Miami Personal Injury Lawyer

Can you sue for emotional distress in Florida?

A serious injury causes physical pain and much more. Florida law recognizes the emotional and mental anguish injured victims experience along with their physical suffering (usually with a showing of some sort of manifestation). An accident changes your life in the blink of an eye, and doctors and psychologists agree that the stress of enduring such a trauma takes a toll on the victim and their families.

It is difficult to argue for non-economic damages without strong legal representation. Unlike physical pain that a doctor can explain in concrete scientific terms, it is hard to convey to a jury how much an accident has had on another individual. However, the family, friends, employer and other people who knew the victim can come forward and testify that they have seen a change in the victim since the accident. It is usually the people who are closest to the victim who notice these things:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Inability to sleep
• Shock
• Grief
• Anger
• Nightmares
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Nuñez Law gets to know our clients personally so that we speak from the heart about how much of an impact the accident has had on you.

Florida is not friendly for claims of infliction of emotional distress due to another party’s negligence; and so there are things to look for when making such a claim:

• If the plaintiff was at the scene and witnessed their family member become injured or killed
• If the plaintiff witnessed a distressing accident
• If the plaintiff was close to the victim – sometimes known as the zone of danger

Even though it is difficult to prove emotional anguish, our personal injury lawyer fights hard to do just that. Psychologists know that distressing situations can trigger a host of other problems that manifest in physical symptoms such as unexplained weight changes, developing an obsessive compulsive disorder, insomnia, impaired memory, behavioral changes and other aches and pains in the body.

How is pain and suffering calculated in Florida?

Injury victims are entitled to compensation from the liable party. A personal injury attorney helps you get economic damages and non-economic damages after you have suffered losses – this is usually after it is established that the injuries are permanent and/or continuing in nature.

Economic Damages

​​Economic damages may be awarded in a personal injury claim to compensate the injured parties for their medical expenses, lost wages, future lost earning capacity, property damage and other expenses that they incurred as a result of a car accident or other serious injury.

As the name suggests, economic damages include all of your financial losses. That means that if you have expenses related to your accident, such as childcare or household services, then you should provide receipts or documentation of those expenses to your attorney. If you have relied on public transportation, or needed transportation to go see a medical specialist for your severe injuries, and then let us know right away so we can include those in your insurance claim.

Non-Economic Damages

A serious accident can lead to a catastrophic injury or even death. An injury affects the victim’s whole family, their career and their future. There is no amount of money that can truly compensate you for what you have endured. However, our personal injury attorneys fight hard to prove these intangible losses are very real to you, and that you deserve the maximum possible.

A personal injury lawyer who gets to know you and can speak with credibility on how the accident has affected you can help you get non-economic damages. More subjective in nature, they are harder to prove. The most common types of noneconomic damages are pain and suffering.

Punitive Damages

You could be entitled to punitive damages if the defendant in your personal injury case acted with intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Punitive damages are often awarded in cases of outrageous behavior and recklessness, like in fatal accident cases. Attorneys will argue for punitive damages when they believe that they are justified as a deterrent for others who may be inclined to act the same.

For example, punitive damages may be awarded in a drunk driving case, or in a case where it can be proven that a landlord knew that there was a hazard on the property but didn’t fix it. In both cases, the individuals breached their duty of care, which is a legal requirement that a person has for others to act with reasonable caution and prudence. When a driver gets behind the wheel after taking drugs, or when a landlord doesn’t fix a dangerous problem, they can be held liable for their negligences.

Like non-economic damages, these types of damages are more challenging as one has to proffer that the defendant consciously disregarded the danger(s) to life or limb. When looking for an attorney, you want to be sure that who you hire has a successful track record in personal injury cases similar to yours.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

When fatal accidents happen, the surviving family members are left devastated and with questions about what to do next. The spouse, children or parents of the decedent can file a wrongful death claim in Florida. Whether your loved one left a will, we can help you understand what will happen with your loved one’s estate and get their affairs in order. The surviving family members are entitled to damages such as:

• Medical expenses before the decedent’s death
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Lost wages and benefits, such as health insurance, and pensions
• The value of earnings the decedent could reasonably have earned

In addition to these economic damages, the surviving family members can file for types of non-economic damages from the date of death like:

• The value of lost support and services
• Mental pain and suffering resulting from decedent’s injury and death
• Loss of parental guidance/instruction/companionship

Calculating Your Total Losses

Your settlement will be based on your economic damages plus your non-economic damages, and maybe even punitive damages (if/when reckless behavior can be established).

How much you can claim is difficult to ascertain because non-economic damages vary greatly in each case due to the nature and extent of injuries, the connection, and how long the recovery process will be. If you have permanent injuries, then your non-economic damages could be greater, and your settlement much higher.