Court case(1888) 13 App Cas 222

Mr and Mrs Coultas were driving home at night in a buggy and came to a railway level crossing in Victoria, Australia. The gatekeeper employed by the Railways Commissioners negligently opened the gates and allowed them to drive on to the line when a train was approaching. They got across just in time, the train passing very close behind them. Mrs Coultas was not touched, but she fainted and suffered a severe nervous shock, followed by a serious and prolonged illness for which she received medical treatment. The Coultases sued the Commissioners and obtained a verdict in the Supreme Court of Victoria; the Commissioners appealed to the Privy Council.

The Privy Council allowed the appeal. The Board held that damages arising from mere sudden terror, unaccompanied by any actual physical injury, but occasioning a nervous or mental shock, could not in such circumstances be considered a consequence which, in the ordinary course of things, would flow from the negligence of the gatekeeper. Such damage was too remote. The Board was also influenced by policy: if recovery were allowed, a wide field would be opened for imaginary claims, and the difficulty of proving whether illness truly resulted from fright would be great.