What is intentional infliction of emotional distress?

In tort law, intentional infliction of emotional (or mental) distress is a mental reaction (such as anguish, grief, or fright) to another person’s actions that entails recoverable damages. To successfully prove a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must show four elements: 1) that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; 2) that the defendant’s conduct was extreme or outrageous; 3) that the extreme or outrageous conduct caused 4) severe emotional distress. One of the major hurdles in a intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit is proving that the defendant’s conduct was extreme or outrageous; this is defined best as conduct that is 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. An example of intentional infliction of emotional distress would include seeing a child die in an automobile accident from a distance or receiving a letter from someone falsely claiming that a close family member had died. Because of this very high standard, it is very difficult to prove an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.