McLoughlin v. O'Brian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| English Tort law |
|---|
| Part of the common law series |
| Negligence |
| Duty of care |
| Bolam Test |
| Breach of duty |
| Causation |
| Breaking the chain |
| Acts of the claimant |
| Remoteness |
| Professional negligence |
| Psychiatric harm |
| Loss of chance |
| Loss of right |
| Res ipsa loquitur |
| Eggshell skull |
| Defences to negligence |
| Trespass to property |
| Occupiers' liability |
| Defamation |
| Strict liability |
| Vicarious liability |
| Rylands v. Fletcher |
| Nuisance |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Property law |
| Wills and trusts |
| Criminal law · Evidence |
McLoughlin v O’Brian [1982] 2 All ER 298 is a decision of the House of Lords dealing with dealing with the possibility of recovering psychiatric harm suffered as a result of an accident in which one's family was involved.
[edit] Facts
The plaintiff found out about the traffic accident in which her family was involved when a friend came to her house to tell her. He drove her to the hospital where she saw her daughter dead and her husband and two other children seriously injured, all still covered in oil and mud. She suffered serious nervous shock as a result and sued the defendant who was responsible for the accident.
[edit] Judgment
The House of Lords (Lord Wilberforce delivering the leading speech) gave judgment in favour of the plaintiff. To recover nervous shock for somebody who was not directly involved in the accident, there had to be a close relationship between the plaintiff and the accident's victims. Furthermore, the plaintiff was to be in close proximity to the accident in time and place. The last condition was held to be fulfilled in a case where the plaintiff was not at the site of the actual accident, but had witnessed its immediate aftermath. This was held to be the case here: witnessing her dead daughter and badly injured family was for Mrs McLoughlin equivalent to being in the immediate aftermath of the disaster which had happened to them.
