Nervous Shock — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. In Wilkinson v. Downton (1897), the defendant was liable even though he:

   • Never touched the claimant and made the false statement only as a joke (correct answer)
   • Physically assaulted the claimant
   • Was a stranger to the claimant
   • Acted with the claimant's full consent

   Explanation. The defendant falsely told the claimant, as a joke, that her husband had broken both legs. She suffered a violent shock and fell seriously ill. A deliberate act calculated to cause physical harm, which does cause it, is actionable. Intention is taken to exist from the act, and the harm need not have been meant.

2. What must a claimant prove to succeed in a nervous shock claim?

   • Mere fright or momentary distress is sufficient
   • A recognised psychiatric illness, not just ordinary grief or fear (correct answer)
   • Physical contact with the defendant
   • That the defendant intended to cause death

   Explanation. A recognised psychiatric illness must be proved — ordinary grief, sorrow, or temporary fright, however genuine, is not enough on its own.

3. A primary victim, for nervous shock purposes, is:

   • Someone who merely heard about an accident secondhand
   • A person within the actual or reasonably apprehended zone of physical danger (correct answer)
   • Always a close relative of the person injured
   • Someone who was not present at the scene at all

   Explanation. A primary victim is one who was within the zone of physical danger, or reasonably feared for their own safety, distinguishing them from a secondary victim who witnesses harm to someone else.

4. What does a secondary victim typically need to show, beyond witnessing an accident?

   • Nothing more is required
   • A close tie of love and affection with the injured person, direct perception of the event or its immediate aftermath, and proximity in time and place (correct answer)
   • Only that they read about the accident in a newspaper
   • That they are a primary victim as well

   Explanation. Secondary victim claims are more restricted, generally requiring a close relationship, direct sensory perception of the event, and proximity to it.

5. Which of the following would most likely satisfy the threshold for actionable nervous shock?

   • A diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder following a genuinely traumatic false statement (correct answer)
   • Feeling briefly upset after hearing sad news
   • General anxiety unrelated to any specific incident
   • Ordinary sadness after a minor inconvenience

   Explanation. A diagnosed psychiatric condition, such as PTSD, arising from the relevant event is the kind of recognised illness the law requires, unlike ordinary transient upset.