When You Can Sue for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

When someone has acted so outrageously towards you in a manner that is both shocking and beyond all bounds of decency, you may have a cause of action if you have suffered severe distress from that person’s conduct.

This Is Not the Same as Mental Anguish

Although the injury with emotional distress is similar to mental anguish, to sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress requires an egregious or shocking action to cause the distress. Mental anguish simply deals with a mental injury that you suffer as a result of an injury and it is not entirely similar. Emotional distress requires some sort of conduct on the part of someone else that is specifically aimed at causing you distress.

What Exactly Is This Ground?

This tort proceeds under the theory that some conduct is so far beyond the pale that it can be considered similar to assault. The conduct must be extreme and outrageous. In other words, the conduct must grossly violate the norms or conduct and decency in society. This is not just conduct that is offensive. Instead, it must be calculated to injure one’s psyche. An example of intentional infliction of emotional distress would be telling someone that his or her spouse was critically injured or killed as a joke. It can also result from conduct that is an abuse of power.

This Is a Difficult Ground to Prove

There are quite a few elements that must be proven in order to win a case involving intentional infliction of emotional distress. While this lawsuit ground is often cited and talked about, instances in which it has been successfully prosecuted are rare. Not only must you prove that there was outrageous conduct with intent to injure, but you must also show that you suffered severe emotional distress as a result. Accident lawyers in Las Vegas can advise you on the exact level that conduct must reach to constitute this tort and can help you attempt to prove it in court.