Sometimes a party can sue for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
What must a party prove to have negligent infliction of emotional distress?
First, a negligent infliction of emotional distress could be claimed if there is the negligent mishandling of corpses. (Christensen v. Superior Court (1991) 54 Cal.3d 868, 879 and 882). This might occur if a funeral home mishandled a corpse (like mixing up two bodies and cremating one when burial was asked for, or something similar).
Second, there could be negligent infliction of emotional distress if there is the negligent misdiagnosis of a disease that could potentially harm another. Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1980) 27 Cal.3d 916, 930-931. Third, there could be negligent infliction of emotional distress if there is a preexisting relationship that requires a duty of care toward the other party, such as a physician-patient relationship, or other health care providers. Burgess v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1064, 1076.
Please note that depending on the time you read this note, this case law might have changed and it will not be updated. To get up to date legal advice, an attorney should be consulted based on your specific facts and the current case law, which changes over time.
