PSYCHIATRIC INJURY COMPENSATION

Psychiatric Injury Compensation Claims

The innocent victim of an accident may not just sustain physical trauma but they may also suffer from psychiatric damage and be entitled to make a psychiatric injury compensation claim, which in more serious cases can be categorized as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly if the victim has been involved in a life threatening incident, most often as a result of a vehicle collision or a fall from height or was involved in an accident involving a fatality. Less commonly a victim may be totally without physical injury but still suffer from PTSD which most often occurs when the victim witnesses’ a fatal accident involving a family member and will in those circumstances be entitled to make a claim for psychiatric injury compensation against a negligent 3rd party responsible for causing the accident in question. There is of course a wide range of potential mental illness that can be precipitated by involvement in accidents and the mere fact that the victim is injured, particularly on a long-term basis, is sufficient in some cases to produce sufficient mental disturbance to justify a psychiatric injury claim.

Recognisable Psychiatric Illness & Trivial Injury Claims

If it can be proven that a third party caused psychiatric injury causing the victim to suffer difficulty with life and/or work or problems that affect relationships with friends and family the victim may be entitled to psychiatric injury compensation ranging from £1,000 to upwards of £100,000. For a psychiatric injury compensation claim to succeed the victim has to sustain a ‘recognisable psychiatric illness’ caused by the negligence or breach of duty of a third party. This means that the psychiatric injury has to be diagnosed as a recognised illness by a trained psychiatrist rather than just grief, distress or other emotional disturbance. Short term and trivial psychiatric problems caused by involvement in an accident will not qualify for an award of damages in a psychiatric injury compensation claim.

Stress at Work – Psychiatric Illness

It is possible to claim compensation against an employer for psychiatric illness brought on by stress at work. Psychiatric injury compensation claims based on stress at work are not often successful and must fit in exactly with a number of parameters laid down by the courts over the last ten years or so when this type of injury first became actionable. Basically to be held liable an employer must have been aware that a particular employee was vulnerable and that employee must have been placed in an environment that could reasonably be anticipated to cause that employee mental illness without regard to the risks posed. Most large employers now have systems in place to identify vulnerable individuals and have safety nets in place together with counseling schemes that should be sufficient to ensure that they are not held liable.

No Win No Fee Compensation Claims for Psychiatric Injuries

If you have suffered injury in an accident you should consult a solicitor as soon as possible. In order to make a psychiatric injury compensation claim the accident must have occurred within the last three years and have been caused as a result of negligence by another person. Many solicitors offer a no win no fee service which minimises the individual’s financial risk however the no win no fee scheme offered by this firm goes much further and can be summed up as 'win or lose no charge - compensation paid in full'. If you use our claims service there is no financial risk whatsoever and you are paid 100% of your compensation with no deductions.