Accidents don’t just cause physical injuries. They cause emotional and psychological injuries too. If you have suffered such injuries, you’ll be pleased to know that you can make a claim for emotional distress damages as part of your accident claim. You caneven get compensation for pain and suffering, in addition to any economic damages like medical bills.
The amount of compensation available for emotional distress damages varies wildly from case to case. To get a true picture of how much you may be able to claim for, you will need to talk to a claims advisor like those at accident advice helpline.
Let’s discuss emotional distress damages in greater detail:
Emotional distress damages – what are they?
Emotional distress damages are monetary damages. They are designed to compensate the claimant for emotional distress as a result of an accident. Emotional distress damages can be awarded for a wide variety of different things, including sleep loss, depression, anxiety or change of character. Because what may be distressing to one person may not be to another, there is no definition with regards to emotional distress damages. Quite simply, the amount of compensation you receive will be judged on its merits.
Proving emotional distress
Because emotional distress is not a physical injury, it can’t be easily diagnosed. As a result, the only way that the claimant can prove such injuries is through documenting. This, of course, can be manipulated, however it will be used as evidence by a solicitor. It’s vital that if you are suffering from emotional injuries as a result of your accident, that you inform your doctor of them and make them known during any medical examination. Medically documented emotional distress can make for a powerful tool when making a claim.
What if the defendant intentionally inflicted emotional distress?
If you are suffering from emotional distress and you feel that the defendant intentionally inflicted this on you, you could make an additional claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. This type of claim is of course far rarer than your average emotional distress claim, but it isn’t uncommon with regard to accidents in the workplace. These cases can be tricky to work and process, so it’s important to enlist the help of a lawyer whom has worked on cases that are similar to yours before to maximise the chances of success.
How much compensation can I receive for emotional distress?
It’s impossible to give you an answer to this question without knowing your case in greater detail. Emotional damages can add hundreds or even thousands of pounds onto a claim, in addition to special damages. Talk to a claims advisor today to get a decent estimate.
