In
In re Deepwater Horizon, No. 20-30300, 2021 WL 96168, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal held that fishermen who intentionally came upon the scene of the wreckage of the
Deepwater Horizon failed to state a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress under general maritime law. The district court dismissed their case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). On January 11, 2021, the Fifth Circuit panel affirmed.
In the Fifth Circuit, plaintiffs may recover for a maritime claim of emotional injury under the physical-injury test, but the Fifth Circuit has never decided whether plaintiffs may also recover under the zone-of-danger test. See