How Florida's Emotional Impact Rule Could Affect Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

The Role of Florida’s Impact Rule for Emotional Distress Damages

Serious accidents often cost survivors more than money.

If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you could be entitled to a wide range of damages—damages that you can use to pay off your medical debt, replace lost income from work, and rebuild your life. For many survivors, a comprehensive settlement or reasonable award also includes compensation for emotional distress. This category of damages has the potential to offer enormous relief, but it is almost always subject to the provisions of Florida’s “impact rule.”

Read more to learn the impact rule and emotional distress damages in Florida, or contact DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis today to speak to a Seminole personal injury lawyer and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation.

An Overview of Florida’s Impact Rule

Although every case is different, most accident victims establish negligence by presenting evidence that shows:

1. The at-fault party, termed the “defendant,” owed you a duty of care.
2. The defendant breached their duty of care by acting negligently.
3. The defendant’s negligence was the direct cause of your injuries.
4. You, the accident victim, suffered injuries and other losses that can be compensated under Florida’s statutes and case law.

Lawyers sometimes use the term “injury” to describe the economic and non-economic impact of an accident. This includes compensation for damages like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment. However, under Florida’s impact rule, you cannot usually file a personal injury lawsuit to obtain these damages without first sustaining a physical injury.

Put simply, the impact rule says that you can only obtain compensation for accident-related emotional distress if the defendant’s negligence physically hurt you. If their actions were callous, cruel, or negligent but did not result in any injuries, you cannot sue solely to recover emotional distress damages.

Exceptions to the Florida Impact Rule

The Florida Supreme Court has identified several key exceptions to the emotional impact rule.

In general, the impact rule does not apply in cases related to:

• Asbestos exposure
• Intentional torts, like murder, assault, and sexual abuse
• Mishandling a loved one's remains
• Ingesting contaminated food or drink
• Witnessing an unusually catastrophic accident or violent death
• Breaches of confidentiality by a psychotherapist or other mental health professional
• Disclosing the results of a patient’s positive HIV or AIDS test

The emotional impact rule has many exceptions, but most claims for emotional distress damages not involving direct physical injury must adhere to the “case law” established by legal precedent.

This usually means proving that you were at the scene of the accident, witnessed a physical injury, and suffered emotional distress as a result.

How to Prove Emotional Distress in Your Personal Injury Claim

Anyone seeking compensation for accident-related emotional distress must be prepared to present compelling and substantial evidence of trauma. Depending on the circumstances of your claim, evidence could include:

• A diagnosis from your psychologist or psychiatrist
• Detailed records from a medical or mental health provider
• Expert testimony from a medical or mental health professional
• Statements of other eyewitnesses to the accident
• Statements from friends, family, and other people with direct knowledge of your mental and emotional state

Even if you have compelling evidence, fighting and winning a personal injury lawsuit is rarely easy. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys could challenge the calculations you used to present an offer or settlement, or they could outright accuse you of exaggerating your emotional distress for financial gain.

Don’t Take Chances with Your Recovery: Contact DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis Today

DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis have spent decades helping accident victims obtain the compensation they need to begin rebuilding their lives and reclaiming their independence.

We could help you by:

• Investigating the causes and circumstances of your accident
• Identifying the right defendants for your claim
• Filing your lawsuit within the statute of limitations
• Managing discovery, responding to pre-trial motions, and dealing with insurance adjusters
• Assessing your damages
• Negotiating a settlement
• Representing you at trial

You don’t have to take chances with your right to a fair recovery, but you do have to act fast.

If you wait too long to contact a Seminole personal injury lawyer, the Florida statute of limitations could expire. And once the personal injury statute of limitations expires, your case could be dismissed on a technicality.