Ana was invited by her boyfriend for a date. She suspected that he had prepared a surprise for her. She jumped into a taxi and went to visit him. On coming out of the taxi, she was so excited about where she was going that she forgot to look both ways on the road. A speeding truck came from the right while she was crossing in the middle of the road. When she saw the truck, she was in so much shock that she could not move. She saw her entire life flash before her eyes, she thought she was going to die. She just fell to her knees in the road, put her hands on her head and screamed loudly. The truck driver was hooting very loudly, and people had gathered and were screaming as they observed what was happening. Thankfully, the truck stopped right in front of her, and she was not harmed physically.
However, since that day Ana cannot sleep, she keeps seeing that moment in her dreams. She has lost peace and weight because of the emotional trauma of nearly dying, she has even cut off all her friendships and relationship because she is emotionally unstable. She wants to know if she can sue the truck driver for this harm caused but she is hesitant since it is not physical harm.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
According to the law, you can sue someone for emotional distress caused to you. This in law is called a tort. Emotional distress refers to mental suffering as an emotional response to an experience that arises from the effect or memory of a particular event, occurrence, pattern of events or condition.
Therefore, the person reporting must prove through medical evidence that the incident of the near-road accident has caused them mental suffering. If the court is satisfied with the evidence provided, the person who nearly caused the accident will be tasked to pay money called damages to the person who was affected.
Source: BarefootLawyers.
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