1. Legal Issues In the News. Illinois Public Media page. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress is defined as intentionally or recklessly causing another person severe emotional distress through extreme or outrageous acts. Overview. See Fletcher v. Western National Life Insurance Co., 10 Cal.App.3d 376 (1970). 217-333-7300 willamfm@illinois.edu The Illinois Supreme Court first recognized negligent infliction of emotional distress as a cause of action in Braun v. Craven. Subscribe to our newsletters to get updates about Illinois Public Media's role in giving voice to local arts, education, new ideas, and community needs, sent straight to your inbox. View … The plaintiff argued that the trial court should not have dismissed the claim because it was a triable issue of fact for the jury whether the defendants’ conduct was extreme and outrageous. In some personal injury cases, attorneys can prove that there was an intentional infliction of emotional distress upon their client. These kinds of claims are based on the theory of intentional tort.Injuries resulting from physical acts like assault and battery can form the basis of an intentional tort claim, but emotionally-harmful actions can too. emotional distress, one for intentional infliction of emotional distress and another for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Illinois Court of Appeal Reverses Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Claim by Therman Law Offices, LTD. 1 The Braun court held that a plaintiff seeking to assert a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress was required to allege and prove a contemporaneous physical injury or impact. In tort law, intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”) refers to when a defendant intentionally or recklessly behaves in a way that is so “extreme and outrageous” that it causes another person to suffer severe emotional distress or trauma. Elements of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. When someone else's purposeful action causes you harm, you might have a viable personal injury case. The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress has four elements: (1) the defendant must act intentionally or recklessly; (2) the defendant's conduct must be extreme and outrageous; and (3) the conduct must be the cause (4) of severe emotional distress. Everyone experiences a degree of emotional distress after any injury; the key is proving that the distress caused by an injury was profound or traumatic enough to merit compensation. The Court then turned to plaintiff’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Intentional emotional distress is a claim that is meant to compensate the plaintiff for the impact of the mental anguish and suffering that he or she experiences after a personal injury accident. This can be a result of either the Defendant's acts or words. 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