Vernon v Bosley (No 1)
A claimant who satisfies the requirements for a secondary victim can recover damages for psychiatric illness caused by a combination of grief and shock.
Facts
Mr Vernon's two young daughters were in a car driven by their nanny, Ms Bosley, when the car left the road and went into a river. Mr Vernon was called to the scene, and watched as the emergency services tried unsuccessfully to rescue the children, who died. He suffered post traumatic stress disorder and a severe grief reaction, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage and his business.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held, by a majority, that Mr Vernon could recover damages for his psychiatric illness, even though part of it was caused by grief rather than shock alone. Since he satisfied the requirements for a secondary victim, it did not matter that his illness was caused partly by the pathological grief that followed the accident. Damages are not recoverable for grief alone, but they are for a recognised psychiatric illness caused by the defendant's negligence, even if grief contributed to it.
Related cases on psychiatric injury
- Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 AC 310
- Barber v Somerset County Council [2004] UKHL 13, [2004] 1 WLR 1089
- Bourhill v Young [1943] AC 92
- Chadwick v British Railways Board [1967] 1 WLR 912
- Dulieu v White & Sons [1901] 2 KB 669
- Greatorex v Greatorex [2000] 1 WLR 1970
- Hambrook v Stokes Brothers [1925] 1 KB 141
- Hatton v Sutherland [2002] EWCA Civ 76, [2002] ICR 613
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