Emotional distress can be grounds for recovering remedies in the US, but damages are only awarded in severe cases. Bodily harm is no longer required in some states, and mental health experts may be needed to prove cases without physical evidence.
Emotional distress refers to mental anguish and suffering. Under tort law in the United States, such mental distress may be grounds for recovering remedies when it is caused by certain actions inflicted by another individual, although such actions must generally be intentional or negligent for damages to be awarded. There are many things a person can experience that can be classified as emotional distress, including fear, shock, and humiliation.
Damages for this form of hardship are often sought in cases where personal harm has occurred, so many people mistakenly believe that emotional damages will only be awarded in cases of physical harm. This used to be how the law generally worked, but in many states in the United States, bodily harm is no longer required to win such a case. In California, for example, damages can be awarded when there is extreme, outrageous and intentional mental distress inflicted on another person, even when there is no physical harm. Examples of cases where cases can be initiated on these grounds include sexual harassment, false detention and stalking.
There are many instances in daily life where people do things to disturb the peace of mind of other individuals, but this alone does not mean that a person has a valid claim for remedies. Case law has established that judges commonly regard some degree of mental anguish as part of the normal interaction between members of society. For example, people commonly threaten or insult others, and while these actions are unpleasant, they are not always grounds for a complaint.
Typically, damages are awarded only in cases where the mental anguish is severe. Severity is often tested and considered based on several characteristics, including the intensity of the distress or suffering and the amount of time it lasted. Complaints may also be subjected to a “reasonable person” test, whereby it is considered how any reasonable person would have performed in the situation before the court.
Emotional distress can be very difficult to prove, which is why most of the claims have been limited to incidents that also included bodily harm. In these cases, it may be easier to convince a judge or jury that substantial mental infliction has also occurred. When there is no physical harm, the case often faces similar challenges to what a criminal prosecution would face in the absence of physical evidence. In some cases, it is necessary to rely on the testimony of mental health experts.
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