When your well-being is affected by someone else’s actions, it is a difficult thing to process. If you decide to pursue legal action against the offending party, your claim will be defined as either intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress (IIED or NEID). Understanding the differences between the two will help you process what comes next, and how your lawsuit will proceed.
What Is NEID?
NEID stands for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress. Therefore, if someone has been negligent in some way, and you have been impacted on a personal emotional level, this will be the grounds on which the lawsuit is filed. The main thing that will need to be proven is that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, that this duty of care was breached, and there was severe emotional distress as a result. Further to this, it should also be evidenced how this failure to uphold the duty of care caused harm and the impact of this on the victim.
Two Types of NIED Victims to Consider: Direct Victim
NIED victims can be put into two distinct categories. In the first instance, this is the direct victim. This person will have been directly harmed by the defendant’s breach of a duty/obligation. A direct victim claim is based upon a violation of a duty, not for witnessing an event.
Bystander
To be classed as a bystander in a NIED lawsuit, the person filing the claim does not have to be specifically linked with the offending party. However, they should still have witnessed the event in question, for instance, seeing a loved one die or get hurt because of someone else’s negligence. The bystander plaintiff will be thusly named if they were present at the scene of the incident, were exposed to the injuries or consequences of the accident/attack, are directly related in a close way to the person who was hurt, and also struggling with the aftermath.
What Are Typical NIED Claims?
A NIED claim can be brought forward in circumstances like car accidents, medical negligence, breach of duty of care in a nursing home or daycare facility, and so on. For instance, a worker or parent from a daycare facility may pursue legal action if they witness injuries to a child and argue that the staff member is not adhering to their legal duty of care to keep the minor safe. You would then talk to us for a professional personal injury attorney opinion and proceed from there.
What Is IIED?
IIED, or Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress is when somebody is purposefully causing distress or harm to the victim. For an IIED claim to be validated and moved forward, there must be certain things in place and readily evidenced. There are significant hoops to jump through, unfortunately, and this can be a challenge to victims who are already going through severe distress. The top personal injury accident attorney team at What’s My Case Worth will absolutely stand by your side and help you gather the requirements if you feel you want to move forward. A classic and common example of a valid IIED claim that is difficult to navigate through is when a domestic abuse victim wishes to hold their ex-partner accountable. The court will look at the bigger picture in this context including the length of the abuse in question, the relationship dynamic, and how often the victim sought help for the things being claimed in the lawsuit.
To create a valid claim, the following conditions must be met.
Representation of Emotional Distress
There are lots of ways to show the impact of emotional distress, from a medical report to a psychologist assessment. You can also call upon family and friends to share their version of knowing you and how you have been throughout the experience, including life after you file the claim. The courts will look for PTSD, depression, and extreme anxiety disorders as a first port of call.
Proving the Intention to Harm
The biggest part of these claims being validated is proving that the defendant meant their actions in a malicious way. This is often cited as intentional or reckless conduct. It is a way to show that the culpable party purposefully and willfully displayed acts of violence or cruelty towards the victim, despite knowing the exact impact it would have on their emotional and physical well-being. This may be difficult to prove, but things like text interactions, voice recordings, CCTV, and eyewitness accounts are all useful.
A Link
There has to also be a clear link between the emotional distress being claimed and the actions of the perpetrator. If this can be shown successfully, the case will move forward.
Are IIED Cases Easy to Prove?
The truth is that it takes an experienced personal injury law firm to file a successful claim in this area. It is an advanced area of law, and the victims are often going through severe emotional distress. The whole process can be highly triggering, and there is a big chance that the defendant will pull out all of the stops to not be charged with the claim in question. This is not said so that you lose faith; in fact, the opposite could not be truer. Going through something like this is the best reason to seek justice. It will make you more confident, stronger and resilient to face what the future holds in your new life.
IIED and NEID are two different concepts with a similar theme in law. What your case will be depends on whether there is intentional harm or negligence that brought emotional distress.
Going through something like this without our team and expertise by your side will be far too difficult. Having the support you need in your corner is invaluable, and that is why we are here for you.
Let the attorneys at What’s My Case Worth fight for you today.
