Standing guard at the gates: Limiting liability for negligently inflicted psychiatric damage

This work examines the specialized branch of tort law known as negligently inflicted psychiatric damage. Specifically, the paper examines the perceived necessity of limiting liability for negligently inflicted psychiatric damage with a focus on the current state of law in Ontario, Canada.; The first section examines and describes the types of mental or psychiatric illness that might attract legal liability if caused by negligence.; The second section examines legal liability for psychiatric damage.; The main body of the paper then focuses on the common law tort of negligence. Duty of care and common law liability limiting mechanisms are discussed with a focus on the leading cases in Ontario to the present date. It has been necessary to modify the traditional tort concepts of "foreseeability" and the "reasonable person" in order to further limit liability in this specialized branch of negligence law.; The final section of the paper discusses the further common law liability limiting principle of "public policy". The law of negligent infliction of pure economic loss provides an analogous view of how courts use the principle of public policy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...