After a car accident, injuries are often the most obvious type of loss a person experiences. Yet, emotional trauma from accidents is very common and has a true impact on a person’s quality of life and well-being. In Georgia, there are times when you can sue for emotional distress after a car accident, and doing so could be critical to ensuring you have enough damages to protect your future and recovery. Call a Newnan car accident lawyer at Kam, Ebersbach & Lewis, P.C., for a free consultation.
When Can You Recover Damages in Georgia for Emotional Distress?
Georgia laws allow for a person to seek compensation for emotional distress in various situations. Generally, in order to receive them, you must have sustained physical injury in the incident, meaning that you cannot just have thought you were going to be hit. Instead, physical impact must have occurred, and that impact must have led to injuries. If that occurred, you must then show that the physical injury led to mental and emotional distress for you.
What Is Emotional Distress in a Car Accident Claim?
Clarifying what emotional distress is can be complex. Everyone deals with the complexity of trauma very differently from the next. Typically, emotional distress will apply to a wide range of situations, including evidence of emotional or mental suffering. Some examples may include:
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Fear
- Humiliation or embarrassment
- Emotional outbursts and mood disorders
- Uncontrollable emotional onset, such as crying
- Psychological trauma
- Nightmares
- Depression
- Difficulty sleeping
If you suffer any of these types of emotional impacts after your accident, keep the following in mind. Do not disregard those feelings as normal or okay. They are just like the physical injuries you have that are due to the losses caused by the at-fault driver.
Second, if you need mental help and support, get it. You can seek out help from a mental health counselor the same way you would get help for medical injuries brought on by the accident. Again, you need to work towards full recovery of your losses, and getting help is necessary.
How to Prove Your Emotional Distress Claim?
With the help of a our Newnan personal injury attorneys, you will gather evidence to support your claim of an injury or loss. Just as you would for a broken bone, you will be able to use evidence available to prove you were hurt emotionally. This could include:
- A formal medical diagnosis from a licensed therapist or medical provider
- Expert testimony from those who may be able to show how the incident could have caused emotional distress
- Psychiatric records
- Witness testimony such as your family and friends
If you feel that you suffered emotional distress during and after your car accident, seek out help from a trusted car accident attorney to help you. You will need to determine the severity, the type of treatment you need, and the amount of time necessary to facilitate healing. There is no way to know how much this could impact your life until you talk to an attorney who can offer guidance and support to you.