Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is a personal injury claim, cause of action, or tort (wrongful act) that is recognized in some states. NIED claims seek to hold another person or entity civilly liable (for money damages) caused by careless or negligent conduct that causes mental or emotional damage (severe emotional distress) to the injured claimant or plaintiff.

Some states that recognize an NIED claim have additional requirements that the claimant or plaintiff suffered a physical injury or was “in the zone of danger” created by the negligent conduct, for example.

And in many states there is no recognized cause of action or claim for the negligent infliction of emotional distress, and no general duty not to negligently inflict emotional distress. A claimant may recover mental anguish damages only in connection with defendant's breach of some other legal duty.

But some states, such as California, recognize an NIED claim by a direct victim as well as for a bystander who observed the negligent infliction of emotional distress. A bystander claim is often limited to close relatives of the direct victim.

Laws vary from state to state and the law regarding the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress is often located in a state’s court opinions (also known as case law, common law, or judicial decisions).

In Indiana, the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) is recognized under certain circumstances. Indiana law allows for NIED claims both for direct victims of negligent conduct and for bystanders in specific situations. For a direct victim to establish an NIED claim, they must demonstrate that the defendant owed them a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach proximately caused their emotional distress. Indiana has adopted the 'impact rule,' which generally requires that a plaintiff suffer some physical impact as a result of the defendant's negligent conduct, although there are exceptions to this rule. For bystander NIED claims, Indiana requires that the bystander be a close relative of the person injured or killed by the defendant's negligent conduct, that they were at the scene of the accident, and that they had a direct emotional impact from the sensory and contemporaneous observance of the accident. The specifics of NIED claims in Indiana are largely governed by state case law, and the application of these principles can vary depending on the facts of each case.