Can You Sue for Emotional Distress After a Car Accident in New Jersey and New York?

Car accidents can be devastating, physically and emotionally. A car accident lawsuit can compensate for physical losses and medical expenses, but what about the emotional after-effects of a crash? Can you sue for emotional distress after a car accident?

The answer is yes, provided that you hire the right lawyer for your case. While it is possible to recover damages based on emotional distress, the best way to determine whether your case qualifies is to contact a personal injury attorney who knows the law, ideally sooner rather than later. 

In fact, any lawyer who overlooks emotional injuries does not understand what a personal injury case is really about. While most lawyers see only physical injuries, the attorneys at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. also see emotional injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), driving phobias, and anxiety. We believe that greater emotional injury is derived from the injured person not being able to enjoy the passionate things in their lives that gave them great pleasure. In other words, we put the “personal” in personal injury by getting to know and understand you as a person.  

For example,

…there is the young woman who now has a facial scar or can no longer pick up her toddler. 

…or the young college athlete who injured his knee and can no longer play basketball.  

…what about the 65-year-old man who just retired to Florida to live on a golf course and can no longer play golf?

… and then there is the religious woman who can no longer kneel at church and can’t participate in church events in the kitchen and help serve the needy at charitable events.

… then there is the grandmother who can no longer host Sunday afternoon dinners or decorate for Christmas due to her injuries.  

…or the young man who was saving his money for a down payment on a house, and because of a car accident with a truck, he was out of work for 3 months, blew through his savings, lost his job and his income, and his 740-credit score dropped to 500. 

…or the anesthesiology operating room nurse who can no longer mentally concentrate in the operating room due to back pain and the concussion she suffered during a car crash.    

These are typical physical injury claims causing changes that result in a loss of joy to accident victims living with permanent emotional scars.  

Often, a physical injury will heal or stabilize, but the emotional and psychological losses linger on. When a person suffers a physical injury that causes a scar, limp, or back injury that results in a loss of mobility or bodily function, there is always an emotional loss because they can no longer fully engage in their activities that they are passionate about.  

We find that people with facial scars often feel self-conscious. Others with restrictive neck and back injuries sometimes lose the ability to feel good about themselves due to intangible loss of body function or restriction in mobility.

Why Choose Our New Jersey Car Accident Lawyers?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed after a car accident and looking for help, you’ve come to the right place.

At Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., we pride ourselves on putting the “personal” in personal injury. That means you are not a mere file, case, or claim to us. You are a person who has suffered unique injuries that have likely affected your health, your emotional well-being, and your everyday life. 

We provide personalized, individual attention to each person we help. We have over 100 employees, 25 of whom are licensed New Jersey or New York lawyers, ready to fight for the results you deserve. With over 40 years of experience, more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements, and over 35,000 people helped, we know how to get results for our clients.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help. We offer translation services if English is not your preferred language, and we’re happy to meet in person or virtually via Zoom or FaceTime. There’s no charge for the consultation, and we only get paid if we recover money for you.

How is Emotional Distress Defined?

The mental trauma associated with a car accident can be significant, but what is the legal definition of emotional distress?

According to New Jersey law, emotional distress is defined as “significant mental suffering or distress.” This can take the form of fright, anxiety, nervousness, anguish, grief, depression, or anger. If your mental well-being is suffering to the point where it’s hard to go about your day, you may be experiencing emotional distress. 

Can You Sue for Emotional Distress After a Car Accident in New Jersey?

In short, yes. In New Jersey, you have two options for seeking money for emotional distress: intentional infliction or negligent infliction.

Under intentional infliction of emotional distress, you must prove that your mental anguish resulted from ongoing harassment. This harassment must be “so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency.”

Under negligent infliction of emotional distress, this can result from a single incident. The person who caused the car accident may not have meant to harm you physically or emotionally. Still, if their negligence in causing the crash was the primary cause of your suffering, they could be held liable.

