## Facts

- Members of the Wyman family owned and occupied a dwelling near railroad construction.
- John H. Leavitt, a subcontractor, conducted rock blasting within the located limits of a railroad project.
- Blasting caused rocks to be thrown onto the plaintiffs’ land and buildings, producing property damage.
- No plaintiff or family member suffered bodily injury.
- Mrs. Wyman allegedly experienced fear and mental anxiety for her own safety and for her child’s safety while the child traveled to and from school near the blasting site.
- The jury returned verdicts that included a specific amount for Mrs. Wyman’s mental suffering.
- Leavitt objected to the admission of evidence of mental anxiety and moved to set aside the verdict; the matter reached the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine on exceptions and a motion to set aside.

## Issues

1. Whether, in an action for negligence based on blasting that causes property damage but no bodily harm, a plaintiff may recover damages for mental anxiety about personal safety.
2. Whether a plaintiff may recover for anxiety about a child’s safety when neither the plaintiff nor the child suffered physical injury.

## Decision

- The court sustained the defendant’s exceptions to the extent the verdict allowed damages for Mrs. Wyman’s mental suffering absent physical injury.
- The court held that mental suffering alone, unattended by bodily injury, is not a compensable element of damages for simple actionable negligence.
- The court further held that a plaintiff may not recover for anxiety concerning a child’s safety where the child suffered no physical injury.

## Legal Principles

- In negligence, emotional distress or mental suffering is not recoverable as a separate element of damages without accompanying physical injury.
- Fear for one’s own safety, without bodily harm, does not increase damages recoverable for negligent conduct that otherwise causes property damage.
- Anxiety for the safety of another (including one’s child) is not compensable in negligence absent physical injury to the claimant or the person feared for.
- The rule reflects concerns about the uncertainty of proof and the need to limit liability for claims based solely on subjective mental suffering.

## Conclusion

The court permitted recovery for the property damage caused by negligent blasting but rejected an award for mental anxiety where no bodily injury occurred, reaffirming that pure emotional distress is not compensable in negligence under these facts.


Wyman v. Leavitt, 71 Me. 227 (Me. 1880)