Attorneys were victorious in the Appellate Division against plaintiffs, the children of a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the employee of a nursing care facility

Attorneys were victorious in the Appellate Division against plaintiffs, the children of a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the employee of a nursing care facility. The plaintiffs did not find out about the assault until many months later, when the county prosecutor contacted them to determine if they wanted to make a statement at sentencing. The plaintiffs brought suit alleging the negligent infliction of emotional distress. They premised their claim on both the "bystander liability" and "direct duty" theories. The Appellate Division found that the plaintiffs lacked any contemporaneous observation of the alleged assault to qualify under the bystander liability theory. Further, the Appellate Division held that there was no statutory duty to the children of the patient that was breached, and that the children did not assert sufficient injury if the Court were to recognize a common-law duty.