Can you sue for pain, suffering, and emotional trauma in Missouri?

There is no imaging test or evaluation method that can measure the severity of the pain and suffering caused by physical injuries. The intense discomfort, combined with feelings of helplessness and uncertainty, can lead to profound emotional trauma. Yet, there are no visible signs of this suffering.

What’s worse is that the effects of emotional trauma can be just as long-lasting and debilitating as physical injuries. Simply put, pain, suffering, and emotional distress are as much a part of the damages you experience after a personal injury as the financial losses and medical expenses. That’s why it’s only fair to seek compensation for these. But you’ll need an experienced personal injury attorney in Kansas City, Missouri to ensure your rights are protected. 

Emotional trauma cannot stand on its own!

Of course, you can’t seek damages for pain unless there are physical injuries to support the claim. While emotional distress doesn’t always arise from physical harm, Missouri law places mental trauma in the same category as pain and suffering.

For example, you could walk away from a dangerous incident without so much as a scratch, yet the near-death experience can cause anxiety and fear for years to come. But since you were not physically hurt, you cannot claim damages for pain, suffering, and emotional trauma.

Then, what exactly is emotional distress?

Emotional distress is the psychological response to a traumatic event and the memories that follow. If you experience a personal injury—whether from a car wreck, trucking collision, workplace incident, or slip-and-fall—you may also suffer from emotional distress. Unfortunately, its severity and symptoms can vary greatly from person to person.

What Are the Symptoms of Emotional Trauma?

• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Depression and mood swings
• Sleep disturbances
• Flashbacks or intrusive thoughts related to the traumatic event
• Social withdrawal
• Chronic headaches, fatigue, nausea, or other stress-related physical symptoms

Recognizing these signs early is important—it can help you seek the medical or legal support you may need.

When Can You Sue for Emotional Distress in Kansas City, Missouri?

The law allows you to seek damages for emotional distress if:

• Someone’s carelessness causes you severe physical harm and emotional trauma—for example, a reckless driver causing a car wreck.
• Someone intentionally engages in extreme or outrageous conduct that results in both physical injuries and emotional suffering.

In either case, you must prove that:

• The at-fault party had a legal duty to act with reasonable care toward you.
• They breached that duty through negligence or intentional misconduct.
• Their actions directly caused your physical injuries and emotional trauma.
• The injuries you sustained resulted in measurable losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, or decreased quality of life.

How much compensation can you claim for emotional distress?

Missouri does not place a cap on the damages you can seek for pain, suffering, and emotional trauma resulting from personal injuries. The compensation you may receive largely depends on

• The severity of the psychological impact
• How significantly it affects your personal and professional life
• The cost of treatment and therapy
• The duration of treatment required
• The long-term effects of the emotional trauma and the financial losses it may cause

To prove emotional distress and assess its impact on your life, you will need to support your claims with various forms of evidence, including medical records, receipts for counseling and prescription medications, witness and expert testimony, counselor notes, journal entries, video evidence, employment records, and more.

It’s easy for others to dismiss claims of emotional distress, but it’s much more challenging to prove and evaluate its true impact. This is where an experienced personal injury attorney in Kansas City can make a significant difference in the compensation you receive.

Call DeVaughn James Injury Lawyers at 816-999-9999 to understand the full value of your claim. Our attorneys are here to answer any questions you may have. With our experienced, litigation-ready team on your side, you’ll send a strong message that you won’t settle for less.