Car accidents, truck accidents, boating accidents, and cyclist accidents can be extremely traumatic, especially when you are not at fault. It can be vulnerable to learn firsthand that other road users can have a severe impact on your life. So in some cases, the emotional distress lasts far longer and has a larger impact than the physical injuries from a crash.
But is it possible to sue someone for the emotional damage caused in a car accident (or other accident) in Alberta? In short, yes – it can be. Read on to learn about a court case about emotional distress and how you can prove your emotional distress in a lawsuit.
Seek Help For Emotional Distress
It’s important for your health and your compensation claim to seek medical assistance. You should also consider seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist to assist in your recovery. The costs for these treatments can be covered under your accident benefits claim through your insurance company or recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, usually under Section B Benefits.
You can be covered for up to $50,000 for counselling and psychotherapy.
Counselling or psychotherapy can help you recover from fear of driving, nightmares or disturbing memories, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, avoidance, and other symptoms of emotional distress following an auto accident.
How to Prove Your Emotional Distress in Court
If you or your loved one were involved in a car accident and have suffered psychological distress, make sure to contact a personal injury lawyer at James H Brown and Associates. Even if you did not suffer physical injuries, emotional distress is an injury of itself. But proving your case can be a little more challenging.
Remember: mental distress in many forms, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression or sleeping problems, are all valid injuries and you should be compensated for your losses.
The following are some methods you can use to prove your emotional distress in court:
- Medical records
- Witness testimony
- Your own testimony
- Journal entries, including a pain journal
- Relevant employment records.
As you might guess, emotional distress claims can be more challenging to prove if you do not seek help for your injuries.
Insurance companies look at medical records so it is important to get treated – for your own recovery and to help with your claim for compensation.
However, you may have a case for emotional distress even if you don’t seek help from a counsellor or psychologist. Your family members, friends and coworkers can attest to your mental condition and the way your lives have changed. Though this does make the case more complex to prove.
Compensation for Emotional Distress
You can receive compensation for a range of losses if you have experienced emotional distress following an accident. The ‘losses’ you can claim compensation for are called, in legal language, ‘heads of damages’. These are categories of losses that you may be eligible to receive compensation for.
Some of the losses that you may be eligible for if you are experiencing emotional distress after an accident include:
- Pain and suffering.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Out-of-pocket expenses for treatment, including counselling costs and the cost of any prescription medications you need.
- Compensation for lost wages if you’re unable to work due to your injuries.
- Compensation for household labour you were not able to do as a result of your injuries.
- Payment for future losses, including lost earning potential and ongoing medical costs.
When to Sue for Emotional Distress
We often see people trying to navigate emotional injuries without medical care. This is not helpful for your recovery or your legal claim. It’s important to understand that seeking treatment for emotional trauma is just as important as getting help for any physical injuries you have. Healing is a complex process, and seeking help is an important step towards recovery.
Deciding to sue for emotional distress is often another milestone in your recovery. You should only choose whether to sue for emotional distress following an accident after you’ve spoken with an experienced personal injury lawyer. This is because emotional distress claims can be complex, and there are a range of factors that can impact your claim – and your decision whether to sue.
For example, psychological injuries can take time to fully stabilize. Often, it’s unclear how severe your PTSD or other psychological trauma will be following an accident, and it’s unknown what your recovery looks like. So, it can be difficult to decide when the right time to sue is and advice from a qualified lawyer is extremely helpful at this stage.
Another factor that can come into play in emotional distress claims in Alberta if you’re the victim of an accident is road rage or other intentional acts from drivers. In these cases, your legal claim and the strategy you adopt may change as a result of the at-fault party intentionally inflicting harm on you. Again, it’s important to discuss this with a personal injury lawyer before you settle your claim for emotional distress.
How to Sue for Emotional Distress in Alberta
We have outlined the steps of a personal injury claim in detail but briefly, the process for suing for emotional distress in Alberta includes the following:
- Your personal injury claim starts when you are injured by someone else. At this stage, you should seek medical attention for your injuries. Also, note that the clock on the statute of limitations for your claim usually starts ticking now – so you will have two years to make your claim.
- Speak with a personal injury lawyer.
- Your lawyer will investigate your case and develop a legal strategy.
- Your lawyer will start negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurer.
- Pre-trial questioning and dispute resolution processes. Note that your emotional distress claim is usually resolved at or by this stage.
- Trial, though this step only occurs when all other options have failed.
Suing For Emotional Distress: A Case Study
In the case of Saadati v Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28, the plaintiff suffered psychological injuries. There were no physical injuries reported.
Their psychological injuries caused them so much distress that they were unable to carry out their day-to-day activities and their life changed substantially as a result. However, they did not see a doctor to receive a diagnosis or treatment for their injuries.
Based on testimony from friends and family, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that the plaintiff’s mental injury was “serious and prolonged and rises above the ordinary annoyances, anxieties and fears that come with living in a civil society”. This means that the plaintiff was able to claim damages for the emotional distress injury.
From this case, you can see that just because a plaintiff did not suffer from physical injuries, does not mean they do not have a valid claim. The courts do not tend to treat psychological injuries differently to physical injuries.
Start Your Emotional Distress Lawsuit
Please contact James H Brown and Associates right away if you were involved in a car accident and have suffered emotional distress. Our team of personal injury lawyers will help you access the medical resources you need to recover and will build a strong case for compensation.
