Oliver v. McDade, 297 Ga. 66

McDade, riding as a passenger in his own truck driven by Matthew Wood, witnessed Wood’s death and sustained injuries from a Crider Transportation tractor-trailer collision on I‑16.
McDade developed neck, back, knee injuries and psychiatric issues including major depression, headaches, insomnia, and anxiety after the collision.
McDade sued Oliver, Crider, and Crider’s insurer for negligence; defendants moved for partial summary judgment on McDade’s emotional distress claim arising from witnessing the injuries.
The trial court initially granted summary judgment barring emotional distress claims under Georgia’s impact rule, then reconsidered and allowed a claim under the pecuniary loss rule.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of partial summary judgment, concluding a factual question remained about how much emotional distress was due to witnessing the death versus other injuries.
The Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari and affirmed the Court of Appeals, but vacated Division 2 for not being ripe.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether McDade may recover emotional distress under the pecuniary loss rule	McDade’s distress partly stems from pecuniary impact; cannot be limited to physical injury.	Impact rule and pecuniary loss rule do not permit recovery for distress solely from witnessing a death.	Question of fact remains; partial summary judgment improper as to allocation
Whether Division 2 of the Court of Appeals was ripe for consideration	Division 2 addressed how the law would apply to assumed facts.	Not ripe for decision because facts were not fully developed.	Division 2 vacated; not ripe for adjudication

OB-GYN Assoc. of Albany v. Littleton, 259 Ga. 663 (Ga. 1989) (pecuniary loss may support emotional distress damages where injury to the person occurs)
Ryckeley v. Callaway, 261 Ga. 828 (Ga. 1992) (impact rule requires physical injury for emotional distress recovery)