Psychiatric Injury Claims

It is a pretty well known fact that if you have suffered a personal injury then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Most people associated personal injury with physical injuries and do not realise that you can actually claim compensation for psychiatric trauma as well. In many cases psychological damage go hand in hand with physical injuries whilst in other cases an accident may only result in a psychiatric trauma.

What is deemed to be Psychiatric Injury?

Common examples of psychiatric injury include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a car accident.  It can be depression or anxiety from being overly stressed at work. Even suffering from a fear of heights following a fall. The law allows the victims in these situations to make a claim for compensation because in most cases they will be owed a duty of care, for example, employers owe their employees a duty of care to ensure that their employees are safe and that vulnerable individuals are offered counselling. In the same way drivers have a duty of care towards the health and safety of other road users.

Compensation Awards for Psychiatric Injury

There is no fixed amount of compensation for psychiatric injuries and the amount of compensation that will be awarded to a claimant will depend on his or her individual circumstances, but it can range from £1,000 to over £100,000. The amount of compensation will be based on a number of factors including the impact it has had on the individual’s life, the impact on their family and the prognosis. The court will take into account the following factors:

  • The injured persons ability to live and work
  • The effect on their personal relationships
  • The potential success or otherwise of treatment
  • Future vulnerability to, for example, further injury.
  • The medical prognosis
  • The extent to which medical help has been sought.
  • Whether the injury results from sexual or physical abuse and whether or not it resulted from a breach of trust. If this is the case, the court will also consider the relationship between the victim and the abuser, the nature of the abuse, the symptoms it has caused and the duration of the abuse.

Compensation for PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is legally defined as a symptomatic response to psychologically distressing event which causes “intense fear, helplessness and horror”. These symptoms include, effects on breathing, pulse, bowel/bladder control, the re-experience of the event, anger issues, difficulty in sleeping and concentrating and being easily startled.

Severe

£40,000 – £66,000

In these cases, the sufferer will be prevented from returning to anywhere near their pre-trauma level. Every aspect of their life is affected.

Moderately Severe

£15,250 – £40,000

Here, there is more scope for recovery than above, and a better medical outlook. There will however be significant disability for the foreseeable future.

Moderate – Minor

£2,600 – £15,250

In these cases, there is normally complete/almost complete recovery and there will be no normally be a continuing disabling effect.

Make a Claim for Psychiatric Injury

If you want to make a psychiatric injury compensation claim then you should speak to our personal injury lawyers covering Leeds. We will be able to guide you on the merits (and de-merits) of your case. Our panel personal injury lawyer for Leeds will help you to gather medical evidence and help you to reclaim any other losses you have incurred from medical bills to loss of income.

Please note a successful claim must be brought within three years of the date of the accident that resulted in the psychiatric illness (three years from their 18th birthday in the case of a child) and therefore you should not delay meeting with and bringing a claim through our personal injury solicitors.

Contact Our Psychiatric Injury Compensation Claims Solicitors for Leeds

If you or a loved one has suffered mental trauma, and someone else is to blame, contact us today. Call us on 01132 234 466^ You can also contact us online by completing our enquiry form.

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