Under s 53(1)(a) of the Civil Liability Act 1936 (SA), a plaintiff claiming damages for pure mental harm need not have been present at the actual point of impact; presence at the aftermath of the accident is sufficient, because the statutory definition of 'accident' as an 'incident' in s 3(1) encompasses events directly related to and following on from the actual impact. The aftermath doctrine recognised at common law in Jaensch v Coffey has not been abrogated by s 53. The decision in Hoinville-Wiggins v Connelley on the similarly worded NSW Motor Accidents Act 1988 is distinguishable because the NSW Act did not contain a definition of 'accident' and did not contain an equivalent to s 33.
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