Infliction
of Emotional Distress
Infliction of
emotional distress may be either
intentional or negligent. Intentional
infliction of emotional distress is caused by the willfulness
or malice from one individual (or company) towards another individual.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
is when an individual fails to use reasonable care to avoid causing
an emotional injury to another person.
Intentional
Infliction of Emotional Distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress involves outrageous
and extreme conduct that goes beyond the bounds of common human
decency and causes emotional harm to another. In order for an
act or acts to rise to the level of "emotional distress"
they must far surpass mere insults, annoyances, indignities and
other trivialities.
The conduct must be regarded as atrocious and beyond the bounds
tolerated by a civilize society. The act must be so egregious
that a reasonable and prudent human being would be unable to tolerate
such conduct. An example of such a case would be for someone to
falsely inform a parent that their child had just been raped and
killed.
The relationship of the parties and the susceptibility of the
plaintiff are two other factors that are considered in cases of
intentional infliction of emotional distress. If the defendant
has been in a position of authority over the plaintiff, then the
claim is given more weight. In addition, if the plaintiff had
a certain peculiarity or susceptibility that the defendant knew
about and took advantage of in an egregious manner, then this
is also given more weight in the claim.
In order for a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress
to go forward, the following must be proven:
1. The conduct by the defendant was outrageous or extreme
2. The defendant, by intention or reckless disregard, caused the
emotional distress
3. The plaintiff did, indeed suffer emotional distress
4. The proximate cause of the emotional distress was by the defendant's
actions
Bystanders may also make claims for intentional infliction of
emotional distress especially if they were in the "zone of
danger" for the offense. Some jurisdictions require that
the bystander be physically injured or impacted in order to make
this claim, while others do not. For instance, some courts hold
that the proximity to danger and the fear for one's own life is
enough to cause emotional distress.
Intentional infliction of emotion distress claims may also be
a part of slander, libel
and defamation of character
cases.
Negligent
Infliction of Emotional Distress
Negligent infliction of emotional distress is a claim that is
not widely accepted by many states and jurisdictions. The legal
concept is that Person A owes a duty of care to Person B to take
reasonable care to avoid causing emotional distress or injury.
Many states have shunned the theory of negligent infliction of
emotional distress since it is difficult to define and quantify.
Either intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress
claims usually arise out of serious or catastrophic personal injury
cases. If you believe that you've suffered from an infliction
of emotional distress caused by another, then contact a
personal injury lawyer who can evaluate the merits of your
case.
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