Unit 3: Negligence: Pure Psychiatric Harm And Pure Economic Loss Flashcards
Assume that a coach carrying a load of passengers is involved in a road accident caused by the negligence of a car driver.
In which ONE of the following claims is it NOT necessary to apply the special rules for pure psychiatric harm?
A) Graham Crosby, the coach driver, suffers a heart attack brought on by the shock of the accident.
B) Penny Brown, a passenger on the coach, suffers mild cuts and bruises, and as a result later develops a fear of travelling by coach.
C) Paul Dobson a passenger on the coach, is not physically injured but later develops a fear of travelling by coach.
D) Jean Smith, the mother of one of the passengers, collapses with shock on hearing of the accident and then suffers from migraines for several weeks afterwards.
B) Penny Brown has not suffered from pure psychiatric harm. Her fear of travelling by coach is consequential psychiatric harm following from her physical injury of cuts and bruises. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply the special rules for pure psychiatric harm to her claim. The usual rules for duty of care will apply. Under the usual rules for duty of care, Penny will be owed a duty of care by the car driver, as this is an established duty situation. All the claims other than that of Penny Brown do involve pure psychiatric harm because, in each of those cases, the injury suffered was caused without any physical impact on the claimant.
