Cubbon, Cubbon and Bates v Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW

Cubbon, Cubbon and Bates v Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW concerned claims for damages for nervous shock brought by the plaintiffs, who were the mother and sister of two individuals killed in a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiffs were not present at the scene of the accident or its immediate aftermath. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the plaintiffs had established the necessary proximity to the event to succeed in their claims for nervous shock, and whether the trial judge had applied the correct test for causation in determining whether the defendant's negligence had caused or materially contributed to a recognised psychiatric illness in the plaintiffs. The court also considered the costs of a cross-appeal.

The Court of Appeal, applying the principles established in *Tame v New South Wales* and *Gifford v Strang Patrick Stevedoring*, found that the plaintiffs had not established the requisite degree of proximity to the accident or its aftermath to give rise to a duty of care owed by the Roads and Traffic Authority. The court held that the plaintiffs' psychiatric injuries were not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant's negligence, and therefore, the claims failed. The court also addressed the specific findings in relation to each plaintiff and the outcome of the cross-appeal concerning costs.