Tort Negligence Liability For Psychiatric Damage In Phoenix
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Emotional distress refers to mental suffering as an emotional response to an experience that arises from the effect or memory of a particular event, occurrence, pattern of events or condition.
The distinction between the liability of a lunatic or insane person in civil actions for torts committed by him, and in crimi- nal prosecutions, is well defined, and it has always been held, and upon sound reason, that though not punishable criminally, he is liable to a civil action for any tort he may commit."
In claims of negligently inflicted psychiatric illness, the plaintiff's reaction to a traumatic event is usually measured against a standard of normal susceptibility and disposition. This measurement is used to determine the question of whether the defendant should have reasonably foreseen the plaintiff's injury.
Suing for emotional distress may be an option for some individuals, but it's a complicated process. One of the core problems with suing for emotional distress is that it's hard to put a financial value on what you're experiencing.
Under California law, there are four legal principles of negligence required for a claim include duty of care, breach of duty of care, causation, and damages.
AZ does recognize a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress and also intentional infliction of emotional distress which has a much higher threshold of proof. You should contact a local personal injury attorney to discuss whether you have a viable claim.
Proving Emotional Distress in Arizona Courts Unlike physical injuries, which can be documented with X-rays or medical reports, emotional distress requires a different approach to substantiation. Victims must provide compelling evidence to demonstrate the psychological harm they have endured.
In order to win your negligence claim, and obtain one or more of the types of damages available to you as an injured victim, your personal injury lawyer will have to prove four things: (1) duty; (2) breach; (3) causation; and (4) damages. More specifically, your attorney will have to prove the following: Duty.
The courts use an objective test to measure what the defendant has done compared to what a 'reasonable man' would have done. If the defendant's actions reflect those actions of a reasonable person then they will not have breached their duty of care.
To recover on a negligence claim, the plaintiff must establish the existence of a legal duty on the part of the defendant, a breach of that duty, causation, and damages. United Blood Servs. v. Quintana, 827 P.