Personal injury claims aren’t just about victims of accidents arising from negligence recovering the compensation they are entitled to for physical injuries sustained. In fact, there are more often than not psychological “injuries” sustained that can be included as part of the claim.
A big example is road traffic accidents. Past cases have shown that a lot of the victims we have represented have suffered psychologically as a result of the accident. Many people involved in a car accident suffer from initial shock and travel anxiety thereafter; these are elements taken in to account when it comes to valuating a claim for compensation.
The aim of a claim is to try and compensate a victim to a pre-accident state. Unfortunately we can’t go back in time and prevent the accident and subsequent injuries from ever occurring, but we can represent you and recover financial damages to compensate you for your suffering!
You are also entitled to claim for compensation if the only affects you have sustained are psychological in nature. Witnessing a horrific event or harassment at work are a couple of examples that may fall in to this category.
The mirror.co.uk has recently reported that workplace bullying is at an all time high, doubling since 1997 with record numbers of employees suffering rudeness and excessive workloads (source). Figures are indicative that the problem is more of an issue in the public sector; and it’s hardly surprising given the current economic climate as we all are feeling the financial squeeze.
So what do you do if you are, or have previously, been affected by harassment in the workplace for example?
Employers have a duty of care over all of their employees to ensure that they are safe and their wellbeing is maintained efficiently in the workplace. By allowing harassment or bullying to go on unresolved, they are failing in their duty of care and are therefore liable for the consequences.
Continuation of such activity could have a serious effect on the victim, and they may suffer psychologically. It doesn’t take a medical expert to surmise that!
Unfortunately, pursuing a claim such as this can be very difficult to prove. We suggest that you seek expert advice from an independent personal injury solicitor to find out what can be done!
