Truck Accidents.

No one should experience the horror of watching your 6-year-old daughter suffer extensive head injuries in an auto accident inflicted by a 72,500-pound truck. Sadly this happened to a Mr. Majors. The truck driver was negligent so he sued. In addition to his daughters claim he also made a claim to recover for his post-traumatic stress disorder. Mr. Majors however did not have a physical injury from the accident and neither the PTSD nor the emotional distress came from a physical injury to him. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed the long standing rule of law in Kansas there can be no recovery for emotional distress in a negligence claim without physical injury to the plaintiff. Kansas is in a small minority of states that still apply this strict rule. This physical injury rule is not applicable even where the conduct is intentional, or the defendant acts with intent to injure. Kansas courts also make an exception where a close relative suffers emotional harm from the negligent mishandling of a corpse. This Court declined the invitation to change the long standing rule inviting the parties to take the matter to the Kansas Supreme Court where a change can be made if such a change is to be made.