Secondary victims and the importance of proximity

Taylor v A Novo (UK) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 194

Counsel: For the appellant: Charles Cory-Wright QC, Charles BagotFor the respondent: Edward Bartley Jones QC, Simon EarlamSolicitors: For the appellant: Hill Dickinson LLPFor the respondent: Watsons

In a recent case, the Court of Appeal has emphasised that it was the accident itself, not the death, which was the relevant event in determining proximity for the purposes of a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder. The court stressed the importance of proximity where the claimant’s mother had died unexpectedly some weeks after an accident at work. The claimant was unable to establish sufficient proximity in her claim for damages in her own right against her mother’s employer. She had not been a witness to the accident, nor did she fall within its immediate aftermath, even though she had been present when her mother died.