When you visit a doctor, you trust their ability to diagnose and treat your medical condition. Unfortunately, sometimes, a doctor’s actions or negligence can cause emotional distress.
At Barrera Law Group, LLC, many of our clients have not only experienced physical and financial harm but emotional trauma too. In these cases, can you sue a doctor for emotional distress? The answer is not always straightforward. Let’s look at the challenges involved and what you need to know before pursuing a claim.
Defining Emotional Distress in Legal Terms
According to Healthline, emotional distress can affect your everyday life. If you have experienced mental suffering or anguish inflicted by the actions of another, that is known as emotional distress. In cases of medical negligence or malpractice, this can result from a doctor’s negligence, misdiagnosis, or even intentional acts. Depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and irrational fear are types of emotional distress that could result from these actions.
In civil law, emotional distress can be categorized into two types:
- Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED): If a doctor’s negligent actions cause emotional distress, even if there is no physical injury, you could have a legal claim. One situation may involve a doctor misdiagnosing a life-threatening condition. As a result, you have experienced extreme anxiety before discovering the mistake. In this situation, you might have grounds for an NIED claim.
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED): If a doctor’s actions are so egregious that they intentionally cause emotional distress, your case might fall into this category. For example, a doctor revealing highly sensitive information in a way that causes severe psychological harm could qualify under these guidelines.
These definitions are broad examples of the two categories of emotional distress. If you want to pursue a claim, you will have to provide other elements of the alleged misconduct.
How Do You Prove Emotional Distress?
If you want to sue a doctor for emotional distress, you need evidence to support your claim. Proving emotional distress can be challenging. These claims are deemed subjective and lack the physical evidence associated with other types of injuries. However, there are ways to strengthen your case:
- Medical documentation: If you have evidence of therapy or medication prescribed for anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions, all that can support your claim. A licensed mental health professional’s testimony can also establish the connection between the doctor’s actions and your emotional distress.
- Physical symptoms: In some cases, emotional distress may lead to physical symptoms, such as headaches, ulcers, or other stress-related conditions. If you are experiencing these symptoms, make sure to document them to substantiate your claim.
- Testimony from friends and family: Along with the above, you may want to have statements from those who can provide insight into how your emotional state has changed following the doctor’s actions. These individuals can testify to noticeable changes in your behavior, mood, or ability to function.
Many times, these claims are related to medical malpractice. Unfortunately, mistakes or negligence from healthcare practitioners are not uncommon. In 2023, there were 3,200 medical malpractice reports in Texas, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank.
If you can prove that the doctor’s negligence caused your emotional distress, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Challenges Could I Face?
While it is possible to sue a doctor for emotional distress, you could face a few hurdles. Emotional distress is subjective, and it can be difficult to quantify and prove in court. Unlike physical injuries, which can be documented with medical evidence, emotional harm often needs a few more steps to establish.
When you bring a claim to court, remember that doctors and their insurance companies are likely to mount a strong defense against emotional distress claims. Since these claims lack tangible physical evidence, they are often easier to refute in court. The other legal team may argue that the distress was not caused by the doctor’s actions but by a pre-existing condition. Remember that anxiety and depression are not exclusive to a medical malpractice case. With one in five adults (according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness) suffering from some form of mental health issue, the other legal team could simply say your emotional distress was caused by another factor.
Since these claims can be difficult when seeking compensation, you will want to consult with a skilled medical malpractice lawyer who understands the complexities of the law. With their assistance, they can help you understand the viability of your case.
Seeking damages for emotional distress is not impossible, but you need an experienced legal team, especially when seeking compensation. They can even calculate the amount for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs related to emotional harm.
Suing a doctor for emotional distress is possible, but it will be a challenge. You and your legal team need to prove whether the healthcare provider’s actions were either negligent or intentionally harmful. Also, you need to show that these actions directly caused significant emotional suffering. If you believe you have a valid claim, an experienced attorney can help you get compensation for the emotional distress you have endured.