Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort action where a person deliberately causes severe emotional distress to another. It is difficult to prove and requires showing extreme and outrageous behavior, intent or reckless negligence, actual emotional distress, and causation. Some jurisdictions require the distressing event to occur in public.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), is a type of tort action that can be brought in civil lawsuits. In general, it is against a person deliberately acting in a way that is designed to—and actually causes—another person severe emotional distress. An example of IIED is a doctor telling a patient’s wife that the patient is dead, even though the patient is perfectly healthy, simply for the purpose of causing distress to his wife. It is one of the more difficult tort claims to prove, and some jurisdictions have historically viewed it as a frivolous cause of action.
Proving that emotional distress was intentionally inflicted generally requires a plaintiff to prove several elements. First, it must prove that the defendant acted in an extreme and outrageous manner. In proving this element, the plaintiff typically has to convince the investigator that the defendant’s behavior was so extreme as to be deemed unbearable in a civilized society. In general, the behavior is extreme and outrageous if a person of average temperament experiences severe emotional distress as a result of the defendant’s actions. Plaintiffs who are nervous or more sensitive are routinely held to a different and usually lower standard.
In order to prove the intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff usually must also demonstrate that the defendant intended to cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress. Alternatively, the plaintiff can show that the defendant acted with reckless negligence. Basically, this means that the defendant was essentially certain that his actions would cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress.
Subsequently, a plaintiff must typically prove that they have actually suffered from emotional distress. What constitutes emotional distress varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but a plaintiff generally must demonstrate that he has developed a condition of significant quantity or lasting quality, the type of condition that a normal person would not have to deal with. For example, conditions such as anxiety, shock, humiliation, or physical pain can constitute emotional distress. As a general rule, simple insults or threats don’t reach the level of emotional distress.
A plaintiff must usually also prove causation. In other words, the plaintiff must prove that he suffered damages as a direct result of the defendant’s extreme and outrageous conduct. In some jurisdictions, an additional element is required: advertising. These jurisdictions require that the distressing event occur in public.
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