Treichel v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance. Co

In Treichel v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance. Co., 280 Mont. 443, 930 P.2d 661 (Mont. 1997), Carolyn Treichel and her husband Fredie were riding their bicycles when a car struck Fredie from behind. Carolyn was riding behind Fredie and was not physically injured by the car, but she saw the car strike Fredie and throw him into the air. Fredie subsequently died from the injuries. Treichel, 930 P.2d at 662. State Farm insured the driver of the vehicle under an automobile policy identical in all material respects to the policy at issue in this case, and which provided bodily injury liability coverage of $ 25,000 for each person and $ 50,000 for each accident. Id. at 662-63. State Farm paid Fredie's estate $ 25,000 and denied Carolyn's claim for an additional $ 25,000 for emotional distress. Carolyn brought a declaratory judgment action seeking coverage, and as in this case, State Farm agreed that Carolyn met all of the elements necessary to prove a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. The only issue was whether the "Each Person" or the "Each Accident" limits applied to the negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. Id. at 663. Treichel explained that emotional distress claims differ from "derivative" loss of consortium claims because the plaintiff is "on the scene," experiencing "personal . . . direct physical and emotional impact." Id. at 665. "Carolyn was a separate person who received an independent and direct injury at the accident scene. Her serious and severe emotional distress was the reasonably foreseeable consequence of the driver's negligence." Id. Because Carolyn was "a second injured person in the accident," the "Each Accident" aggregate limits applied. Id.