Opinion ID: 1498325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Trial Court Erred in Granting Summary Judgment

Text: The Jarretts' cause of action under these circumstances is a personal injury action for the negligent operation of an automobile where, as a direct victim of the accident, Mr. Jarrett claims damages for emotional distress from that accident. Any action for negligence requires the plaintiff to establish that the defendant had a duty to protect the plaintiff from injury, the defendant failed to perform that duty, and the plaintiff's injury was proximately caused by the defendant's failure. Krause v. U.S. Truck Co., Inc., 787 S.W.2d 708, 710 (Mo. banc 1990). Where the plaintiff is a direct victim of the defendant's negligence and seeks damages for emotional distress, the plaintiff is required to prove two additional elements: (1) the defendant should have realized that his conduct involved an unreasonable risk of causing the distress and (2) the emotional distress or mental injury must be medically diagnosable and must be of sufficient severity so as to be medically significant. Bass, 646 S.W.2d at 772-73. See also Turner v. General Motors Corp., 750 S.W.2d 76, 78 (Mo.App.1988); Pendergist v. Pendergrass, 961 S.W.2d 919, 923 (Mo.App. 1998); Thornburg v. Federal Express Corp., 62 S.W.3d 421, 427 (Mo.App.2001). Applying the law to the circumstances of this case, Mr. Jones owed a duty to exercise the highest degree of care in operating his automobile. Section 304.012.1, RSMo 2000. The record, viewed in the light most favorable to the Jarretts, would support a finding that Mr. Jones breached this duty. The Jarretts presented the deposition testimony of Mr. Jarrett and other witnesses to the collision that Mr. Jones' vehicle came across the median and hit Mr. Jarrett's tractor-trailer under circumstances that prevented Mr. Jarrett from avoiding the accident. The Jarretts also presented a Missouri State Highway Patrol accident reconstruction report. In that report, a highway patrol officer stated his opinion that the accident occurred because: (1) Mr. Jones drove too fast for the wet road conditions at the time of the accident; (2) Mr. Jones failed to maintain his rear tires properly, and; (3) Mr. Jones over steered his vehicle when it began to hydroplane. The officer further opined that Mr. Jarrett could not have safely avoided the collision. With respect to causation, the Jarretts set forth facts that would support a finding that Mr. Jarrett suffered post-traumatic stress disorder immediately after the accident and was treated for the disorder by his family physician and two licensed social workers. The affidavit of one of the social workers states that, in her professional opinion, Mr. Jarrett suffered from severe, acute post-traumatic stress disorder as a direct and proximate result of being personally involved in a collision that resulted in the death of a child. With respect to the Jarretts' claim of damages for emotional distress, they presented facts that would support a finding that the two additional Bass elements for recovering damages for emotional distress are met. First, with respect to foreseeability, it is foreseeable that the negligent operation of a vehicle would cause an accident resulting in serious injury or death and that an ordinary person directly involved in the accident involving death or serious injury to others would be traumatized and suffer emotional distress. See Bass, 646 S.W.2d at 773 (applying an ordinary person standard on the issue of foreseeability). Second, with respect to the severity of Mr. Jarrett's emotional distress, Mr. Jarrett testified that, after the accident, he couldn't focus on anything, wanted to die, didn't want anything to do with anybody, and kept going over in his mind what he could have done to avoid killing Makayla. Mr. Jarrett and his wife testified in their depositions that, as a result of his severe emotional distress, he was unable to drive a vehicle for weeks after the accident and was unable to work as a truck driver for four months. Mr. Jarrett's family physician prescribed to him anti-anxiety and prescription sleep medications to deal with the effects of his emotional distress. Mr. Jarrett also received months of counseling and therapy. He was treated by two licensed social workers, both of whom diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. These facts set forth by the Jarretts would support a finding that Mr. Jarrett's emotional distress or mental injury was medically diagnosable and of sufficient severity to be medically significant. Because the Jarretts presented facts that, if true, would prove each element of their claim, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Mr. Jones.