What Actually Qualifies as Emotional Distress in Georgia?

What Actually Qualifies as Emotional Distress in Georgia?

In legal contexts, emotional distress refers to the psychological suffering one experiences due to another person’s wrongful actions. In Georgia, this type of harm can be a basis for legal compensation, but it must meet specific criteria to qualify. Whether stemming from an accident, intentional harm, or negligence, proving emotional distress involves demonstrating a severe impact on a person’s mental health. Here’s a closer look at what qualifies as emotional distress in Georgia, the evidence required to support such claims, and how working with an experienced personal injury attorney can help victims seek fair compensation for their emotional pain and suffering.

What Is Emotional Distress?

Georgia law allows injured accident victims to recover compensation for emotional distress via personal injury lawsuits. The law recognizes two emotional distress distinctions: intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED).

Intentional infliction of emotional distress means that an individual’s deliberate actions or behavior were so malicious, extreme, or outrageous as to cause distress in another person. Negligent infliction of emotional distress occurs when an individual causes another person to experience emotional distress due to their careless actions.

Georgia prohibits accident victims from seeking compensation for emotional distress unless they have suffered a physical injury. For example, if an accident causes a person significant emotional trauma but no physical wounds, that person could not seek compensation for emotional distress via a civil lawsuit.

Emotional Distress in Georgia Injury Cases

You may understand the legal definition of emotional distress, but what qualifies as emotional distress in Georgia? Emotional distress is a severe stress or anxiety reaction in response to a traumatic experience. Violent car and truck accidents can cause victims to experience emotional distress because of the horrific nature of the crash and the catastrophic physical injuries that occurred due to the collision.

Injured accident victims may also experience emotional distress when they witness friends or family members severely injured or killed in traumatic accidents. These experiences can trigger depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress, and survivor’s guilt. In legal terms, emotional distress must be a reaction to an event so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure the anguish. The emotional response must also coincide with the accident or actions of the careless individual.

Calculating compensation for emotional distress is challenging because emotional distress is subjective. It is a quality of life issue that isn’t economic in nature. An experienced personal injury attorney can evaluate your unique situation and give you a more accurate picture of what your case may be worth.

Get a Georgia Personal Injury Attorney on Your Side

When the unexpected happens, you need an attorney with the experience to guide you through what’s to come. At Kaufman Injury Law, our personal injury team knows what it takes to build a solid case that gives you the best chance at recovering the compensation you need.

You deserve exceptional legal representation. Contact our team today and request a free initial legal consultation to learn more about your options for pursuing compensation following an accident caused by a careless person.