Accidents can cause a whole host of painful losses. Physical injuries and financial strain can have a serious effect on your mental and emotional health, which can decrease the quality of your life. While financial losses are commonly recovered in personal injury lawsuits, you could also obtain compensation for the mental anguish and emotional distress you have suffered.
At Wolf Law PLLC, we aggressively fight to help you receive the maximum amount of financial relief for the mental and emotional suffering you have sustained. Our team works to build a strong case with plenty of robust evidence so you can secure results that help you to heal and move forward again.
What Constitutes Mental Anguish and Emotional Distress?
Mental anguish and emotional distress occur when you have experienced pain and suffering as a result of negligent actions. When an accident transpires, it can leave an emotional and mental impact that can imprint on you in the short and long term. These effects are often severe enough that they interfere with your ability to engage in your normal activities and routines. Relationships with loved ones and friends may be affected as well.
Some common symptoms of mental anguish and emotional distress after an accident include:
- PTSD
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Mood changes
If you feel yourself suffering from mental anguish and emotional distress, or a loved one has observed these symptoms, it is important to seek help. Medical and mental health professionals can provide an opportunity to process what you are going through and receive the help you need. Be sure to keep a record of these visits to use as supporting evidence if you file a claim.
Types of Accidents That Cause Mental and Emotional Suffering
Mental and emotional suffering is a common byproduct of accidents and violence. These events are traumatic, affecting your life and ability to cope. Some events that most commonly lead to emotional distress and mental anguish include:
- Vehicle accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Work accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Defective product accidents
- Assault, abuse, or violence
- Wrongful death
Whether you were a direct victim of an accident caused by negligence or you were a firsthand witness to a crime, you will likely suffer some form of emotional distress or mental anguish after exposure to these incidents.
How to Establish Mental Anguish and Emotional Distress in a Personal Injury Claim
In order to recover compensation for your suffering, you must first clearly show that another party’s negligent or intentional actions caused you mental and emotional suffering. Your lawyer can help you establish this element as part of your case. To ensure that you have a strong claim, it is important to collect as much evidence as possible to demonstrate what you have suffered.
Records from therapists and medical professionals, statements from family members and friends, and journals detailing your daily condition and state of being can all be helpful for showing the mental anguish and emotional distress that you have suffered. As your lawyer is developing your case, they will also investigate the event in question and collect any additional evidence that may be available to include in your claim.
Potential Challenges to Recovering Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish in Your Personal Injury Case
Because emotional and mental anguish are not as tangible as your other losses, it may be more difficult to show their viability and how they constitute a loss in a personal injury case. In most instances, you must also have suffered serious harm for your emotional and mental pain to be considered in a claim. As such, the burden of proof is generally higher, and you will need to supply strong evidence as a result.
The requirements for these claims can be nuanced and complex. To ensure that you are eligible to recoup these subjective losses as part of your case, it’s wise to work with a personal injury lawyer who can help you navigate the claim process.
They will ensure you meet the requirements and file your documentation accurately. They will be your advocate through your claim and help negotiate on your behalf so you can recover as much compensation as possible to help you get the care you need.
The Cause of Your Suffering Can Impact Your Ability to Recover Damages
If the accident that led to your distress was caused by another party’s negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED), then Texas requires that you must also have sustained a physical injury in order to receive compensation for your suffering. However, if an intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) was the cause, the physical harm requirement isn’t needed to file a claim. Exceptions may apply in some situations.
To determine your eligibility, it is crucial to discuss your circumstances and mental and emotional anguish with an experienced attorney. They can review your case and discuss your options with you. If you are entitled to recover damages, they will ensure you have a strong case and can secure as much as possible.
You may be able to receive economic damages for your monetary losses, non-economic damages for your suffering, and, in rare circumstances, punitive damages for excessive losses. Your situation will dictate what you may recover and how much. Your attorney can help you understand the nuances in your specific case and advise you on an appropriate course of action.
Do Not Wait to Pursue Compensation
To recover compensation for the mental anguish and emotional distress you have suffered, you must file a claim before the statute of limitations expires. In Texas, you have two years from the time of an accident to take action for your losses. If you wait too long, you could lose your ability to initiate a personal injury lawsuit and be forced to pay for the cost of treating your emotional distress out of your own pocket.
How Texas Calculates Mental Anguish and Emotional Distress
While financial losses are straightforward and are calculated by adding up the value of each one, losses from emotional and mental anguish are more subjective and less easily determined. Because compensation for these losses attempts to assign a monetary amount to an intangible loss, they typically have their own calculation formula.
When calculating damages for mental anguish and emotional distress, Texas generally applies the multiplier method. With this approach, the severity of your pain and suffering is assigned a value between 1.5 and 5. The higher the number, the more severe your distress. Once this has been determined, this number is then multiplied by the value of your economic damages to arrive at a sum that will cover your mental and emotional losses.
To determine how much compensation you can recover for your situation, it is important to talk to your lawyer. Every case is different and involves unique factors, so your lawyer can discuss your options with you after assessing your case.
Contact Wolf Law PLLC Today
Wolf Law PLLC has extensive experience negotiating for clients when they are struggling with the aftermath of an accident. Mental and emotional suffering can affect every area of your life, and our team is committed to providing you with the support and highly skilled representation that you need.
To discuss your options and claim compensation for your suffering, contact our office to schedule a free consultation today.