Georgia Rule on Emotional Distress for Bystander, The Impact Rule
In Georgia, you cannot seek damages based on emotional distress stemming from another's negligent act if there was no physical impact to you. Georgia is in the minority of states that follows this illogical "impact rule." Lee v. State Farm Mutual Ins. Co., 272 Ga. 583 (2000)
This situation most often arises when parents or spouses are in a serious car accident in Georgia and one of the occupants seeks to recover for the emotional scarring of watching a child or loved one die or suffer injury. The Court has so far stuck to their illogical test requiring that the person seeking to recover for emotional distress must also have been physically impacted by the same collision.
The illogical rule goes like this; you cannot recover damages unless: (1) there is a physical impact to you; (2) the physical impact causes physical injury to you; and (3) the physical injury to you causes you mental suffering or distress. It used to be even worse. Before that decision, the emotional/mental anguish had to stem from your own injuries rather than watching your loved one suffer. Now, at least, the recovery can be for watching their pain or loss.
The logic cited by the Court is that the rule prevents a flood of litigation from every bystander at a gory crash and from fraudulent claims. How the expansion of this rule to protecting only loved ones at the scene would hurt society is beyond me and this was recognized in the dissent in Lee. Like it or not, that is the law until I can get the majority to adopt the minority's thinking.
Note that the property damage cannot be lost income or medical expenses. Grizzle v. Norsworthy, 292 Ga. App. 303 (2008). There must literally be damage to some piece of personal property. How far the Court will stretch that definition remains to be seen.
This situation most often arises when parents or spouses are in a serious car accident in Georgia and one of the occupants seeks to recover for the emotional scarring of watching a child or loved one die or suffer injury. The Court has so far stuck to their illogical test requiring that the person seeking to recover for emotional distress must also have been physically impacted by the same collision.
The illogical rule goes like this; you cannot recover damages unless: (1) there is a physical impact to you; (2) the physical impact causes physical injury to you; and (3) the physical injury to you causes you mental suffering or distress. It used to be even worse. Before that decision, the emotional/mental anguish had to stem from your own injuries rather than watching your loved one suffer. Now, at least, the recovery can be for watching their pain or loss.
The logic cited by the Court is that the rule prevents a flood of litigation from every bystander at a gory crash and from fraudulent claims. How the expansion of this rule to protecting only loved ones at the scene would hurt society is beyond me and this was recognized in the dissent in Lee. Like it or not, that is the law until I can get the majority to adopt the minority's thinking.
There is one exception to this harsh impact requirement, the pecuniary loss exception. This can provide a "workaround" on liability. Established in the Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Lam 248 Ga.App. 134 (2001) decision, the Court found that where the passenger was in a car accident and the car was damaged, they could seek a recover for purely mental (not even a bruise) injuries. The logic was that damage to property is a separate tort, a trespass to property. That seperate tort can support the claim for mental injury on its own.
Note that the property damage cannot be lost income or medical expenses. Grizzle v. Norsworthy, 292 Ga. App. 303 (2008). There must literally be damage to some piece of personal property. How far the Court will stretch that definition remains to be seen.