I had a passenger panic on takeoff, in my previous PA28. His right leg stiffened and he basically kicked in full right rudder while I was still in ground effect. It was not fun. I had to whack him one and yell "get yer fecking legs off the pedals", I almost ran out of runway in a bird that wouldn't climb. When he finally took his leg off we straightened out and started climbing (as we all know the PA28-140 is a Drag Queen
)
I makes sure I never miss out on "keep arms and legs away from the controls" in my pre-flight briefing now. Live and learn I guess, if you're lucky enough to live.
Nothing wrong with refusing a flight if you feel the passenger may be a major distraction from your main job.
Beech