Should I Seek Emotional Damages In My Car Accident Claim?

Being involved in a car accident can cause serious injuries, both physically and emotionally. In fact, emotional trauma and distress can be a major component of recovery in motor vehicle accident cases. However, successfully bringing an emotional distress claim can be difficult and most often requires good lawyering. As such, it is important that you immediately consult an experienced personal injury attorney if you are seriously injured in an accident.

What Is Considered Emotional Distress Damage?

Emotional distress damages in a car accident case are monetary compensation that is designed to reimburse you for the psychological impact the accident has had on your life. There are many different types of emotional stress, depending on the specific facts surrounding the accident.

Some common examples of emotional distress damage include:

• Loss of sleep
• Anxiety
• Fear and fright
• Depression
• Post traumatic stress

Since there is no hard and fast definition of emotional distress, it is important to seek emotional therapy if you are feeling anything emotionally or mentally unusual after a car accident.

When Is It Appropriate To Seek Emotional Distress Damage?

Emotional distress damages may not be appropriate in every case. Just because you are feeling sorrow after an accident, it may not necessarily amount to mental anguish or distress. In order to determine whether you should seek emotional distress damages as part of your car accident claim, you should consider the four factors below:

• Your emotional distress has become more than temporary, in that it has started to significantly affect your daily life activities.
• The level of your emotional distress has become “medically” significant.
• Your emotional distress was a direct cause of the accident.
• You also sustained physical injuries, in addition to your emotional distress.

How To Document Your Emotional Distress

If your mental anguish has reached a level that results in you or your attorney to file a claim, it is likely that you may need to seek medical treatment. Medically documenting your emotional distress is important both to your treatment and to obtaining the full compensation for your personal injury claim. By seeking medical treatment, the doctor is documenting the severity of your distress and tracking your recovery.

Another important way of documenting your emotional distress damages is to keep a daily journal or diary, in which you record how you are feeling and how the accident has affected your daily life.

The bottom line is that emotional distress is a subjective type of damage in personal injury cases. In order to successfully seek compensation, you will need to prove to the liable party’s insurance carrier that the accident caused severe emotional distress that significantly affects your life.

Consult with a Car Accident Attorney in Los Angeles

If you believe that you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident that was caused by the reckless actions of another driver, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. For more information or to schedule a free consultation with an experienced negligent security accident attorney, call the Law Offices of Samer Habbas today at 888.848.5084.