The transferred intent doctrine isn't easy to apply to a case of infliction of mental distress. If it were, there would surely be a flood of litigation and cases of people claiming such a scenario and seeking damages. When this would apply is if the defendant directs conduct against a member of the plaintiff's family and knows that the plaintiff is observing the event. A man who beats his wife in front of a child could have the child claim infliction of mental distress through the transferred intent doctrine. When a plaintiff seeks recovery from infliction of mental distress, there needs to be proof that severe emotional distress did occur and some kind of medical attention was needed.
Some courts go so far as to require suffering of physical distress by the plaintiff as well.
Some people are held to a higher standard of conduct than the general population. These people would be common carriers and public utilities personnel who can be held liable for highly insulting language. An insult to a customer by one of those employees would be considered cause for an infliction of mental distress claim. Learn what the tort of infliction of mental distress is all about and how it could affect the outcome of a case. Inc. PageWise makes no representations about the content published on this site.