MBE Rules · Torts
NIED — bystander recovery
Dillon v. Legg; Thing v. La Chusa
The rule
A bystander not in the zone of danger may recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress when (1) the plaintiff is closely related to the injury victim, (2) the plaintiff was present at the scene and contemporaneously perceived the injury-producing event, and (3) as a result suffered serious emotional distress beyond that of a disinterested witness. A minority still requires physical presence in the zone of danger and resulting physical manifestation.
In plain English
The bystander branch of NIED lets someone who watches a loved one get hurt recover for the emotional trauma, even if she herself was never in physical danger. Learning of the accident afterward is not enough.
The trap
The plaintiff must contemporaneously perceive the event. Arriving at the scene minutes later, or being told about it by phone, generally fails the Thing v. La Chusa test.
Drill this rule until it can't fail you.
Vrenberg generates unlimited questions on this exact rule, tracks your mastery of it, and brings it back until it sticks.