Nervous Shock Claims Arising From Clinical Negligence

The Irish High Court (Court) in Kinsella v Carter [2026] IEHC 319 addressed a novel argument raised by a hospital in a claim for damages for nervous shock.

The Court noted the parties acknowledged it to be the first time for a health service provider in this jurisdiction to argue that a nervous shock claim (in this instance by a husband) arising from the admitted medical negligence in the treatment of his wife, who later died, does not constitute an “accident” within the framework described in Kelly v Hennessy.

In Kelly v Hennessy, the Supreme Court identified five requirements for a successful nervous shock claim, including that

• the illness must be “shock-induced”, and
• the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty of care not to cause a reasonably foreseeable injury in the form of nervous shock.