In fact, it is written in the law, and at the end of a trial, just before the jury goes into their deliberations, the Judge will read the jury charge, which includes:

CHARGE 8.11E 
8.11 DAMAGES CHARGES  

GENERAL, DISABILITY, IMPAIRMENT, AND LOSS OF THE ENJOYMENT OF LIFE, 

PAIN AND SUFFERING

If you find the Plaintiff is entitled to recover fair and reasonable compensation for the full extent of the harm and losses caused, no more and no less. Fair and reasonable compensation means making Plaintiff whole for any permanent or temporary injury and the consequences of that injury (or injuries) caused by the defendant’s negligence (or other fault). The law on compensation recognizes that a plaintiff may recover for any disability or impairment that he or she suffers as a result of his or her injuries. Disability or impairment means worsening, weakening, or loss of faculties, health, or ability to participate in activities. The law also permits a plaintiff to recover for the loss of enjoyment of life, which means the inability to pursue one’s normal pleasure and enjoyment. 1- You must determine how the injury has deprived Plaintiff of [his] [her] customary activities as a whole person. 2- This measure of
compensation is what a reasonable person would consider to be adequate and just
under all the circumstances of the case to make Plaintiff whole for [his] [her]
injury and [his] [her] consequent disability, impairment, and the loss of the enjoyment of life. The law also recognizes as proper items for recovery, the pain, physical and mental suffering, discomfort, and distress that a person may endure as a natural consequence of the injury. Again, this item of recovery is what a reasonable person would consider to be adequate and just under all circumstances to compensate Plaintiff. Here are some factors you may want to take into account when fixing the amount of the verdict for disability impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, pain, and suffering. You may consider [Plaintiff’s] age, usual activities, occupation, family responsibilities, and similar relevant facts in evaluating the probable consequences of any injuries you find [he] [she] has suffered. You are to consider the nature, character, and seriousness of any injury, discomfort, or disfigurement. You must also consider their duration, as any verdict you make must cover the harms and losses suffered by Plaintiff since the accident, to the present time, and even into the future if you find that [Plaintiff’s] injury and its consequence have continued to the present time or can reasonably be expected to continue into the future. The law does not provide you with any table, schedule, or formula by which a person’s pain and suffering, disability, impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life may be measured in terms of money. The amount is left to your sound discretion.

Damages You Can Recover for Emotional Distress in NJ

In car accident claims, you can seek both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages have a clear monetary value: lost wages from work, medical bills, physical therapy bills, repair costs, etc.

Non-economic damages are more complicated to put a price tag on, but they are just as real and just as compensable. They are the largely emotional or intangible costs of an accident or injury. Emotional distress is a type of non-economic damage. Additionally, depending on your situation, your lawyer could seek money for damages like:

• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of a loved one
• Pain and suffering
• Humiliation
• Mental anguish and trauma
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Permanent impairments
• Disabilities

New Jersey has no cap on non-economic damages.

Can my Spouse Make a Claim and Sue for their Emotional Damages?

The answer is yes. Spouses, including domestic partners, can sue for money damages as part of their spouse’s case if they themselves suffered a loss of enjoyment of their life, a devaluation of their marriage, or they had to assume a greater financial burden. This is called a loss of consortium claim, and it is considered a derivative claim. However, if they were within the zone of danger and they witnessed a catastrophic injury, then they too would have a direct claim under the New Jersey case Portee v. Jaffee.  

Talk to an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney in New Jersey Today

Suing for emotional distress after a car accident is complicated, especially when proving intangible, emotional damages. You need a skilled personal injury attorney who can prove that your emotional pain is real and taking a toll on your life. We fight aggressively for our clients and pursue every possible avenue of justice. 

The car accident attorneys at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., help people throughout New Jersey and New York City, and we are happy to meet with you in person or over a video call. Schedule a free consultation today by calling us or contacting us online.