Kroger Co. v. Beck
Court of Appeals of Indiana
375 N.E.2d 640 (1978)
Phyllis Beck (plaintiff) bit into a piece of steak from Kroger Company (defendant) and got a piece of a hypodermic needle stuck in her throat, immediately ran to the bathroom and vomited, and believed at the time she could choke to death. Although Beck suffered no scarring or lasting physical injury, she developed a lasting aversion to preparing or eating meat and experienced incident-related nightmares. Beck brought a products-liability suit seeking emotional distress damages, and the small claims court awarded her $2,700; Kroger appealed, arguing no contemporaneous physical injury supported the emotional distress award.
Whether, to recover damages for emotional distress in a products-liability suit, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the emotional distress was caused by a contemporaneous physical injury.