Experiencing a personal injury can be incredibly tough and can change life as we know it. Things can get even more complicated when a child is involved, as kids often feel the effects of injuries more deeply. While we usually focus on getting the physical injuries treated right away, we sometimes overlook the emotional turmoil that a child might be going through.
Kids often struggle to understand and express their feelings, which makes it crucial for us to recognize the signs of emotional distress after an injury. By paying attention to these signs, we can better support injury victims through their healing process.
Understanding Emotional Distress After Personal Injury
A child can suffer a personal injury due to various causes, including auto accidents, medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents, or other types of traumatic events. The emotional distress may not be evident immediately, especially if there are physical injuries involved, which tend to get the most attention in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Unlike pain or other physical symptoms, emotional distress might have a more subtle or gradual onset, making it more difficult to identify.
Common Signs of Emotional Distress in Children
Emotional distress is a state of mental anguish that may involve a variety of symptoms. It can result in feelings of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. If your child has had a personal injury, you need to observe any changes in their behavior. While it is normal for a child to become a bit cautious or scared after the incident, it should not have a dramatic impact on their personality or social life. If you feel the child has withdrawn from social interactions or is showing signs of increased aggression, they could be suffering from emotional distress.
Another key indicator is a significant decline in academic performance after the incident. While physical injuries can also have an impact on their academics, mental health issues, such as emotional distress can have a deeper impact. Talk to their teacher to determine how your child is performing at school and whether the teacher has noticed any difference in their behavior after the incident.
After a personal injury, the child may develop a heightened sense of anxiety, which may also lead to physical symptoms. If your child is complaining of not feeling well due to headaches or stomachaches, they could be suffering from increased anxiety. For small children, anxiety can manifest itself in regressive behavior such as bedwetting and thumb-sucking.
Emotional distress can also cause the child to become quieter and more isolated. Talk to your child to determine if they are experiencing feelings of fear, anxiety, or sadness that they might not be able to express on their own. Don’t try to force them into expressing themselves or answering your questions, but try to engage in a supportive and open conversation so they feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts and feelings with you.
Generally, having open communication and providing reassurance to the child should help reduce their emotional distress. In addition, you can maintain routines, which helps create a sense of normalcy and security.
If you suspect that your child is suffering from emotional distress but are not able to be certain about it, you can always schedule a consultation with a healthcare professional. A trained professional can assess your child’s emotional state, and recommend appropriate measures you can take to help them cope with their feelings and recover emotionally.
How to Prove Emotional Distress?
If your child suffered emotional distress due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you have the right to file a claim or lawsuit against them. In legal terms, emotional distress is a type of non-economic damage, often categorized as pain and suffering.
Generally, there are two types of emotional distress claims – Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED) and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED). While NIED claims are based on negligence, IIED cases are based on deliberate actions that directly caused the plaintiff to suffer emotional distress.
The type of claim you file determines how you would go about proving emotional distress. Generally, the first step in the process is to document the symptoms. For example, if your child is suffering from sleep disturbances or has had a significant decline in their academic performance, you can document this impact to start building a strong case.
You can also engage a mental health care professional who assesses your child and provides their professional opinion on whether the child is suffering from emotional distress. A diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can help establish that your child is suffering from emotional distress. A testimony or statement from a reputed mental health provider can go a long way in helping support your claim.
How can an Attorney Help?
The process of recovering compensation for emotional distress suffered by a child can often be challenging as children might struggle to express their feelings and such conditions are typically hard to quantify.
Emotional distress is deeply personal, and each child’s reaction to a traumatic event can be different. Some children may show clear signs of emotional pain, while others may keep their feelings hidden. Because of this, it’s hard to truly understand the level of suffering they are going through.
You may need the help of an experienced and skilled attorney. For example, if your child suffered due to medical negligence, consult with a Pittsburgh medical negligence attorney who specializes in such cases.
The attorney can help you navigate the legal complexities of personal injury claims, including medical malpractice. Using their experience and legal understanding of such cases, they can help you gather evidence such as medical records and witness statements. The attorney can also help you determine the compensation you deserve based on your suffering.
Non-economic damages can often be difficult to prove, but with an attorney on your side, you can build a strong case that provides the full extent of the damages. While the attorney can manage the legal aspects of the case, you can focus on helping the child recover from emotional distress.