Can You Sue for Purely Emotional Injuries in Georgia?

Most personal injury claims are based on events that cause physical injuries (e.g., car accidents, sports injuries, slips and falls, etc.). But physical injuries are almost always accompanied by emotional injuries, which is why the law allows injured plaintiffs to recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering. In some cases, the law even allows for recovery in the absence of physical injuries where the defendant’s conduct is particularly outrageous. If you’ve suffered emotional and physical injuries in an accident in Georgia, a Tifton injury lawyer can help you seek legal recovery. 

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress 

Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) is an intentional tort that occurs where the perpetrator’s acts are so extreme, outrageous, and unconscionable as to cause severe emotional distress to the victim. IIED claims typically arise when the perpetrator targets the victim in a sustained campaign of harassment, intimidation, and viciousness. To prevail on a claim of IIED, the plaintiff must show four elements:

1. The conduct giving rise to the claim was intentional or reckless
2. The conduct was extreme and outrageous
3. The conduct caused emotional distress 
4. The emotional distress was severe 

Mayorga v. Benton, 364 Ga. App. 665, 670 (Ga. Ct. App. 2022).

Normal slights, insults, and taunts are insufficient to support IIED claims. Rather, the conduct at issue must be so extreme in degree as to “go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” Id. (For example, in the case cited, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant mocked his daughter’s suicide and his same-sex marriage in a death certificate.)

Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress 

Georgia also allows for personal injury claims based on negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED), in which the plaintiff argues that the defendant unintentionally caused them severe emotional distress. While some states allow NIED claims without an accompanying physical injury (e.g., as a result of witnessing a family member die or suffer a serious injury), Georgia does not. NIED claims in Georgia are governed by the impact rule, in which a plaintiff may recover only if: 

1. There was a physical impact on the plaintiff
2. The physical impact causes physical injury to the plaintiff
3. The physical injury to the plaintiff causes the plaintiff’s mental suffering or emotional distress

Lee v. State Farm Out. Ins. Co., 533 S.E.2d 82, 85 (2000).

While it might seem unfair to require the plaintiff to show a physical injury to prove NIED, the rationale behind the impact rule is that, without it, there would be a flood of litigation claims based on dubious allegations of emotional distress. 

Recover for All of Your Injuries With Help From a Tifton Injury Lawyer

Accidents often cause both physical and emotional injuries, and the law allows plaintiffs to recover both kinds of damages. For more information about pursuing emotional injury claims, please contact a Tifton injury lawyer at the Hudson Injury Firm by calling 229-396-5848 or using our online form.