States have put limits on who can sue for emotional distress and under what circumstances. The barriers are to prevent a possible proliferation of personal injury lawsuits based solely on mental anguish. Using the example above, the mother can sue for mental anguish even if she is not hurt, because she was so close to the zone of danger that she could have been hurt. The injured child's father cannot sue for emotional distress if he was not present during the accident or at a distance away from the zone of danger. For example, you are suing for emotional distress, among other things, in a libel suit.
Injuries can cause an accident victim to miss out on life's enjoyment.
If you are an active person who can no longer mountain bike because of a serious injury, you are entitled to compensation. Similarly, if you are forced to cancel a planned vacation or other major event, such as a wedding or graduation, because of an accident, you can receive reimbursement. A serious accident can leave a victim in pain or disabled. Loss of consortium would also apply if an accident left a husband or wife unable to perform chores that the spouse relied upon. For example, a spouse may be able to get loss of consortium damages if he or she had to resort to television dinners after a wife or husband's crippling injury.