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Larsen v. Banner Health System12/23/2003
P.2d 1039 (Wyo. 1995), Bone failed to stop the snowmobile he was driving at a stop sign. Bone's failure to stop caused a collision with Daily's vehicle. Id., at 1042. Daily was not physically injured in the collision; Bone, however, was killed as a result of the impact. Id. Witnessing Bone's impact and death caused Daily posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and agoraphobia. Id. We held that recovery in tort for injuries arising out of an automobile accident should not be denied simply because the plaintiff's injuries were mental rather than physical, as long as the plaintiff could prove negligence, impact, and damages proximately flowing therefrom. Id., at 1044.
Our holding in Daily convinced some that we had established a claim for negligence alleging only mental injury. In Blagrove, however, we explained that our decision in Daily "has the limited scope of allowing recovery for mental injury absent physical injury in an automobile collision case." Blagrove, 934 P.2d at 1276 (holding that as a general rule emotional distress damages in connection with property damage are not compensable). We went on to explain that Daily resulted from the particular facts of that case and "did not generally establish that a claim for negligence alleging only mental injury had been recognized in Wyoming." Id. However, we note that Blagrove was a case in which the defendant's negligence resulted in property damage; and we qualified the previous statement by also saying that Daily did not provide "an analysis which would extend its result to a property damage situation."
Our most recent in-depth discussion of the availability of emotional distress damages in negligence actions is found in Long-Russell v. Hampe, 2002 WY 16, 39 P.3d 1015 (Wyo. 2002). The plaintiff in Hampe claimed that her attorney was negligent when handling her divorce, which involved child custody issues. We were called upon to answer certified questions that required us to decide whether damages for emotional suffering could be awarded in a legal malpractice action where the basis for the claim was the attorney's negligence. We answered those questions in the negative. Hampe, .
In reaching our decision in Hampe we set forth our case law regarding emotional damages as described above. Hampe, at . We then stated that we found the reasoning of the Minnesota Supreme Court consistent with our established law on the subject and adopted a Minnesota decision to govern in similar cases in Wyoming. Hampe, at (adopting Lickteig v. Alderson, Ondov, Leonard & Sween, P.A., 556 N.W.2d 557 (Minn. 1996)). In Lickteig, also a legal malpractice case, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that emotional distress damages may be an element of damages in only three circumstances.
First, the plaintiff may recover for the mental anguish accompanying a physical injury suffered as a result of another's negligence. Second, if the plaintiff as a result of another's negligence experiences emotional distress after actually being exposed to physical harm, he may recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Third, the plaintiff may recover where there has been a "direct invasion of the plaintiff's rights such as that constituting slander, libel, malicious prosecution, seduction, or other like willful, wanton, or malicious conduct." Hampe, (quoting State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Village of Isle, 122 N.W.2d 36, 41 (Minn. 1963)).
The Minnesota Supreme Court then stated, "as in other negligence actions, emotional distress damages are available in limited circumstances. There must be a direct violation of the plaintiff's rights by willful, wanton or malicious conduct; mere negligence is not sufficient." Lickteig
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