Legal Definitions - NIED

Definition: NIED stands for negligent infliction of emotional distress. This is a legal term used to describe a situation where someone has caused emotional harm to another person due to their negligence.

• A doctor misdiagnoses a patient, causing them to suffer from severe anxiety and depression.
• A driver causes a car accident that results in the death of a loved one, causing the surviving family members to suffer from emotional trauma.

These examples illustrate how someone's negligence can cause emotional harm to another person. In both cases, the person who caused the harm did not intend to cause emotional distress, but their actions resulted in it nonetheless. NIED is a legal term used to hold people accountable for the emotional harm they cause due to their negligence.