The defendant had been driving the plaintiff’s daughters, but negligently caused an accident from which they died. The plaintiff was called to the accident, and claimed to have suffered post traumatic stress. The defendant said that the effect was explainable simply as grief. The defendant appealed against the quantum of damages.
Held: Damages for nervous shock are not to be reduced for irrecoverable normal grief symptoms. Nervous shock, as distinct from grief and other emotional sufferings resulting from bereavement, was a kind of injury which was recognised by the law. Therefore, damages were recoverable for nervous shock caused, or at least contributed to, by actionable negligence of the defendant, even though the illness might also be a pathological consequence of the bereavement which the plaintiff would have inevitably have suffered. Thorpe LJ: Grief constituting pathological grief disorder is a recognizable psychiatric illness and is recoverable.
Judges:
Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, Lord Justice Evans and Lord Justice Thorpe
Citations:
Times 04-Apr-1996, [1998] 1 FLR 304, [1997] 1 All ER 577, [1996] EWCA Civ 1310
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw HL 1-Mar-1956
The injury of which the employee complained came from two sources, a pneumatic hammer, in respect of which the employers were not in breach of the relevant Regulations; and swing grinders, in respect of which they were in breach.
Held: It had . .
See Also – Vernon v Bosley QBD 5-Aug-1994
The Judge may impose a schedule for the examination of witnesses if there is a severe overrun of the case at the hearing. . .
See Also – Vernon v Bosley (1) CA 8-Apr-1994
Though the judge had a right to exclude admissible evidence, it remained a balancing exercise which came down to being a matter of his discretion. Evidence might not be admitted which would involve ‘inconvenience, expense, delay or oppression’. The . .
See Also – Vernon v Bosley (1) QBD 1993
The court discussed the extent to which a judge had control over the admission of otherwise admissible evidence: ‘A point comes at which literal admissibility has to yield to the constraints of proportionality . . such proportionality may in any one . .
Cited – Hinz v Berry CA 1970
Then plaintiff saw her husband killed and her children injured by a runaway motor car. At trial she was awarded damages for nervous shock. The question was whether, having regard to the fact that she had suffered sorrow and grief it would not be to . .
Cited by:
See Also – Vernon v Bosley (3) CA 19-Dec-1996
The plaintiff claimed damages for acute stress after failing to rescue his two daughters in an accident caused by the defendant. After the accident, he became involved in family proceedings concerning custody of other children. Medical reports used . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Damages
Updated: 06 August 2022; Ref: scu.90155