Define: Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress

Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) is a legal claim that arises when an individual deliberately engages in outrageous or extreme conduct that causes severe emotional distress to another person. To successfully pursue an IIED claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s behaviour was intentional, reckless, or conducted with the knowledge that it would likely cause severe emotional distress. The conduct must be beyond what is considered reasonable in society and must result in tangible emotional harm, such as anxiety, humiliation, or trauma. IIED claims are challenging to prove but may result in compensation for the victim’s emotional suffering and sometimes punitive damages to deter similar conduct in the future.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress can rise to the level of a tort if the defendant acted in a reckless or intentional manner, their behaviour was outrageous and extreme, and their conduct is the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s emotional distress.

To prove a personal injury claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress you will have to prove four elements of your case:

1. the defendant must have acted intentionally or recklessly;
2. the defendant’s conduct must have been extreme and outrageous; and
3. the conduct must have been the cause
4. of severe emotional distress.

Extreme and dangerous is not always clearly defined and may vary by state, but it generally means the conduct of the defendant was “so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”The courts have decided, however, the defendant’s conduct must be “more than malicious and intentional, and liability does not extend to mere insults, indignities, threats, annoyances, or petty oppressions.”

This site contains general legal information but does not constitute professional legal advice for your particular situation. Persuing this glossary does not create an attorney-client or legal adviser relationship. If you have specific questions, please consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

This glossary post was last updated: 29th March 2024.