Mary,a 68-year-old widow,hired an electrician to make some wiring repairs to her home.The electrician accidentally started a fire that destroyed her house.Mary was not injured,but watched her house burn along with all her possessions.It was emotionally devastating to watch as she lost a whole life's worth of memories.Can she recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In order for Mary to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress, she would need to meet all three elements: (1) the defendant's conduct was negligent, (2) the plaintiff suffered serious emotional distress, and (3) the negligent conduct caused the emotional distress. While Mary did suffer genuine emotional distress as a result of the fire, the electrician's conduct may not necessarily be considered negligent. Accidents and mistakes can happen, and it would need to be proven that the electrician's conduct was below a reasonable standard of care for Mary to have a case for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Furthermore, assuming the risk generally applies to physical injuries rather than emotional distress in this context, so choice (D) is not applicable.

Mary,a 68-Year-Old Widow,hired an Electrician to Make Some Wiring Repairs