Emotional distress can have a negative impact on your life, influencing your relationships, career, and even financial status. The effects of emotional distress are often easy to display but are difficult to prove in a court of law when filing for a personal injury claim. This is because the symptoms of emotional distress are difficult to quantify and are, in most cases, hidden. Here are a few ways to prove emotional distress in a court of law.
Associated Physical Symptoms
The main focus is to prove the effects of emotional distress on your life. However, be sure to provide evidence of physical injuries and symptoms that contribute to your emotional state. This is in the form of weight loss or gain, insomnia, panic attacks, headaches, or gastrointestinal issues.
Symptom Onset and Duration
To effectively prove emotional distress, you need to present cause and effect. This involves documenting your routines, submitting letters from employers, colleagues, and family members, and providing proof of medical treatment for symptoms.
The Root Cause of Your Emotional Distress
A jury court considers the severity of the assault or accident when validating your emotional distress claim. Proving the intensity of the attack or trigger event is likely to convince the court to grant you compensation.
Validation from Medical Professionals
Before filing a lawsuit claim, it’s advisable to seek validation from a medical professional. This is because you need to file your claim alongside medical reports from professionals with the experience and qualifications needed to diagnose emotional distress. In some cases, you may have to get validation from a court-approved facility.
Intensity
The intensity of the mental anguish can help you prove that your emotional distress deserves compensation. Before awarding you damages, the court gauges the intensity and duration of your symptoms.
Duration
When pursuing a claim on the basis of emotional distress, you need to show the duration of the treatment to prove the severity of the condition. Use the opportunity to show how you have missed important aspects of your life using a clear timeline.
Ask Healthcare Professionals to Testify
Aside from the medical report, you can ask a medical professional to testify on your behalf regarding your mental suffering. A personal injury attorney from a reputable firm such as The May Firm Injury Lawyers can help you enlist an expert to support your claim.
Seek Medical Help
It’s one thing to claim emotional distress, and it’s another to prove it. You need every bit of evidence to support your claim, including your medical reports. However, this can only be attained by visiting a health institution for evaluation. An expert can help you manage depression, anxiety, and other symptoms that could prove vital to your case.
Let Others Do the Complaining
Instead of complaining about your condition in front of the jury, let others speak in your stead. Allow your attorney to present you as a fighter trying to overcome the challenges brought on by emotional distress. Your family, lawyer, and healthcare provider should be witnesses to your case.
Putting a Value on Your Emotional Distress After the Trigger Event
Documenting all the expenses and losses you have incurred due to emotional distress can help prove your case. Attaching value to the mental problem means recording the financial costs of seeking medical attention as well as the opportunities lost as a result of your condition. This can help paint a picture of the severity of the condition.
