If you’re engaged in a personal injury lawsuit, then you might be wondering how to prove something as subjective as mental anguish.
At Robert J. DeBry & Associates, we encounter these kinds of cases regularly, and this particularly legal hurdle comes up in court cases all the time. Even in cases where emotional trauma seems self-evident, such as the Parkland shooting, parents were still required to prove their mental anguish in court. This is because juries are made up of one’s peers, and a strong case by any plaintiff should be able to appeal to a jury’s emotions.
Anguish is a universal emotion and describes abject suffering.
While all juries typically need to see in cases involving physical injury are photos of the injuries, cases involving mental or emotional suffering can be trickier. It might not be enough for a victim to describe how an event made them feel simply — they need to provide proof that whatever took place caused them considerable mental anguish beyond a reasonable doubt. To help prove mental anguish, a legal team might need to bring in character witnesses to side with a plaintiff to substantiate their testimony.
Additional evidence that might play a key role in cases like this is the testimony of figures from all walks of a victim’s life. Spouses, partners, coworkers, friends, and family members can all testify as to how an individual’s life might have been affected by a traumatic event. Maybe you’ve missed multiple days of work, and you are usually incredibly punctual. Perhaps you’ve been skipping out on social events that you would usually attend. Your quality of work might have gone down since whatever incident that led you to court occurred. All of these testimonies can help substantiate your claim that mental anguish has occurred.
Further testimony from a medical professional can be helpful. Psychiatrists or personal therapists have much more insight into mental well-being and can testify whether a person might have suffered mental or emotional trauma.
Consider Hiring a Personal Injury LawyerÂ
Proving mental anguish in a pain and suffering case alone can be daunting and overwhelming. Consider hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you with your case. An experienced personal injury lawyer from Robert J. DeBry & Associates will help you get the compensation you deserve.