The law in Massachusetts recognizes one cause of action that may form the basis of a civil lawsuit for emotional abuse. In Massachusetts, a claim for the negligent infliction of emotional distress means recovering damages for the emotional distress a person may have experienced because of another person’s negligence or carelessness.
In Massachusetts, the negligent infliction of emotional distress is generally divided into two distinct types. The first is “bystander” emotional distress; this involves situations in which a person is a witness to the death or the infliction of serious harm on a close family member caused by another person’s negligence.
In addition, a person might be the direct victim of the negligent infliction of emotional distress if they experience emotional distress as a direct result of another person’s negligence. In Massachusetts, a person may recover for both types of negligent infliction of emotional distress.
In addition, a person may recover for the intentional infliction of emotional distress in Massachusetts. To establish a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a person would have to prove that another person engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct. In addition, the victim would have to prove that the other person intended to cause severe emotional distress to the victim or recklessly disregarded the high probability of causing such distress.
In Massachusetts, victims of domestic violence are protected by other civil emotional abuse laws and criminal laws as well. Criminal domestic violence may be physical or sexual, but it can also be emotional or even financial. Certain types of emotional abuse are often verbal, and they can be perpetrated through all methods of communication, including written notes and letters, telephone calls, faxes, email, or voicemail.
A local attorney in Massachusetts would be able to provide more information about domestic violence law and mental abuse charges.
Does Emotional Abuse Need to Be Reported?
Massachusetts law requires every person who knows or suspects that a child is abused, neglected, or abandoned by anyone who is responsible for the child’s welfare to report what they know to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). Specifically, a person should call the DCF office in the town or city in which the child lives.
A person should call first and then submit a written report within 48 hours. The first report by phone should be made immediately. Written reports can be submitted online.
While every person should report suspected abuse, people in many roles are mandated reporters. This means that they may suffer negative consequences, e.g., payment of a fine, if they fail to report suspected child abuse. Healthcare professionals and workers, teachers, law enforcement officers, and social workers are among the many mandated reporters of child abuse in Massachusetts.
Under Massachusetts law, abuse of a child may be emotional abuse. It includes conduct toward a child that inflicts serious emotional or psychological damage or mental anguish. This may include active abusive conduct such as the following:
- Repeatedly demeaning a child verbally
- Frequently shouting or yelling at a child
- Isolating a child.
Emotional abuse might also be passive in character, such as the following:
- Failing to provide a child with the emotional support and nurturing they need
- Withholding expressions of kindness or affection
- Subjecting a child to long periods of silence.
A person who has any questions about reporting abuse would benefit from an attorney consultation.
Abuse of adults over the age of 60, such as disabled and elderly people, is also specifically addressed by Massachusetts law. A person abuses a vulnerable adult when they knowingly and intentionally cause harm or the serious risk of harm to them.
Again, an adult may be vulnerable because they are elderly or disabled. Family members can inflict elder abuse and may be a form of domestic violence in some cases. However, it is often perpetrated by other bad actors outside of a family, e.g., in a care home.
The law in Massachusetts protects adults with disabilities of any age from abuse, and the abuse may be emotional. The law states that the following are mandated reporters of adult abuse:
- Health care professionals
- Law enforcement officers
- Firefighters
- Paramedics or
- Emergency medical technicians
There are others. If any person in one of these roles has reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is the victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, they are required by Massachusetts law to report it to the Adult Protective Services program.
Again, abuse may be intentionally inflicting mental anguish on a victim or willfully depriving a disabled adult of the services they need to maintain their mental as well as their physical health.
A person who thinks that they have been the victim of criminal domestic violence should report it to a law enforcement agency in the Massachusetts community in which they live. A Massachusetts criminal defense attorney would also be able to offer a person some guidance.
How to Prove Emotional Abuse in Court?
One of the challenges in cases of emotional abuse is proving the emotional injury in court. Emotional abuse does not leave visible marks, making it difficult to gather the concrete evidence that proof in a court of law requires. A victim would want to prove that such conduct as the following took place:
- The use of offensive language and yelling
- Name-calling, mocking, and insults
- Verbal or physical threats or intimidation
- Isolation or exclusion of the victim from groups.
If a person is able to keep a journal, they would want to record the date of each episode with details of the abuser’s conduct, how it made the victim feel, and whether there were witnesses.
If a person does not experience the abuse firsthand, they want to talk to the abuse victim and try to document what happens as well as they can. An attorney consultation might help a person gather evidence to prove emotional abuse in court.
The evidence a person would want to gather is the following:
- Documentation: Keeping detailed records of incidents of abuse with dates, times, and descriptions of the conduct of the abuser
- Witnesses: Testimony from friends, family members, or colleagues who have witnessed the abuse can support a victim’s claims
- Expert Testimony: Mental health professionals can provide expert testimony on the psychological impact of the abuse and the treatment that is provided for it. This may help, especially to establish its severity and effects.
Can Someone Go to Jail for Emotional Abuse?
In Massachusetts, domestic violence crimes include assault, assault and battery, stalking, strangulation, and violation of restraining or protective orders. Certain crimes are punished more harshly if the victim is a member of the perpetrator’s family or household or if the crime is done in violation of a restraining order.
Massachusetts law defines family or household members as follows:
- Are married or cohabiting or were in the past
- Are related by marriage or by blood
- Are parents of the same child
- Are currently dating or have dated in the past.
The exact penalty depends on the underlying crime. However, the crimes charged most commonly are assault and battery. The person convicted of assault or assault and battery on a family or household member may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to 2.5 years and payment of a fine of $5,000. Conviction of a second or subsequent offense may lead to imprisonment for as long as 5 years.
What Are Some Legal Remedies for Emotional Abuse?
If a person is a victim of a domestic violence crime in Massachusetts, a court may issue a domestic violence protective order. This order prohibits the perpetrator of the crime from having contact with the victim for a specified period of time.
If a person who has been ordered to stay away from their victim violates a domestic violence protective order, they may be jailed and charged with a separate crime, including aggravated stalking.
A domestic violence protection order may do the following:
- Order a perpetrator to stay away from their victim.
- Force the perpetrator to leave the victim’s residence.
- Direct the local sheriff to forcibly eject the perpetrator from the victim’s residence.
- Order assistance to help a victim get their personal property away from a perpetrator.
- Make the abuser provide alternate housing for a spouse, former spouse, parent, or child.
- Give the victim temporary custody of shared children.
- Award temporary child support and/or spousal support to the victim to be paid by the perpetrator.
- Order the perpetrator to get counseling.
A perpetrator might be arrested if they violate the order.
A person might sue for compensatory damages from a person who intentionally caused them emotional distress in connection with inflicting a physical injury. Compensatory damages would cover a person’s economic and non-economic losses, e.g., pain and suffering.
Should I Hire a Lawyer for Help with Emotional Abuse Claims?
If you think you are the victim of emotional abuse or know someone else who is, you want to contact a Massachusetts personal injury lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who can guide you in analyzing your situation and deciding whether a civil lawsuit is the right choice or whether other laws offer you the solutions you need.
