Can You Receive Compensation for Emotional Distress in California? How Do You Claim It?

As observers, we often look for bruises, fractures, or cuts when assessing an injured person. Many of us assume that all personal injuries are physical or visible. However, if you’ve known a survivor of emotional abuse or someone psychologically affected by trauma, you’ve likely witnessed deeper, unseen wounds. Sometimes the most severe and lasting scars are not on the skin—but on the mind.

Under California law, emotional distress can be considered a form of personal injury. Therefore, individuals who suffer emotional harm due to another person’s negligence or intentional actions may be entitled to financial compensation.

However, proving emotional distress is often more challenging than proving physical injuries such as fractures or amputations. In a personal injury lawsuit, victims may need to undergo psychological evaluation or present other forms of evidence to support their emotional distress claims.

What Can Cause Emotional Distress?

Most accidents cause some level of harm, but emotional distress and psychological trauma don’t always result from the same types of events. Much depends on the individual, their relationship to those involved, the severity of the event, and the victim’s resilience to trauma.

Some emotional trauma results from accidents. Car accidents, dangerous falls, defective products, fires, medical malpractice, and dog bites can all cause emotional distress. These are typically considered “negligence-based” injuries. However, some victims may not experience psychological trauma from such incidents.

A lesser-known example of negligence-related harm is a bystander claim. In this situation, if you witnessed a loved one suffer a severe or fatal injury, you may sue the responsible party. Even if you weren’t physically harmed yourself, witnessing such an event can be deeply traumatizing. Bystander claims are typically limited to witnessing harm to close family members.

Intentional acts are more commonly linked to emotional distress than accidents caused by negligence. These actions often involve betrayal, humiliation, or violation.

Examples of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) include:

  • Animal abuse—especially as a means of intimidation
  • Assault and battery
  • Emotional abuse and manipulation
  • Excessive use of force
  • Retaliation against victims, witnesses, or whistleblowers
  • Sexual assault, rape, incest, and abuse
  • Threats against a person or their family—whether violent, sexual, emotional, or financial
  • Verbal abuse and persistent bullying

What Are the Types and Symptoms of Emotional Distress?

Emotional distress comes in many forms—some obvious and others subtle.

Psychological trauma and mental anguish may manifest as:

  • Noticeable weight gain or loss
  • Persistent anxiety
  • Depression
  • Irritability or anger
  • Overeating or loss of appetite
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Memory loss
  • Overwhelming shame or humiliation
  • Feelings of worthlessness
  • Flashbacks
  • Inability to concentrate at work or school
  • Migraines
  • Nervousness and anxiety
  • Nightmares or night terrors
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Relationship problems
  • Severe mood swings
  • Sleeping too much or too little
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Intense fear or terror
  • Wishing you were dead
  • Uncontrollable crying
  • Unexplained physical pain, like muscle aches

How Do Lawyers Prove Emotional Distress Damages?

In addition to recovering damages for your physical injuries and property loss, your personal injury attorney can also pursue non-economic and punitive damages for emotional distress. As noted, however, proving emotional harm can be difficult. Your attorney, you as the victim, and any witnesses must present facts and evidence that support your emotional distress claims.

Establishing a direct link between physical injury (if any) and emotional suffering is a strong starting point. For example, disfigurement or disability caused by an accident is widely recognized as emotionally damaging. The more extreme the root cause of the trauma, the easier it becomes to connect it to the resulting emotional harm.

If symptoms of emotional distress appear after an incident, a timeline can often be established. If the onset of symptoms matches the timing of the event, this can strengthen the claim that the event caused the suffering.

All emotional distress claims should be supported by notes and testimony from doctors and mental health professionals.

Contact the Law Office of Daniel Deng for a Free Case Evaluation

If you’ve suffered physical injuries and/or emotional distress due to someone else’s actions, you may be entitled to financial compensation. To improve your chances of recovering damages, the legal team at the Law Office of Daniel Deng is your best choice. With years of experience, we help clients like you heal from trauma and pursue justice through legal action.