This page within Virginia Tort Case Law is a compilation of cases reported by the Virginia Supreme Court and summarized by Brien Roche dealing with the topic of Emotional Distress Intentional Conduct and the related topic of intentional torts. For more information on emotional distress see the pages on Wikipedia.
Emotional Distress Intentional Conduct-Cases
1974 Womack v. Eldridge, 215 Va. 338, 210 S.E.2d 145.
Cause of action will lie for emotional distress unaccompanied by physical injury provided four elements are shown: (1) wrongdoer’s conduct was intentional or reckless; (2) conduct was outrageous and intolerable in that it offends generally accepted standards of decency and morality; (3) causal connection; (4) emotional distress is severe.
1967 Moore v. Jefferson Hosp., 208 Va. 438, 158 S.E.2d 124.
Court recognized cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. When such distress is due to willful, vindictive conduct recovery is allowed even though there is no contemporaneous injury from without.