A mother filed a lawsuit against her dead son after he crashed his car and died.
In documents filed with the Supreme Court of Australia, Iman Homsi, 50,
alleges that her son’s death caused her psychiatric injuries.
Mahmoud Homsi, 28, died when his car swerved to the wrong side of a road in Melbourne, and hit another car.
According to police, Mahmoud, who was known to police for prior crimes,
was speeding up to 90 miles per hour in a 60 mph zone when he crashed
into a couple’s car.
The driver of the other car, Jipson Jose, and his wife, Ancy Ani John, 31, suffered injuries as a result of Homsi’s negligence.
John had to undergo three surgeries. Sadly, their only child, three-year-old Jiyaa, died at the scene.
The family had been driving home to Pascoe Vale, after picking up John
from the Royal Women’s Hospital, where she worked as a neonatal nurse.
They were then hit by Mahmoud.
Iman Homsi was not at the scene of the accident and she learned about
her son’s death through a telephone call shortly after it happened.
However, she said that she is suffering a severe psychiatric reaction and has not worked since the death of her son.
Supreme Court Justice John Forrest said that the question before the
court is whether Mahmoud owed his mother a duty to take reasonable care
while driving to ensure he didn’t suffer serious injury or death.
Justice Forrest dismissed the case, saying that the “law had not
established a general duty on the part of a driver not to cause
psychiatric injury to a close relative as a result of injury to himself
or herself.”