11.6 Elements of a Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Claim

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

11.6 Elements of a Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Claim. Arizona courts follow the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 313 (1965) for negligent infliction of emotional distress,²⁵ which states:

(1) If the actor unintentionally causes emotional distress to another, he is subject to liability to the other for the resulting illness or bodily harm if the actor

(a) should have realized that his conduct involved an unreasonable risk of causing the distress, otherwise than by knowledge or peril of the harm of a third person, and

(b) from facts known to him should have realized that the distress, if it were caused, might result in illness or bodily harm.

(2) The rule stated in subsection (1) has no application to illness or bodily harm of another which is caused by emotional distress solely from harm or peril to a third person, unless the negligence of the actor has otherwise created an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to the other.²⁶

To establish a prima facie case of negligent infliction in Arizona, the claimant must ordinarily show that: (1) he or she suffered shock or mental anguish manifested by a physical injury²⁷; (2) he or she was in the “zone of danger” such that the defendant’s negligence must have created an unreasonable risk of bodily harm²⁸; and (3) emotional...