High court ruling allows emotional distress lawsuit

In a 3-2 decision, the high court reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case in favor of Sav-On Drugs. The decision Tuesday will allow Dianna Crippens take her case to trial.

Crippens sued for negligent infliction of emotional distress. She contends she went into shock after seeing her mother become ill from the incorrect medication.

"In effect, because of the pharmacist's negligence, the daughter poisoned her mother," the court majority said.

Justices said a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress must meet three requirements: a bystander must be closely related to the victim; the person must be near the scene of the accident; and that the person must suffer a shock resulting from observing the accident.

The majority also the harm should have been reasonably foreseeable.

"Under these facts, it was entirely foreseeable that the drug would significantly harm the actual patient and that a close relative would continue administration until the ultimate catastrophic effect was realized," the court majority said.

Chief Justice Charles Springer and Justice Cliff Young dissented.

Springer said a daughter's witnessing the effects of wrongly prescribed medication doesn't qualify as a negligent infliction of emotional distress case because there was no accident.

In a separate dissent, Young termed the majority ruling "a radical and unprecedented expansion in the scope of potential liability." He added the result will be a proliferation in the number of such claims brought in Nevada.

In other rulings, the Supreme Court:

-Refused to consider a request by the state to expand a one-hour time limit to obtain a search warrant. The request to consider expanding the time limit arose from a Carson City case involving Ruben Barrios-Lomeli, who had his rights violated by police when they searched his parked, unoccupied vehicle without a warrant.

-Upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Timothy Connors, who with his brother, Chris, in 1990 killed Kelly Vandlandingham in the Las Vegas area. Timothy Connors received two life sentences without parole.

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