Wilson v. Allen

The plaintiff's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress could not survive, since she did not allege that the physical impact and physical injuries caused when defendant's automobile struck the school bus she was driving caused her mental suffering or emotional distress.

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This case arises from an automobile wreck in which a Ford Escort operated by Ricky Shane Wilson and owned by his father, Ricky T. Wilson, collided with a school bus driven by Brenda Waine Allen. Allen sued the Wilsons for negligence, alleging that the “violence of the collision threw the weight of her body against her right arm and hand” and that as a result of the collision she suffered physical and mental distress and pain. The Wilsons filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. We granted the Wilsons’ application for interlocutory appeal, and for reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Summary judgment is appropriate when no genuine issues of material fact remain and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.1 On appeal, we review the grant or denial of summary judgment de novo, construing the evidence and all inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party.2 Viewed in this manner, the record shows that on April 28, 1997, Allen was driving a school bus loaded with sixteen children. She stopped the bus just in front of a set of railroad tracks and heard “skidding” and “hitting” noises to her left. She put her right hand on the handle that controlled the bus door. A car hit the bus, and “all she saw in front of her was blue.” Apparently, the car bounced off the front of the bus. Allen saw the car turn over and one of the occupants “rolling” down the road with a “trail of blood” behind him.

At the time of impact, Allen had her seatbelt fastened and her foot on the brakes. The bus did not move and Allen does not remember if her body moved at all. She had a bruise and broken fingernail on her right hand, but she does not know how these injuries happened. She assumes that they were the result of the impact. She had no other physical injuries. She was taken to the hospital and treated for shock and the injuries to her hand. She did not go into work the next day because she “wasn’t mentally able to do it.” In May, however, she resumed driving two times a day, five days a week.

Wilson v. Allen

The plaintiff's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress could not survive, since she did not allege that the physical impact and physical injuries caused when defendant's automobile struck the school bus she was driving caused her mental suffering or emotional distress.

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