What is Emotional Distress in Personal Injury Claims?

If you have been hurt due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to a number of different types of damages. These include compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, and other losses. While many losses in personal injury claims are tangible, others are not, including emotional distress. Still, the law recognizes emotional distress as a loss suffered in an accident and so, you still deserve compensation for it. Below, our Tampa personal injury attorney explains in further detail.

What is Emotional Distress?

In a personal injury claim, emotional distress refers to the psychological and emotional injuries sustained by the accident victim, including:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Other mental health problems

Emotional distress is much harder to prove than physical injuries because they cannot be seen as easily. In personal injury claims, these ‘invisible’ injuries that do not have a concrete dollar figure are known as non-economic damages.

The Impact Rule in Florida

The law in Florida follows a legal doctrine known as the ‘impact rule.’ Under this doctrine, accident victims must generally sustain a physical injury in order to claim emotional distress. They must also prove that the emotional distress is directly linked to the liable party’s negligent actions. The impact rule is meant to prevent cases based on emotional distress alone that may be exaggerated or difficult to prove.

Although the impact rule is fairly strict, there are exceptions to it. For example, you may be involved in a car accident that did not result in serious injury. Over the next few weeks, though, you experience emotional distress that is so serious, you develop an ulcer. You may be able to file a claim based on the physical manifestation of the emotional distress.

How to Calculate Emotional Distress in Personal Injury Claims

Again, emotional distress is not a visible injury. It also does not have an actual dollar value. Due to this, attorneys and insurance companies in Florida use two main ways to calculate these damages.

The first method for calculating emotional distress is known as the multiplier method. Using this formula, the economic damages in a case (medical expenses, lost income, and more) are multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5. The more severe the victim’s injuries, the higher the number.

The other method for calculating emotional distress damages is the per diem method. In this formula, a daily dollar amount is assigned to the emotional distress. The daily dollar amount is then multiplied by the number of days between the accident that caused the injury and the date of full recovery or maximum medical improvement.

Our Personal Injury Attorney in Tampa Can Calculate Your Damages 

At Moore Law, our Tampa personal injury attorney can analyze the facts of your case, accurately value all of your damages, and prove your case so you obtain the full and fair compensation you are entitled to. Call us today at 813-510-5400 or chat with us online to request a consultation and to get the legal help you need.

Source:

flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2018/760.11