The Tennessee Supreme Court recently ruled that a mother may bring a lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress after seeing her lifeless son lying on the ground after a car accident that left the boy with permanent brain damage.

Family members restrained at accident scene

A young Tennessee boy was hit by a car that lost control in an elementary school drop off / pick up zone and was severely injured. According to court documents, the boy’s mother was called at home after the accident and came to the school immediately with her daughter and daughter’s friend. When they arrived at the scene, they saw the boy lying on the ground in a pool of blood. For reasons unknown, the boy was not receiving any medical attention. His mother screamed and attempted to go to her son, but she was restrained from doing so and had to watch the horrific scene. The boy suffered permanent brain damage due to the accident and the family suffered severe emotional distress.

Insurer denies claim

The family sued the driver of the car that hit the boy and the school district for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and compensation for the boy’s injuries, among other things. The driver was underinsured, so the family also filed the complaint with their own insurance company. The insurer refused to pay on the IIED claim because the family didn’t actually witness the accident – a triggering event that many insurers use to deny claims. The matter ended up in front of the Tennessee Supreme Court which ruled that a family does not have to witness the event to file a lawsuit for IIED. The court reasoned:

[W]e have historically recognized that it is easily foreseeable that persons who have a close personal relationship with an injured party will suffer serious or severe emotional distress when they see someone 'near and dear' to them injured’. [The family has] demonstrated that they observed [the child] in a seriously injured state at the accident scene shortly after the accident occurred.

What are you entitled to?

Although receiving compensation for you or a family member’s injuries is never a substitute for their (or your) well being, it’s important to understand what types of compensation you may be entitled to under the law if an accident should occur. An experienced auto accident attorney will be able to determine what types of compensation may be available to you.