Lord Wilberforce argued that it was necessary to develop further criteria including strict proximity in time, a close relationship, direct means of communication (personal witness). /Length 13 0 R [1952] 2 All ER 459 at page 460. Baker v Bolton [1808] EWHC KB J92. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. In order to establish a claim and recover damages for psychiatric illness the secondary victims must satisfy the proximity of relationship[15]. This essay aims to provide a critical evaluation of the common law duty of care for negligently inflicted nervous shock in the context of the above statement by Lord Steyn. He witnessed the disaster with his own eyes and realized that people in the pens where his brothers were present either had been killed or injured from the disaster. On that occasion the law lords removed any special rights of employees or . Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. It is of paramount importance that the law enforcement [45] Cases and Commentary on Tort, by Barbara Harvey & John Marston, 5th Edition. But that would be contrary to precedent and, in any event, highly controversial. In this case, the defendant was claimants son who had a car accident while he was negligently driving his car being drunk. Although there was a big age difference between them but they had been working together for many years. Having heard the scream of the boy, his mother looked out of the window from about seventy to eighty yeard away of the place where the accident took place. In Alcock v Chief Constable Of South shire Police [1992] 1 AC 310, 407, Lord Oliver introduced a broader classification of the primary victims as including those involved, either mediately or immediately or , as a participant in the event causing them psychiatric illness. However the crash did result in a recurrence of magic encephalomyelitis (Chronic fatigue syndrome) from which he had suffered for 20 years but was then in remission. One of the children had died due to sustaining severe physical injuries almost immediately. Page -v- Smith [1995] 2 All ER 736 at 759, 761 per Lord Lloyd. The preliminary issue before the court was whether the existing law allows the claimants to bring an action for recovery of damages against the defendants or not. Judgement for the case White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire. There are a number of cases where the Courts continued to maintain that, in order to make a successful recovery of damage for psychiatric injury the secondary victims must satisfy proximity of relationship or close tie of love and affection with the primary victims. According to Lord Ackner[28], if the secondary victim is a distant relative then the only way he can establish a claim is by means of showing a very close or intimate relationship with the primary victims which can be compared with the normal relationship between spouses or parent and children. According to the facts of this case, the claimants (Robertson and Rough) and the primary victim (George Smith) used to work together with the defendants (Forth Road Bridge Board). Judgment - White and Others v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and Others continued. Sixteen separate actions were brought against him by persons none of whom was present in the area where the disaster occurred, although four of them were elsewhere in the ground. In Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire (1992) 1 AC 310 the ordinary rules of negligence were applied to allegedly negligent crowd control by the police. However, as far as their claim for psychiatric illness was concerned, the court was neither convinced with the surrounding facts and circumstances that there was sufficient close tie of love and affection with the claimants and the primary victim nor was convinced that the psychiatric illness that they had sustained was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant in accordance with the recovery criteria for psychiatric illness established in the leading case of Alcock. In relation to employer/employee relationship and duty of care the courts did not uphold the principles of the above cases. Held: Psychiatric injury is a recognised form of personal injury, and no statute . CA"$a& ,@jj DCn*Bt!\&;i~(JkGAI40-,,l_66PK$UHCT)FnpdC\uJ*C.W@tjJ9mG9#=8 }+,CPkkHYUTVJ_6YGw.=t]C8yjb[(B~*bhO]ijp+2C+asL!!