People sometimes call us and ask us unusual questions. One that is becoming more common is whether someone can file a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. While it doesn’t require you to have a physical injury, there are some requirements necessary to make it a valid claim. An infliction of emotional distress claim is asserting that the defendant’s actions caused you to suffer emotional distress; not a physical injury.
An example could be you seeing and your family member standing on the sidewalk and your family member gets hit by a reckless driver. You were present for your family member’s injury and witnessed it which caused you to suffer emotionally even though you weren’t physically injured. There have even been cases where the plaintiff wasn’t present at the time of the accident but arrived at the accident scene later on and that caused them to suffer emotional distress.
The case law has evolved over the years and currently states that the emotional distress could even happen weeks or months later and not necessarily at the time and location of the accident. It seems like this law is being tweaked every couple of years so the facts of each specific case will determine whether you have a viable case for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
If you have any questions about a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim or think you may have a claim, please call us at 407-254-4901 or text us at 407-644-4444. You can even email us at [email protected]. We are always happy to offer a no obligation, free consultation to discuss your case with you.
