Were you hurt because someone else acted carelessly in Florida? You might know you can collect money for physical injuries and property damage. But did you know the law also lets you recover compensation for your emotional distress?
Emotional distress is part of the non-economic damages that a court can award you. These damages focus on the mental and emotional harm caused by the incident. Below is a simple guide on what emotional distress means under Florida personal injury law, how to prove it, and why it matters.
What Is Emotional Distress?
When an accident or injury leaves you feeling anxious, depressed, traumatized, or fearful, those mental and emotional symptoms can be classified as emotional distress. This includes conditions like:
- Anxiety: You might worry constantly or have panic attacks.
- Depression: You could feel hopeless or struggle to enjoy normal activities.
- PTSD: Some accidents are so terrifying they lead to nightmares or flashbacks.
- Sleep Troubles: Stress might make it hard for you to rest or cause insomnia.
- Personality Changes: Chronic pain or fear might alter your daily behavior.
Emotional distress doesn’t come with X-rays or lab tests, but it can be just as real and life-altering as physical injuries. Florida law recognizes this, allowing you to seek money as part of your non-economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages Explained
In most personal injury cases, you can pursue two main categories of damages:
- Economic Damages: tangible, calculable costs like hospital bills, lost wages, or physical therapy
- Non-Economic Damages: harder-to-measure losses like physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Emotional distress falls under that second category. While there’s no fixed formula to calculate it, the court or an insurer might look at factors such as:
- How severe your emotional suffering is
- How long your symptoms might last
- Whether your daily life has changed
- What professional help (like therapy) you needed
Because there’s no receipt for distress, building a strong case often involves more creative forms of proof.
How To Prove Emotional Distress
Showing you suffer from emotional distress requires some planning. Insurers may question whether your mental health issues are tied to the accident at all. You can support your claim by:
- Visiting mental health professionals
- Keeping a pain journal
- Gathering statements from loved ones
- Listing medications
If your case goes to trial, experts—such as psychologists—can testify about your trauma or mental health conditions to make the impact clearer.
Negligence and Emotional Distress
Under Florida law, you generally need to prove the other party’s negligence caused your injuries. That means showing:
- Duty of Care: The defendant had a responsibility to avoid harming you.
- Breach of Duty: They failed to use reasonable caution.
- Causation: Their actions led to both your physical and emotional injuries.
- Damages: You actually suffered harm—here, it includes emotional distress.
If you can establish these steps, emotional distress damages can be added to your overall personal injury claim. Just like you show hospital receipts for broken bones, you’ll show therapy bills or mental health records to prove you also deserve compensation for your mental anguish.
In rare cases, you can file a claim for negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress. You would file one of these claims if the only consequence of the accident you suffered was emotional distress (meaning no other injuries, financial losses, etc).
Potential Recovery
Unlike medical bills, emotional distress amounts can vary widely. Judges or juries consider your accident’s severity, how your injuries affect your life, and how convincing your evidence is. Some cases end in small settlements if the distress appears mild. Others might pay out much more if you have permanent psychological scars, like lasting panic attacks or severe depression.
Keep in mind that Florida doesn’t set a strict limit on non-economic damages in most personal injury suits. So, if your emotional distress is severe, it might form a big chunk of your compensation. However, the defense might argue you’re exaggerating or had a pre-existing mental health condition. A skilled lawyer can push back, showing how the accident clearly worsened your emotional state.
Contact an Ocala Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Emotional distress can be just as devastating as physical injuries, yet it’s tougher to prove without careful planning. If you’re struggling after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, don’t ignore the mental toll. Contact our attorneys from Allen Law Accident & Injury Lawyers at (352) 351-3258 for a free consultation.
Consider talking to a personal injury lawyer in Ocala who understands how non-economic damages work in Florida. Most attorneys in this field of the law provide free initial consultations to review your case.