\Bx*V'G/8W-d8y~M=_T\$eZA Held: The definition of the work expected of him did not justify the demand placed upon him. [29] As per Lord Oliver [1992] 1 AC 310 at page 417. As a result of experiencing such a dreadful event she subsequently suffered severe nervous shock resulting in the form of psychatric illness. Alcock and ors v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 A.C. 310 As is well known, the case of Alcock involved claims by those who witnessed the death of their loved ones in the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. Courts said the following elements are necessary to establish liability for nervous shock The plaintiff must establish that he suffered a recognizable psychiatric illness, the illness must have been shock induced; caused by the defendants act or omission. As a result, the claimant suffered from a nervous shock. Taylor v Somerset HA [1993] PIQR P 262 2. After ariving to the garage, the claimant was asked by the defendant to repay the garage bills before he get his car released from that garage. The claimants eight year old son was very close to the near side door of the car and was playing there. Different kinds of harm The horrific events of 15 April 1989 at the . [25] As per Parker LJ [1991] 3 All ER 88 at 92-94. stream If it was not reasonably forseeable then the defendant owes no duty of care to the claimant and there is no liability for negligence on the part of defendant. .Cited Barber v Somerset County Council HL 1-Apr-2004 A teacher sought damages from his employer after suffering a work related stress breakdown. Marc Rich & Co AG v Bishop Rock Marine Co Ltd [1995 . Once the requirement of proximity of relationship is satisfied, the secondary victims must also establish the facts that he had physical proximity to the accident or its immediate aftermath. Published: 21st Jan 2022. Afterwards she went down to the corridor and came across one of her children crying who had fer face cut and discoloured with mud and soil. [34] Cases and Commentary on Tort, by Barbara Harvey & John Marston, 5th Edition. Looking for a flexible role? Two of the plaintiffs were spectators in the ground, but not in the pens where the disaster occurred, the remainder of the plaintiffs learned of the disaster through . ( as what happened in this particular case ) . If the claimant was a rescuer who went to the aid of others involved in an accident, they will only be defined as a primary victim if they were, or reasonably believed themselves to be, in danger. endstream endobj startxref D h.d.CFPxe @0RI4 #Pm'Qc^FF" -P!P)Hljc6f.X{81,qxn;G#1t._!c 6jlw(9OAEiQ*Jr.JEW; v}qsF{-HE qx#>#erJ5$afH" :s8C1@( di4)bH'=8 pKzx2DjkZhh"lc+*`>p@>*& "$x .Cited McLoughlin v Jones; McLoughlin v Grovers (a Firm) CA 2002 In deciding whether a duty of care is established the court must go to the battery of tests which the House of Lords has taught us to use, namely: . (see Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, or the recent case of Paul for an overview of the law on secondary victims.) In support of my opinion I will discuss and analyse the outcomes of a number of relevant law cases, namely, Dulieu v White and Son[1901]2 KB 669 , Hambrook v Stoke Bros [1925] 1 KB 141, McLoughlin v O Brian (1983) AC 410 310 AT 407, Alcock -v- The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] 1 AC 310, Page -v- Smith [1995] 2 All ER 736 AT 759, 761 per Lord Lloyd, White v The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police[1992]1 AC.310. It does not merely include the very accident that caused the death or injury to the primary victims but it also includes the immidiate aftermath of the accident[66]. According to the facts and circumstances of the present case, the clamant was not close to the place of the accident who was informed by someone of that after two hours. But, it has been seen from some of the above case decisions that, even after satisfying the requirement of proximity of relationship, the court still did not allow the secondary victims claim for psychiatric injury. Acknowledging the acute difficultis particular to the evidence in such cases, the House of Lords, in Fairchild. Ibid, at 576. So the defendant submitted that, since the claimant was not present at the place where the accident took place, his action against the defendant should not be allowed by the court. This successful claim, led to a further limitation being developed, namely, that it would not be sufficient to fullfil the proximity requirement to be told of the accident by a third party. Common Law - Evidence Law - Amissibility of Evidence Essays - Use Our Free Law Essays To Help You With Your Law Course Codification of Directors Duties was Unnecessary. In the case of Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police[5], the court considered the post traumatic disorder to be a recognizable psychiatric injury. Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! A large tower was constructed in the Docklands area of East London which now goes by the name of One Canada Square Capacity and Medical Consent. Music has historically been a key player in society and personal life. [17] As per Mr. Bankes, Atkin and Sargant L.JJ [1925] 1 K.B 141 at page 142. His employers had refused to provide the increased support he requested. As a result of the negligence of the police department, ninety six spectators died in a massive crash and more than approximately four hundred spectators were severely injured in that accident. By Christopher Gardner, QC, Lamb Chambers. Both of them used to go out for drink once a week. Hearing about it from someone else would not suffice. Another claimant of this case was Rough, who was forty four years