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We understand that experiencing a sudden, traumatic accident or medical negligence can have life-changing effects which go beyond physical injury. Many who have been harmed in accidents also suffer long-term debilitating effects from a psychological reaction to their traumatic experience, accident or medical treatment, or the resulting physical injury. Psychological injury can range in severity from reactive depression and anxiety disorder to the highly intrusive and distressing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD).
Where someone suffers from PTSD or psychological injury as a result of a traumatic accident or injury, they may be entitled to compensation. We recover compensation for ‘primary victim’ adults or children whose PTSD and/or psychological injury was caused by negligent medical care, accidental or traumatic injury. In personal injury claims we also act for ‘secondary victims’ who have suffered PTSD from witnessing their loved one’s death or injury.
Speak to our personal injury solicitors
It costs nothing to talk to us to find out about making a PTSD compensation claim. You can contact us by telephone or by email for free, confidential advice from a specialist solicitor. We will ask you to tell us briefly about the injury and advise you about your time limits and whether we can help you make a claim. Your solicitor will discuss with you how your claim will be funded and advise, fully and clearly, how that works and what it will mean for you. We offer a range of funding options, but most of our clients’ claims are handled on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.
We will put your claim to the defendant individual or organisation whose negligence caused your injury and we will handle all communication on your behalf. The defendant’s insurers will usually handle the claim on the defendant’s behalf and will be responsible for paying any compensation. Once we are in contact with the defendant’s accident insurers, we can begin to secure the necessary rehabilitation and specialist support to meet the injured person’s immediate needs whilst we proceed with the claim.
In medical negligence claims, we will notify NHS Resolution and invite them to admit liability before court proceedings are issued. If liability is admitted, we will obtain a court judgment and apply for a substantial interim payment to meet the injured patient’s needs arising from their injury and disability. If NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed with your claim. This may involve issuing court proceedings or inviting NHS Resolution to enter into settlement negotiations or mediation.
Senior Partner, Personal Injury
Our client was posted last minute to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan for three months with only 3 days’ notice. During the tour, he experienced a number of traumatic events, following which he was diagnosed with PTSD by an Army Psychiatrist. Our client’s condition deteriorated significantly after his second deployment and the MOD Psychiatrist confirmed that his re-deployment had reactivated his PTSD and had exacerbated it with an additional trauma reaction.
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I approached Claire Roantree of Boyes Turner in regards to making a claim about a workplace burns injury. It was something that had scarred me physically and mentally and taken a huge toll on the lives of me and my family. Claire wasted no time in finding out what happened and made sure I was treated by known experts and quickly finding an answer to my burns scarring and how I could be treated to help manage my pain. Claire also helped me by appointing a psychiatrist to understand my situation and help me cope with post traumatic stress disorder. As well as taking as much stress of the claim away, she was thorough in every situation, making sure I had the best possible claim, and handled it all expertly, I am so very grateful to her and her team. They have helped guide my life back into a positive direction and I can't thank her enough!
PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition experienced by people who suffer psychological trauma in response to a life-threatening or terrifying event. Approximately 1 in 3 people who experience a traumatic event develop PTSD.
PTSD must be diagnosed according to specific diagnostic criteria set out in the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), or International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
Where an injury compensation claim involves PTSD, it is vital to instruct specialist solicitors to ensure that the psychological condition is correctly diagnosed. Feeling scared, anxious or stressed after an accident or traumatic injury is not enough to claim compensation. The law says that the negligent individual or organisation which caused the injury is only required to compensate recognised, diagnosed psychological conditions.
It is also important to find a solicitor who can provide you with access to early treatment or rehabilitation to help in your recovery. Wherever possible, we use the Rehabilitation Code and/or interim payments to provide our clients with early funding for treatment.
Psychological injury is often one part of a much wider and complex combination of injuries experienced by our clients, particularly those whose complex injuries result in ongoing pain. Pain and psychological injury often exacerbate each other, resulting in a vicious cycle. Our solicitors understand psychological injury and its interaction with other conditions. We ensure that our clients receive the most suitable treatment and recover their full entitlement to compensation.
The symptoms of PTSD can vary widely between individuals but usually involve a combination of re-experiencing the event, avoiding feelings or anything associated with the event, and hyperarousal which keeps them constantly anxious and on edge. Children with PTSD may have similar symptoms to adults but can also express their suffering with difficult behaviour, avoidance, or re-enacting the traumatic event repeatedly through their play.
Symptoms of PTSD include:
It is normal and understandable to experience some of the symptoms listed above for a short time after a traumatic event, but if they persist for more than a few weeks or develop at a later date, help should be sought from a GP. After talking with the patient about their experience and symptoms, the GP will refer the patient to a psychologist for a formal diagnosis and treatment. In a personal injury claim, a consultant psychiatrist will be instructed to diagnose the condition and any other psychological conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Any unexpected, life-threatening or highly distressing accident or event has the potential to cause additional psychological injury to those it harms. PTSD compensation claims can be made where an individual or organisation’s negligence was responsible for the accident which caused our client’s injury, such as:
Compensation for PTSD and psychological injury can be claimed in medical negligence and accident claims involving severe injury, such as:
PTSD can be treated. Depending on the severity of the symptoms and how soon they occur, treatment may include:
CBT is a talking therapy that is most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems, including PTSD. CBT focuses on how the injured person’s thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect their feelings and behaviour, and helps them manage their condition by changing the way they think and behave.
EMDR is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to ease the distress associated with traumatic memories. It allows the injured person to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress caused by disturbing life experiences. It involves the individual using eye movements whilst being asked how they feel, until the memory is no longer disturbing. The individual is processing the trauma with both hemispheres of the brain stimulated.
We investigate the circumstances of each client’s injury to ensure that their claim is made against the correct defendant individual or organisation.
Medical negligence claims involving PTSD and psychological injury are often made against the NHS trust or hospital, ambulance service, GP practice or other healthcare provider, who are represented by the NHS defence organisation, NHS Resolution. PTSD claims arising from negligent private treatment are made against individual doctors, healthcare practitioners or physical therapists, such as chiropractors, osteopaths or physiotherapists.
Accident claims for serious injury including PTSD and psychological injury are often made against:
After severe physical or neurological disability, PTSD and psychological injury can affect the injured person’s ability to look after themself, work, drive or get out and about, or enjoy relationships with family and friends.
Through their compensation claim, we help our clients maximise their recovery and adapt to life with their new disability, by providing access to:
Compensation, often via Rehabilitation Code funding or early interim payments, can also pay for:
Compensation can also ease the additional financial stress that often follows an unexpected injury, by replacing lost earnings, meeting additional costs and restoring financial security.
Where the claim relates solely to PTSD, without physical injuries, the amount of compensation will depend on the following factors:
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