Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

In our last episode, we discussed the subject of negligent infliction of emotional distress.

In this episode, we discuss intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Yes, in Indiana, if someone intentionally causes another to suffer emotional distress the law recognizes that as grounds to sue.

The key case discussing the subject of intentional infliction of emotional distress was decided in 1991. It involved the following set of facts:

A young man spoke with a 16-year-old girl. Later that day several members of the girl’s family came to the young man’s house and leveled a number of unsavory accusations at him. One of the group had a pistol strapped to his side. The young man was extremely frightened and feared he would be shot. The young man became nervous, depressed, and had difficulty sleeping, and required psychological counseling.

In deciding that the young man could sue, the court defined intentional infliction of emotional distress as follows:

one who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress.

What are the key takeaways?

First, the conduct must be intentional or reckless.

Second, the conduct must be extreme and outrageous.

Third, the distress suffered must be severe.

People often do things to cause emotional distress in others.

However, unless the conduct is extreme and outrageous, intentional, and unless the distress produced is severe, a person wishing to sue is going to have a difficult time prevailing.

Of course, it’s unlikely that anybody who engages in the type of conduct I’ve described will have insurance to cover such bad behavior.

Consequently, the person who obtains a judgment against another person for intentionally inflicting emotional distress may have difficulty collecting on that judgment.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”