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Question 1
Paula is walking down the street in Los Angeles when she sees her friend Randy driving past her. Randy sticks his head out of the car window to wave to Paula. As Randy is passing the intersection, he is hit head on by Simon who ran his red light and was driving on the wrong side of the road. Randy is seriously injured. Paula, who is about one hundred feet away, witnesses the accident and is so distraught over Randy's injuries that she suffers a nervous breakdown. If Paula sues Simon for intentional infliction of emotional distress, she will be able to recover:
Correct
Incorrect!
Correct Today, most jurisdictions allow recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress so long as the plaintiff is within the zone of danger established by defendant's actions and he suffers emotional distress as a result of defendant's actions. Here, Paula suffered emotional distress as a result of Simon's actions but she was outside the zone of danger. Therefore, she will not be able to recover from Simon and False is the correct answer.
Incorrect! Today, most jurisdictions allow recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress so long as the plaintiff is within the zone of danger established by defendant's actions and he suffers emotional distress as a result of defendant's actions. Here, Paula suffered emotional distress as a result of Simon's actions but she was outside the zone of danger. Therefore, she will not be able to recover from Simon and False is the correct answer.
Question 2
Paula is walking down the street in Los Angeles when she sees her son Randy driving past her. Randy sticks his head out of the car window to wave to his mother. As Randy is passing the intersection, he is hit head on by Simon who ran his red light and was driving on the wrong side of the road. Randy is seriously injured. Paula, who is about one hundred feet away, witnesses the accident and is so distraught over Randy's injuries that she suffers a nervous breakdown. If Paula sues Simon for intentional infliction of emotional distress, she will be able to recover:
Correct If a plaintiff is outside the zone of danger but the defendant's negligence harms a family member, the plaintiff will be able to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress as long as 1) the plaintiff and the victim are closely related, 2) the plaintiff was at the scene of the accident and was aware that the victim is suffering from injuries and 3) the plaintiff suffers emotional distress beyond that likely to be suffered by an unrelated bystander who sees the accident. Here, Randy and Paula are closely related, Paula was at the scene of the accident and was aware that her son was suffering from injuries, and her nervous breakdown went beyond what an unrelated bystander would have suffered. Further, Paula suffered a nervous breakdown, which was an actual physical manifestation of her emotional distress. That being the case, Paula will be able to recover from Simon for negligent infliction of emotional distress even though she was outside the zone of danger. Therefore, True is the correct answer.
Incorrect! If a plaintiff is outside the zone of danger but the defendant's negligence harms a family member, the plaintiff will be able to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress as long as 1) the plaintiff and the victim are closely related, 2) the plaintiff was at the scene of the accident and was aware that the victim is suffering from injuries and 3) the plaintiff suffers emotional distress beyond that likely to be suffered by an unrelated bystander who sees the accident. Here, Randy and Paula are closely related, Paula was at the scene of the accident and was aware that her son was suffering from injuries, and her nervous breakdown went beyond what an unrelated bystander would have suffered. Further, Paula suffered a nervous breakdown, which was an actual physical manifestation of her emotional distress. That being the case, Paula will be able to recover from Simon for negligent infliction of emotional distress even though she was outside the zone of danger. Therefore, True is the correct answer.