Psychological injuries can have serious impacts on your working and daily life, and their effects can persist for a long time. If you have been mentally harmed following an accident at work, in public or on the roads, you may be wondering whether you could make a psychological injury claim.
Within this guide, we will discuss when you could make a personal injury claim for any psychological injuries you have suffered. We will also discuss the various scenarios where you may suffer a psychological injury and the duty of care you may have been owed in each situation. A duty of care is a legal obligation to protect your health and safety.
Additionally, we will discuss the importance of evidence when making a personal injury claim, as well as provide you with examples of evidence that could support your case. Furthermore, we will explain how compensation is calculated and how a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you with claiming compensation.
You can also contact our advisors with any questions you may have about psychological injury compensation claims. Not only can they answer your questions, but they can offer you free advice for your case:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825 to discuss your claim.
- Use our online contact form to get started.
- Ask our live chat a question.
Select A Section
- What Is A Psychological Injury Claim?
- How Can You Sustain A Psychological Injury?
- How Do You Make A Psychological Injury Claim?
- Is There An Average Payout For Psychological Damage?
- How Do You Make A Psychological Injury Claim With Our Panel Of Solicitors?
- Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims
What Is A Psychological Injury Claim?
A psychological injury claim is a personal injury claim for any psychological injuries you have suffered in an accident. There are various types of psychological injuries you could suffer in an accident, such as:
As previously aforementioned, you are owed a duty of care in various situations. Some examples include:
- The workplace: The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1957 (HASAWA) places a duty of care on employers. They must take reasonable measures to help protect your health and safety while working.
- In public places: The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that those in charge of public space need to implement measures to protect the reasonable safety of those who visit that space.
- On the roads: Anyone who uses the roads must do so is a safe and responsible manner to prevent causing injury or damage. Additionally, they must follow the rules and regulations set out by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
To be able to make a claim for your psychiatric injury, you must prove:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- Someone breached the duty they owed you. For example, your employer failed to perform regular risk assessments.
- You suffered your psychological injury as a result of this breach.
Contact is today to see whether you may be able to claim compensation for your psychological trauma.
How Can You Sustain A Psychological Injury?
There are various different types of accidents that could cause you to suffer a psychological injury. Some examples include:
- Accidents at work: Due to your employer not regularly maintaining a piece of workplace machinery, it malfunctions. As well as suffering various physical injuries, such as a crushed arm, you also suffer from PTSD.
- Road traffic accidents: A drunk driver crashes into your car in a head-on collision which causes you to suffer from anxiety as well as a serious neck injury.
- Accidents in public places: The occupier of a shop failed to regularly maintain an elevator. This causes the elevator to break down, and you suffer from psychological distress due to being stuck in the lift for a long time.
These are just a few examples. To discuss your particular case and see whether you could make a psychological injury claim, you can contact our advisors.
How Do You Make A Psychological Injury Claim?
Evidence is crucial when making a psychological injury claim. The evidence you gather needs to prove how someone breached the duty of care they owed you and the extent of the psychological injury you suffered.
Some examples of evidence that could be useful to gather when making a psychological injury compensation claim include:
- Your medical records or a diagnosis letter from a psychiatrist confirming your psychological injuries.
- Eyewitness contact details. They could provide a statement later on about the accident that caused your injuries.
- A diary detailing your symptoms and the effects you are experiencing to your mental health.
- Video footage of the accident taking place, such as from a dashcam or CCTV.
Can You Claim For Psychological Injuries As A Primary Or Secondary Victim?
You may be entitled to make a claim for psychological injury as the primary victim or secondary victim of an accident.
Primary victims are those who have been injured due to being directly involved in an accident. For example, you were injured as a driver or passenger in a car accident.
Secondary victims are those who have been impacted by an accident but were not directly involved in it. For example, if someone witnessed the immediate aftermath of a colleague being seriously injured or killed in a workplace accident.
Regardless of whether you were a primary or secondary victim, you may still be able to claim compensation for your psychological injuries. Contact our advisors today to discuss your case.
Is There An Average Payout For Psychological Damage?
If you make a successful psychological injury claim, you will be awarded compensation under the head of loss known as general damages. This compensates you for the suffering your injuries have caused you.
As part of the claims process, you may be invited to attend an independent medical assessment. The reports generated from this medical appointment can be used alongside the guideline compensation brackets listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG is a document that may be used by those calculating your general damages as it lists compensation guidelines for various types of psychological and physical injuries.
Below, we have listed the JCG figures for psychiatric injuries aside from the first entry, which has not been taken from the JCG. Please only use this table as a guide. How much compensation you could receive will depend on the factors of your case.
Compensation Guidelines
| Type of Harm | Severity | Award Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Harm With Special Damages | Severe | Up to £250,000+ |
| General Psychiatric Harm | (a) Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| (c) Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| (d) Less Severe | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| (c) Moderate | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| (d) Less Severe | £4,820 to £9,980 |
A successful claim may also include special damages within the final settlement. This compensates the individual for the monetary losses resulting from their injuries. For example, you might be able to claim for:
- A loss of earnings due to absence from work.
- Medical bills, such as paying for therapy.
- The cost of prescriptions.
- Expenses for travel to vital appointments.
When claiming for these financial losses, you should provide evidence of them. This could include payslips, invoices and receipts.
Contact our advisors today for a free valuation of your potential compensation for your psychological injury claim.
How Do You Make A Psychological Injury Claim With Our Panel Of Solicitors?
If our advisors deem you to have a valid psychological injury claim, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel. The solicitors on our panel usually provide their services to eligible claimants via a No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under this particular agreement, some of the benefits include:
- You are not required to pay any upfront fees for the solicitors to begin work on your claim.
- Fees for their continuing services are not required.
- For unsuccessful claims, there are no fees for the solicitors’ completed services.
- There is a success fee to be paid if your claim is a success. This will be taken from your compensation by the solicitor working on your case. Because this fee is subject to a legislative cap, you always get the majority of the compensation that is awarded.
Contact Us About Your Personal Injury Claim
To see whether one of the solicitors on our panel could help you with your case, you can contact our advisors. They can also offer you free advice and answer any questions you may have about the psychological injury claims process:
- Call us now on 0800 408 7825 to get started.
- Contact us online.
- Start a conversation via live chat.
Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims
Additional personal injury claims guides by us:
- Advice on how a mental health compensation calculator could help you.
- Guidance on making a personal injury claim for depression following an accident.
- Read more on how a personal injury lawyer from our panel could help you.
Further external resources you may find beneficial:
- Here, mental health charity Mind offers information and support.
- Advice if you need to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from GOV.UK
- Information and resources regarding mental health from the NHS.
Contact one of out advisors today to see whether you could make a psychological injury claim and to potentially be connected with a solicitor on our panel.