old. White v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police was a 1998 case in English tort law in which police officers who were present in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster sued for post traumatic stress disorder. Courts must therefore act in company and not alone. Case summaries. Again this development of the proximity of relationship in this case seems quite unfair to some of the claimants who were seeking compensation as they would not have been aware previously of this .The principle of proximity of time and place was also applied in this case, where a claimant failed to recover. Traditionally, the category of close relationship indicates the familial relationship, such as the relationship between the spouses, parents and children, brothers and sisters etc. Among all the claimants, thirteen people lost either their relatives or friends because of death. [58] As per Salmon J. Two of the claimants found their relatives or friend severely injured whereby one of them had his relative who escaped unhurt. The plaintiffs in the case were police officers who suffered psychiatric injury after witnessing the Hillsborough stadium disaster. In the case of Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire,[6] Lord Ackner defined the term nervous shock or psychiatric illness as Sudden appreciation by sight or sound of a horrifying event, which violently agitates the mind. On the other hand, Lord Keith defined psychiatric illness as Sudden assault on the nervous system. In the present case, despite of being present at the stadium during the football match the claimants whose action had been rejected by the House of Lords are as follows[25]: Brian Harrison was one of the appellants. Hamrook v Stokes Bros (1925) 1 K.B. A rescuer or an employee suffering such psychiatric illness is also classified as a secondary victim (unless they are themselves endangered in the event). [26] Davie M (1992) Negligently Inflicted Psychiatric Illness; The Hillsborough Case in the House of Lords 43 Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 237. The case centred upon the liability of the police for the nervous shock suffered in consequence of the events of the Hillsborough disaster . had introduced the Special Rule . Accordingly, in the case of Robertson and Rough v Forth Road Bridge Joint Board[35], the claimants brought an action against the defendants for a horrible disaster that took place on the Forth Road Bridge. miscarriage. There are a number of subsequent cases which might be contrasted with the decision given in the case of King v Philips. The plaintiff worried excessively and developed reactive anxiety neurosis, a psychiatric illness. However, an action was brought by the mother for psychiatric injury against the defendant. At common law a distinction is drawn between what is merely the ordinary emotion of grief, anxiety, fear and transient shock which does not constitute sufficient damage and the recognisable psychiatric illness that is established by expert medical evidence. Employment > Health and safety; The claimant appealed against the decision of the trial judge to the Court of Appeal. %PDF-1.2 Lord Steyn and Lord Hoffmann, Lord Browne-Wilkinson Gazette 13-Jan-1999, [1999] 1 All ER 1, [1999] 2 AC 455, [1998] UKHL 45, [1999] ICR 216, [1998] 3 WLR 1509, [1999] IRLR 110, (1999) 45 BMLR 1 House of Lords, Bailii England and Wales Citing: Appeal from Frost and Others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and Others CA 31-Oct-1996 The distinction normally made between primary and secondary victims claiming damages for shock in witnessing a terrible event does not apply to employees who were obliged by their contract to be present. According to him, in all the psychiatric injury cases, a distinction or classification of the potential claimants is essential. The court did not allow any damages to the claimant for her psychiatric injury. where the rescuer may not have been in physical danger but was awarded damages due to his putting himself in the 'zone of danger', after the event. Disclaimer: This dissertation has been written by a student and is not an example of our professional work, which you can see examples of here. In the case of Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1999] Lord Steyn stated that the area of Tort Law relating to psychiatric trauma is rather complex. Cited Mount Isa Mines Ltd v Pusey 1970 The court considered how progress is made in developing the law of liability for damages for psychiatric injury, saying The field is one in which the common law is still in course of development. Such a relationship which is full of close tie and affection may be presumed to exist into the familial relationship or close friendship. The floodgates argument may be a possible reason for this. In my view the only sensible general strategy for the courts is to say thus far and no further. Held: It was a classic case of nervous shock. There was a fear that it would be difficult for the courts to distinguish