200008 Torts Law: Psychiatric Illness

Noel’s foot, preventing him from falling too.  The  mother  of  the  children,  Rosa,  reached  the room just after Lauren fell, hearing Noel sobbing ‘Lauren’s fallen out of the window”. Rosa let out what could only be described as a ‘blood curdling’ scream. The remainder of the tour group,  including  a  Ms.  Mary  Jones,  stood  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs.  On  hearing  Rosa’s scream, Mary, who was of nervous disposition, fainted.  
 
Penelope, the Safety and Security Guard heard the screams and rushed toward the house. As she  did  so,  she  saw  Lauren  was  lying  beneath  the  collapsed  balcony  on  the  ground  and  ran over to her. However, on seeing the child close up, Penelope panicked about what to do next. Despite her training, instead of calling an ambulance immediately, she ran away from Lauren into  the  house  to  get  a  blanket  and  pillows.  She  then  stopped  to  use  the  bathroom,  before returning  to  Lauren,  covering  Lauren  with  the  blanket  and  placing  Lauren’s  head  on  the pillow.  She  then  called  an  ambulance.  On  arrival  the  ambulance  officers  rushed  Lauren  to hospital.  It  was  discovered  at  the  hospital  that  Lauren  had  a  broken  neck  and  spine.  The medical  evidence  obtained  indicates  that  moving  her  head  to  place  it  on  the  pillow  made worse  the  injury  to  her  neck.  Lauren  will  remain  a  quadriplegic  and  has  suffered  brain damage. The delay in treatment is found to have made things worse. Lauren will require 24-hour care for the rest of her life. 
 
Dalia is guilt ridden about the incident, and subsequently is diagnosed with clinical depression.  Her  life  unravels.  She  is  unable  to  work  and  drops  out  of  law  school,  unable  to focus on her studies. She begins drinking wine heavily, damaging her liver. Her doctors have said she can expect a reduced life of at least 15 years if she does not get a liver transplant. 
 
Rosa, the mother, is diagnosed with Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (also a serious psychiatric  illness).  She  struggles  to  look  after  Lauren  and  Noel,  to  clean  the  house,  and  to find joy in life. Her marriage subsequently breaks down. Unable to afford to pay for Lauren’s care requirements, she does it herself getting Noel to help her with the cleaning of the house and other chores. 
 
Mary Jones is unable to rid herself of regular nightmares in which she is wandering through an  old  house  in  which  she  hears  the  screams  of  Lauren  and  Rosa  over  and  over  again.  She subsequently is also diagnosed as suffering anxiety and depression. She is unable to leave her house,  and  no  longer  enjoys  visiting  museums.  She  engages  in  regular  weekly  tele-health psychology sessions. 
 
Following  the  incident  crowds  stopped  coming  to  Tabbot  House  after  multiple  news  stories recounted the event and pictures of a small, injured girl lying at the bottom of the house were circulated  on  the  internet.  With  few  customers  over  summer,  and  those  who  came  often leaving  because  the  restaurant  windows  look  out  over  where  Lauren  fell,  Andre  Bella  Rosa could not generate enough money to keep the restaurant open. Consequently, he has not only lost  his  livelihood  (his  means  of  income),  but  also  his  home  as  he  could  not  meet  the mortgage repayments.  

 

Question
 
Provide advice regarding all possible claims in negligence that may arise as a result of the above scenario. In your answer you should identify any relevant plaintiff(s) and defendant(s), identify all relevant legal issues, identify the applicable law, and engage in legal analysis based upon the facts  and  law.  Include  in  your  advice  discussion  of  any  relevant  defences  and  damages.