Are You Entitled to Pursue Emotional Distress Lawsuits?

When you think of compensation for an accident, economic damages are probably the first thing to come to mind, but have you considered Emotional Distress Lawsuits? You expect to receive compensation for your medical expenses, property damage, and even lost wages. 

However, what about damages that don’t have an intrinsic monetary value? Can you receive compensation for things like mental anguish? The short answer is yes, you can file for non-economic damages. However, calculating emotional distress damages is rarely easy. After all, how do you place a value on your mental anguish?

Here’s what you should know about non-economic damages and how it can affect your personal injury case in Florida.

Understanding Florida’s Impact Rule for Emotional Distress Lawsuits

Florida allows accident victims to recover non-economic damages, and this can include emotional distress. The state also doesn’t place a cap on the amount you can receive. However, like most laws, there is an exception, and it applies to medical malpractice lawsuits. 

If you file a medical malpractice suit, your damages are capped at $500,000. In other words, this is the most you can receive for both economic and non-economic damages.

If it’s a personal injury lawsuit stemming from a car accident, you don’t need to worry about caps affecting your settlement amount. In other words, the sky’s basically the limit when it comes to the dollar amount you can receive.

So, how does the Impact Rule apply to your personal injury case? The Impact Rule states an individual filing a personal injury lawsuit can also seek compensation for emotional damage.

This means you can claim emotional distress, even if the individual responsible for your injuries never laid a hand on you.

The law isn’t new, it actually dates back to 1893 and the telegraph company where an individual sued the telegraph for emotional distress when his message failed to reach his dying wife in the hospital. 

He claimed failing to send the message resulted in his acute mental anguish—and yes, he successfully litigated the case and was awarded a settlement. The law today exists as a way to recognize accident victims' emotional injuries and help ensure they receive compensation.

Types of Mental Trauma Damages involved in Emotional Distress Lawsuits

Along with emotional distress, other types of mental trauma damages may apply to your personal injury case. 

However, before you start creating a list of your non-economic damages, you must first prove negligence, which means showing the defendant’s actions are beyond the scope of a reasonable person’s behavior. Yes, this is a little vague, but it does give you some wiggle room. You may also need to prove the defendant knew their actions could result in an injury.

A couple of examples of negligent actions include driving while intoxicated. Spilling liquid on the floor and either not cleaning it up or placing a caution sign can also be considered negligent.

Now that you have a better understanding of how negligence can affect your non-economic damages, here are some of the common types of mental trauma that may apply to your personal injury case.

Emotional Distress

Emotional distress typically applies when an accident victim is continuously experiencing negative emotions relating to the accident. They may be reliving the fear they experienced at the time of the accident over and over again. 

Loud noises can also trigger an extreme emotional response in individuals if it potentially reminds them of the accident. To qualify as emotional distress, these emotions must be negatively impacting the victim’s life.

Pain and Suffering in Emotional Distress Lawsuits

If you’re in continual pain and/or mental anguish, this can qualify as pain and suffering. You may be able to include this non-economic damage in your personal injury lawsuit.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Loss of enjoyment of life is similar to emotional distress, where your emotions stemming from the accident are too severe to allow you to enjoy or continue your normal daily activities. 

For example, your emotional distress may be preventing you from riding in a vehicle. Now, you’re all but housebound due to your overwhelming anxiety every time you get in a car.

To claim loss of enjoyment of life, you must prove the accident is negatively affecting your behavior and the activities you enjoyed before the accident.

Loss of Consortium

This type of non-economic damage doesn’t appear in every personal injury claim, even if it’s applicable. 

Some accident victims are too embarrassed to admit they are no longer able to participate in intimate activities with their partner, which can be especially true when the loss of consortium is caused by a fear of intimacy. After all, no one wants to publicly admit they are no longer able to be affectionate with their partner.

Calculating Emotional Distress

Calculating non-economic damages like emotional distress is challenging. After all, how do you place a dollar amount on your feelings? Insurance companies often fall back on the multiplier method. 

The multiplier method assigns a number to the non-economic damages, typically one to five. The insurance company takes the total of your medical expenses and multiplies it by the number assigned to your non-economic damages.

The number one is typically used to denote less severe injuries, and five means your damages are life-altering.

Your non-economic damages may also be calculated using the per diem method. Using this method, the insurance company assigns a set dollar amount to your non-economic damages and multiplies by each day you’re suffering.

While neither method is precise, it can help ensure you receive compensation for damages that aren’t easily identifiable by a specific dollar amount. 

A good tip is to consult with a personal injury attorney before you accept an offer for your non-economic damages from the insurance company. Sometimes, the insurance company’s calculations may be far less than what you’re entitled to receive.

Don’t Wait to Talk to an Attorney About Your Non-Economic Damages

In Florida, the four-year statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit, covering both economic and non-economic damages, highlights the importance of taking prompt action following an accident. 

Although there are exceptions to this rule, such as for minors at the time of the accident, it’s generally advisable to begin working on your case as early as possible. Starting the process early allows for the thorough gathering of evidence, ensures that details are fresh, and helps in building a stronger case.