lawsuit even if there was no physical injury if the defendant willfully or knowingly caused emotional harm. This type of claim may necessitate the assistance of a lawyer.
Make a Record of All Injuries
Your own words are one of the best methods to demonstrate emotional anguish to a judge and jury. Start maintaining an injury journal after a severe accident to record your feelings and thoughts. While the tragedy is still clear and concise, describe how you felt at the time and how your injuries have affected you.
Draw comparisons between how you felt before the accident and how you are feeling now. After an injury, writing out your mental and emotional journey might help you understand your anxiety, dread, and melancholy.
Consult a Physician for an Official Diagnosis
Despite the fact that you can claim compensation for mental suffering without a formal medical diagnosis, medical documentation from a specialist can be persuasive. After an accident, talk to a psychologist or therapist about your emotions.
You could have a diagnosable mental health problem like despair, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Following a major accident or traumatic experience, these are typical mental health disorders. Medical records can be used as proof later. Your doctor might even be able to testify in your place in court.
Make Sure Your Friends and Family are Willing to Testify
Your closest friends, family, and colleagues are probably aware of how emotionally damaged you are as a result of an accident. In order to help you prove that the accident has affected you, you may want your friends and family to testify about how you have been acting, feeling, and behaving.
Your own testimony about the extent of your injuries and the severity of the accident can also be helpful. Having your testimony can help the jury see the changes you’ve undergone since the accident.
Add Injury Evidence to Your Emotional Distress Claim
Whenever you intend to file a physical injury claim along with an emotional distress claim, you should provide medical evidence of the physical injury. To prove the extent of your physical injuries, you should bring medical records, such as test results, x-rays, treatment plans, and notes from your doctor.
Evidence from the medical field can establish the existence, severity, and duration of your injuries, thereby identifying the cause of your distress.
Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help
Emotional anguish damages can be tough to determine since putting a price on how much your emotional injury is worth is challenging. If you want to get the full amount of compensation you deserve, you’ll have to explain how your emotional difficulties are harming you.
Even if you’re trying to prove the amount of your emotional pain in a personal injury or medical malpractice trial, or trying to get compensation through an out-of-court settlement, the responsibility is on you to show that the emotional harm warrants monetary compensation.
As part of pain and suffering damages, emotional distress is a common loss type in a personal injury lawsuit. An attorney can, however, help you to achieve fair and full compensation for emotional distress.
Get help from a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to maximize your chances of success. An attorney from Siman Law Firm can help you prove that you have experienced emotional distress.