Fife v. Astenius - 232 Cal. App. 3d 1090, 284 Cal. Rptr. 16 (1991)

Rule:

Recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress is possible only if a plaintiff is present at the scene of an accident and is then aware a family member is being injured. Recovery is precluded when a plaintiff perceives an accident but is unaware of injury to a family member until minutes or even seconds later

Facts:

Appellants, family members of injured passenger, heard the crash in which their daughter and sister was injured. None of the family members saw the accident, but the appellants immediately went out and found the injured passenger still inside the truck. Appellants filed a lawsuit alleging the negligence of respondent driver as a proximate and contributing cause of their emotional distress. The trial court granted the respondent truck driver's motion for summary judgment. Appellants challenged the decision. 

Issue:

Under the circumstances, could the appellants recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of respondent. To recover, the court found that appellants had to be closely related to the injured victim, present at the scene of the injury-producing event at the time it occurred, aware that it was causing injury to the victim, and have suffered emotional distress beyond that which would be anticipated in a disinterested witness. The court did not agree with appellants that the contemporaneous requirement did not necessarily mean simultaneously, but the court found that even if appellants were present, they did not know that their daughter and sister were involved in the accident at the time they heard the collision and, therefore, they did not know that the event was causing injury to the victim.