CIVIL LIABILITY ACT 2002 - SECT 5S
CIVIL LIABILITY ACT 2002 - SECT 5S
5S . Mental harm: duty of care
(1) A person (the
defendant ) does not owe a duty of care to another person (the plaintiff ) to
take care not to cause the plaintiff mental harm unless the defendant ought to
have foreseen that a person of normal fortitude might, in the circumstances of
the case, suffer a recognised psychiatric illness if reasonable care were not
taken.
(2) For the purpose of
the application of this section in respect of pure mental harm, the
circumstances of the case include the following —
(a)
whether or not the mental harm was suffered as the result of a sudden shock;
(b)
whether the plaintiff witnessed, at the scene, a person being killed, injured
or put in peril;
(c) the
nature of the relationship between the plaintiff and any person killed,
injured or put in peril;
(d)
whether or not there was a pre-existing relationship between the plaintiff and
the defendant.
(3) For the purpose of
the application of this section in respect of consequential mental harm, the
circumstances of the case include the personal injury suffered by the
plaintiff.
(4) This section does
not require the court to disregard what the defendant knew or ought to have
known about the fortitude of the plaintiff.
[Section 5S inserted: No. 58 of 2003 s. 8.]