When a person thinks of a personal
injury case, he or she may think of those who have broken bones, become
disfigured, or have lost the ability to work. While these are all serious
physical ailments, personal injury can also include emotional damages.
What are Emotional Damages?
Emotional damages are monetary
rewards for any psychological issues that your injury has caused. For instance,
if you were attacked by a dog, you may have nightmares of the incident or you
may be too fearful to leave your house. If you were injured in a car accident
and you saw your friends or family members get hurt, you may be suffering from
PTSD or depression.
Is it Easy to Get Compensation for
Emotional Damages?
Unfortunately, there are so many
variations of psychological stresses, that it's hard to pinpoint an exact
definition. You could get compensation with a Boston personal injury lawyer, but these kinds of
injuries are harder to prove usually. The most important thing you can do is to
document any physical manifestations of your stress, such as
•
fatigue
•
nightmares
or insomnia
•
sweats,
fevers, chills
•
racing
heart
•
tense
muscles
•
irritability
•
emotional
outbursts (e.g. Crying all the time)
Since it's reasonable to say that
most personal injuries will cause some degree of emotional turmoil, these
documents will show you, your lawyer, and your doctor whether or not you
qualify for emotional damages. Besides listing symptoms, be sure to document
how these symptoms interfere with your day-to-day activities.
If the party you are suing tried to
intentionally inflict emotional distress (e.g. Road rage during a vehicular
accident), you could actually build good evidence in an entirely separate case.
Some personal injury cases lump emotional damages with physical damages, but if
the defendant was clearly trying to spur emotional turmoil, then you could
recover more compensation in a separate case. Of course, your Boston lawyer
will advise you on the best path to take. To see if you should pursue emotional
damages, contact a Boston injury Lawyer for a free consultation.
