Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals

Supreme Court of California · 1980 · Torts

TortsNIEDdirect victimmisdiagnosisphysical injury requirementnegligent infliction of emotional distressNIEDdirect victim

Facts

Plaintiff's wife, a Kaiser patient, was negligently and erroneously diagnosed by a Kaiser physician as having infectious syphilis, although she did not have the disease. Defendants instructed her to tell plaintiff, and plaintiff then underwent blood tests to determine whether he had contracted the disease and was its source; his tests were negative. The diagnosis caused plaintiff's wife to suspect plaintiff of infidelity, producing tension, hostility, marital breakup, and dissolution proceedings. Plaintiff alleged defendants knew or should have known the diagnosis would cause him extreme emotional distress and that he incurred counseling expenses in an effort to save the marriage.

Issue

May a plaintiff who is a direct and foreseeable victim of negligent conduct recover for serious emotional distress without alleging physical injury? May a spouse also state a claim for loss of consortium when the other spouse's disabling injury is emotional rather than physical?

Rule

A cause of action may be stated for the negligent infliction of serious emotional distress without accompanying physical injury. In direct-victim cases, the governing inquiry is foreseeability, and recovery may be allowed when the defendant's objectively verifiable conduct foreseeably causes serious emotional distress and the circumstances provide some guarantee of genuineness; whether the distress and resulting harm are sufficiently serious is a matter of proof for the trier of fact. Loss of consortium is not limited to cases of physical injury and may rest on a spouse's sufficiently serious and disabling negligently inflicted emotional injury.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Sacramento, Dr. Lena Ortiz negligently told Maya Chen that a prenatal screening showed her fetus had a fatal genetic disorder when the report actually belonged to another patient. Dr. Ortiz instructed Maya to discuss the result with her husband, Aaron Chen, so he could decide whether to undergo separate testing. Aaron later learned the diagnosis, experienced severe anxiety and months of counseling, but alleges no bodily injury.

If Aaron sues the clinic for negligent infliction of emotional distress, which is the best argument for allowing his claim to proceed?

Explanation. The majority held that in direct-victim cases, the key inquiry is foreseeability, not a physical-injury requirement. A plaintiff may state a claim for negligently inflicted serious emotional distress without accompanying bodily harm when the defendant's objectively verifiable conduct foreseeably caused the distress and the circumstances supply some guarantee of genuineness. Aaron was not merely a bystander if the doctor specifically involved him in the consequences of the misdiagnosis.