Section 7 Pleading Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

• Library: Damages 2012

A petition claiming negligent infliction of emotional distress must include allegations that the defendant breached a duty to the plaintiff, causing injury to the plaintiff, plus allegations that (1) the defendant realized or should have realized that the defendant’s conduct involved an unreasonable risk of emotional distress and (2) the distress is medically significant. Bass v. Nooney Co., 646 S.W.2d 765, 772–73 (Mo. banc 1983).

A petition claiming negligent infliction of emotional distress may plead sufficient facts to allege the existence of a legal duty, however, without stating the word “duty.” In Henson v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 257 S.W.3d 627 (Mo. App. W.D. 2008), a bus passenger alleged that a bus company’s...