For some time now, your excellent Law School has been asking me to speak to you about liability in the tort of negligence for the careless causing of mental injury. I am asked to focus upon a particular and contentious aspect of this form of liability, which arises when a person (let’s call them D) causes the death of, or life threatening injury to, another person, usually called the primary victim, which (or the immediate aftermath of which) is witnessed by someone with particularly close ties to the primary victim (the secondary victim) who suffers a recognised form of mental injury as a result. This used to be called liability for nervous shock, and was so described in all the major textbooks, at least when I was learning the law. As will appear, that admirably concise label has long since passed its shelf life … (more)
Lord Briggs of Westbourne, Justice of the UK Supreme Court, ‘Liability For Mental Injury’, Chichester University Lecture, 19 January 2024.
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