Emotional distress refers to mental suffering caused by an event, action, or condition. The impacts can vary greatly and range from temporary anxiety, all the way to debilitating conditions such as clinical depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the context of personal injury law, emotional distress claims arise when a person suffers emotional or psychological trauma due to the negligent or intentional actions of another person or party. If you or a loved one have been affected by emotional distress, you’ll need to be aware of your legal rights when attempting to seek compensation for damages.
A person can file a lawsuit for emotional distress in Indiana, however, there are several legal thresholds and conditions that must be met. Emotional distress cases fall under two categories: intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED).
For IIED claims, a defendant’s conduct must be considered “extreme and outrageous,” intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress to an injured party. For NIED claims, Indiana law requires either a direct physical impact or a close connection to someone harmed, such as witnessing a serious injury or death of a loved one. To bring an NIED claim in Indiana, a plaintiff must have been directly impacted by the event and must suffer severe emotional distress. This requirement is consistent with Indiana’s Modified Impact Rule, which is in place to prevent frivolous lawsuits based solely on emotional harm.
Indiana also recognizes an exception to the Modified Impact Rule known as the Bystander Rule. Under this condition, a plaintiff does not need to experience direct physical impact. Instead, if they arrive at the scene of the event or witnesses a traumatic incident and suffer emotional distress, they may be able to recover damages under an NIED claim.
Every emotional distress case is unique and will have their own set of extenuating circumstances. Because of the intricacies involved in these types of claims, it’s imperative to have an experienced personal injury lawyer carefully review your case and advise you accordingly.
A key takeaway is in order to successfully pursue an IIED or NIED claim in Indiana, the emotional distress inflicted on an injury party must be severe, and will require extensive evidence such as medical records, documentation, and expert testimony. Indiana generally enforces a two-year statute of limitations for these types of claims, so taking prompt legal action is extremely important.
If you or a loved one have been affected by a distressing event, contact our law firm and we will review your case at no cost to you. Our attorneys have over a century of combined experience fighting for our clients in any number of personal injury claims.
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