between a genuine claim and a fictitious claim, and also the fear that if one person recovered, this would in turn lead to a possible floodgate of claims. The court allowed the claims of Mr. McCarthy as he satisfied the Alcock criteria for recovery of claims for psychiatric illness. There are many examples where it has been seen that a person after sustaining a genuine shock could not recover damages for psychiatric illness only because of being failure to establish the fact that there was sufficient close relationship with the primary victims. Another appellant, namely Mr. Robert Alcock, was present in the stadium and lost his brother in law but still failed in his action as it was not reasonably foreseeable by the defendants that he would suffer psychiatric illness. As a result of the tragic death of his workmate he was so upset and mentally distressed. White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire. However, to satisfy the proximity of relationship with the primary victims might be considered a major obstacle for the secondary victims when there is an issue of establishing a claim for the psychiatric illness. The claimants, as secondary victims, had to satisfy the criteria for the imposition of liability formulated by the House of Lords in McLoughlin v O'Brian [1983] 1 AC 410 and Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] AC 310. The claimants were secondary victims. [17] took the view that, the mother suffered nervous shock by her own unaided realization of what she had seen with her own eyes, not because of what she learnt from a bystander. The later case Hambrook v Stoke Bros, highlights a number of other issues relating to duty of care and further developed claims for nervous shock .In this case, damages were awarded even though the person suffering nervous shock did not witness the incident, but was close by, and the shock was suffered as a result of fear, not for her own safety, but that of her child. The House of Lords ' Cases In any action for damages in the tort of negligence, the plaintiff has to [12] Teff, H (1992) Liability for Psychiatric Illness after Hillsborough 12 Oxford Journal of Legal studies 440. After the disaster took place, the match was abandoned and he started looking for his brothers but couldnt find them out. They said that the defendants negligent treatment allowed the attack to take place. .if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-4-0'); Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete. The injuries were psychiatric, being suffered when they witnessed a crash from the ground. Irish courts do not use space / time or relationship as limiting factors as applied in some of the previous English cases , but rather these factors are taken into account, although the position in relation to the latter may be changing as evident in Cuddy v May. Frost v Chief Constable of Yorkshire Police [1997] 3 WLR 1194. Since they were not endangered in the discharge of their service or in rescuing, as employees and/or rescuers, the police officers were only secondary victims. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? The defendant argued that, there was no negligence on his part as far as the claimants psychiatric illness was concerned. In reality there are no refined analytical tools which will enable the courts to draw lines by way of compromise solution in a way that is coherent and morally defensible. The document also included supporting commentary from author Craig Purshouse. The term is used to describe psychiatric injury or illness which is caused by the defendant. [15] Kay Wheat (2003) Proximity and Nervous Shock Common Law World Review 32 4 (313). v The Chief Constable Of South Yorkshire Police ( [1997]1 All E R.540), their Lordships holding by a majority of 3 to 2 that the claims of the police officers had been rightly dismissed by the trial judge . Before making any decision, you must read the full case report and take professional advice as appropriate. The claimant further argued that the defendant by causing an accident to the boy negligently had been in breach of his duty and was liable to for all the direct consequences of the breach, no matter if the damage to the claimant was reasonably forseeable or not. Moreover, Denning LJ[55] took the view that, the defendant was under a duty of care to the boy where there was a breach of that duty of care, but as far as the claimants nervous shock was concerned, it was not reasonably foreseeable by the defendant that the claimant could be suffered from a nervous shock as a result of the accident. [1981] 1 All ER 809. . For example, in Hinz v Berry[3], the court recognized morbid depression as a recognizable psychiatric illness. Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! You with your legal studies sensible general strategy for the case centred upon the liability of the cases. Of nervous shock resulting in the form of psychatric illness in society and personal life but that be! 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