A legal concept known as the intentional infliction of emotional distress may qualify for a lawsuit by the victim. There are some problems with this effort that can be addressed during a free consultation with a Personal Injury Attorney in Melrose MA. The lawyer can tell the potential client whether this is a good case after listening to the details.
People usually think of injury cases as involving vehicle accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, and other situations that hurt a person physically. A Personal Injury Attorney in Melrose MA can include emotional trauma in the list of factors for compensation in those types of situations as well, and sometimes the trauma stands on its own as deserving of compensation.
The Burden of Proof
There are three main problems with suing someone for intentional infliction of emotional distress. One is having to prove certain points in court. The other individual must have behaved in a very deplorable way that caused serious emotional trauma. A judge or jury must decide that the action qualified as intentional, extreme, and outrageous.
Qualifying Examples
What are actions that might qualify as extreme yet do not cause any physical harm to the person? Burning a spouse’s irreplaceable set of old photo albums after a fight might qualify. Deliberately killing a beloved pet in front of its owner also may qualify as an action intended to cause severe emotional distress.
Maximum Compensation
The second problem is that judges and juries may not award a very large sum of money for emotional distress. It is hard to define the concept, and state laws keep it vague. Some laws set a maximum amount of damages for certain types of incidents. Killing a pet might only cost the perpetrator $2,500 because of maximum damages laws.
Filing Against Individuals
Finally, the third problem is that personal injury cases are usually filed against large corporations rather than individuals. An attorney with an organization such as the Law Offices Of Burton J. Hass often negotiates settlements with insurance companies after accidents, for instance. An individual must have enough money and assets to make a lawsuit worthwhile. Free consultations are available so people can find out whether filing a lawsuit is reasonable.You can also visit them on Google My Business.
