Padney v. Metrohealth Medical Center

In Padney v. Metrohealth Medical Center (2001), 145 Ohio App.3d 759, 764 N.E.2d 492, a wife and daughter who tested positive for tuberculosis and who had been exposed to tuberculosis through the decedent, who had contracted the disease in his employment, stated a cause of action against the decedent's employer for negligent infliction of emotional distress even though they had not developed an active form of the disease, because a reasonable jury could have concluded that the employer had negligently inflicted emotional distress on the plaintiffs by causing them to fear the development of active tuberculosis. The wife and daughter had been exposed to a real danger even though the disease had not become active.