The Nature of 'Nervous Shock'

Speaker: Associate Professor Craig Purshouse, The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law

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The law governing negligence liability for mental injuries attracts almost universal derision from torts scholars. In this paper, I will argue that a significant part of this criticism rests upon a mistake. By tracing the history of the law on liability for what was once called 'nervous shock', I will show that the special rules in this area are not derived from the type of damage in question (psychiatric injury) but rather upon the way the damage is caused (through mental mechanisms such as shock). I will also examine the question whether the law of negligence should permit recovery for forms of harm that fall short of recognised psychiatric injuries.

About the Speaker

Craig Purshouse is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and a Research Fellow in the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at the University of Hong Kong, having previously worked at the University of Liverpool and  the University of Leeds. His interests are in the law of torts and medical law, with a particular focus on the area where they overlap: medical negligence. He has published widely in a range of leading generalist and specialist law journals and his work has been cited by the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal of Singapore, the High Court of England and Wales, the English and Scottish Law Commissions and in the UK Parliament. He is the former editor-in-chief of the journal Medical Law International and remains a member of the editorial board. He was also previously on the editorial board of the Medical Law Review.

Read Associate Professor Craig Purshouse's biography and publications