This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

D played a practical joke on P, telling her that her husband was lying in a ditch with broken bones after a car accident. D told P that she was to take a cab over there with two pillows to fetch him home. All of this was false. The effect of D's statement was a violent shock to her nervous system, resulting in weeks of suffering and incapacity. P sued D for damages resulting from her injuries. The jury assessed the expense of the railway fares at 1s. 10 1/2 d. and the damages for the injury caused by the nervous shock at 100l. D appealed, claiming that since the damage was caused by nervous shock, P has no action.

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