Under Nevada law, intentional infliction of emotional distress occurs when you suffer severe distress as the result of someone’s intentional and wrongful actions. This can give you grounds to sue for money damages.
To be actionable, the defendant’s conduct must be extreme and outrageous.1 Indeed, intentional infliction of emotional distress is sometimes referred to as the “tort of outrage.”
Example: Mona’s live-in housekeeper, Dolores, works 16-hour days, often without a break. Mona can get physically and emotionally abusive when she thinks Dolores isn’t working hard enough. Her abuse includes slapping Dolores and sometimes even hitting her with a mop or broom.
Dolores finally has enough. She hires a Las Vegas injury attorney to sue Mona for violating Nevada’s assault and battery laws and for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on Dolores.
To help you better understand Nevada’s law on the intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”), our Nevada personal injury lawyers discuss, below:
- 1. The elements of a Nevada claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress
- 2. How do I bring a claim?
- 3. What constitutes “extreme and outrageous” conduct?
- 4. When is emotional distress considered “severe”?
- 5. Damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Additional reading
You may also wish to review our related page on Nevada’s law on the negligent infliction of emotional distress.
1. The elements of a Nevada claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress
In Nevada, the elements for intentional infliction of emotional distress are:
- The defendant engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct;
- The defendant intended to cause, or acted with a reckless disregard for causing, emotional distress; and
- As a proximate result of such conduct, you suffered severe or extreme emotional distress.2
2. How do I bring a claim?
In Nevada, successful intentional infliction of emotional distress claims are most often alleged along with another cause of action, such as:
- A civil action for sexual assault,
- Sexual harassment or other workplace wrongs,
- Assault and battery,
- Defamation,
- A violation of Nevada’s domestic violence laws, or
- Fraud actions.3
3. What constitutes “extreme and outrageous” conduct?
Extreme and outrageous conduct is that which is “outside all possible bounds of decency” and is regarded as “utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”4 It generally does not extend to:
- mere insults,
- indignities,
- threats,
- annoyances,
- petty oppressions, or
- other “trivialities.”5
The extreme and outrageous character of the conduct may arise from (without limitation):
- An abuse by the defendant of a position,
- Unwelcome sexual advances,
- Inappropriate physical touching,
- Workplace retaliation, or
- The defendant’s knowledge that you are peculiarly susceptible to emotional distress by reason of some physical or mental condition.6
4. When is emotional distress considered “severe”?
In general, stress and insomnia alone are insufficient to sustain a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress.7
Where you suffer a large quantity and variety of symptoms – particularly if you seek treatment for them – a recovery is more likely.
Example: Nancy is subjected to sexual harassment in the Las Vegas casino where she works. Her boss makes unwanted sexual advances, touches her inappropriately, and constantly threatens to fire her if she says anything.
Nancy experiences sleeplessness, irritability, stress and depression and seeks the treatment of a mental health professional who diagnoses her with PTSD and prescribes medication. Nonetheless Nancy begins suffering severe anxiety attacks.
Nancy has presented sufficient evidence of more than “mere physical or emotional discomfort.” A jury finds that her emotional distress is severe and her boss’ actions were outrageous. Her employer is held liable for damages under respondeat superior, Nevada’s law on the vicarious liability of an employer.8
5. Damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress
There is no set rule for how much you can recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress in Nevada. Since no price tag can be placed on emotional well-being, IIED cases can potentially result in six- or seven-figure recoveries in very serious cases.
Additional reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Rethinking Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – George Mason Law Review.
- Racial Bias in a Provider-Patient Relationship May Give Rise to an Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Claim – Nebraska Law Review Bulletin.
- Cages and Compensatory Damages: Suing the Federal Government for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – UCLA Law Review.
- A Comparative Analysis of the Tort of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) – International Journal of Law Management and Humanities.
- The Case for a Criminal Law Theory of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – Criminal Law Brief.
Legal references:
- Star v. Rabello, 97 Nev. 124, 625 P.2d 90 (1981).
- Same.
- Shoen v. Amerco, Inc. 896 P.2d 469 (1995); Jordan v. State Dep’t of Motor Vehicles 110 P.3d 30 (2005).
- Maduike v. Agency Rent-A-Car, 114 Nev. 1, 953 P.2d 24 (1998).
- Candelore v. Clark County Sanitation Dist., 752 F. Supp. 956 (1990).
- Same. See also Switzer v. Rivera, 174 F. Supp.2d 1097 (2001).
- See Chowdhry v. NLVH, Inc., 109 Nev. 478, 851 P.2d 459 (1993).
- Facts based on Switzer, endnote 7.