PTSD can affect a victim in so many different ways. It’s a condition that is often misunderstood by many people without exposure to either having it themselves or knowing someone who is, or has, suffered with PTSD.
You can claim for ‘psychological’ injuries and PTSD is a diagnosable injury that can be claimed for in a personal injury compensation case. So read on for more advice.
The pay-out brackets are very wide, and there is a lot to take in to account when deciding how much a PTSD victim should be awarded in PTSD compensation. There are several factors to take in to account for the injury aspect of the case such as:
- The period it takes to recover
- Whether there are ongoing affects, and how long for
- The affect the PTSD has on employment – such as restrictions in certain types of, or all, employment
- The affect on the person’s ability to socialise and affects on family and intimate relations
- The nature as to how the PTSD was developed – i.e. whether it was witnessing a horrific event, or being the victim of abuse, as two examples
The way we value a claim for personal injury compensation is by sending you to see a medical expert for a report. Cases for PTSD are no different – you can be seen by a Psychologist who can form a report for us to allow us to identify the nature and extent of the suffering. We can then use this report as the main piece of evidence for valuing the claim for you.
With The Injury Lawyers it isn’t just about getting you the proper amount of compensation – it’s about helping you with your recovery process and being there for you in any way that we can. Most sufferers of PTSD will require some form of counselling and we can organise this on a private basis and recover the costs of this directly from the opponent.
Counselling is a hugely important part of the recovery process which is why we’re more than happy to assist with the funding for it.
PTSD can be caused in many different ways. Whether it’s caused by the examples given earlier, or as a side effect of a serious accident you are involved in any way, PTSD is a recognisable injury that can be quantified for the purposes of a claim for personal injury compensation.
As I said earlier, the brackets for pay-outs are wide. Whilst the amount that you should receive is entirely based on your individual circumstances and the medical evidence used for your case, we can look at the guidelines to give you a very rough idea about what we may be looking at.
- Minor cases – where recovery takes no longer than one to two years and only minor symptoms may occur thereafter: £2,800 to £5,875
- Moderate cases – where symptoms will largely recover but there may be a degree of continuing affects that will not be classed as grossly disabling: £5,875 to £16,600
- Moderately Severe cases – some recovery with professional help, but with the long term affects still likely to cause significant disability for the foreseeable future: £16,600 to £42,500
- Severe cases – all aspects of the person’s life will be affected permanently, and the ability to work may be affected greatly: £42,500 to £71,850
How much your claim is worth is all down to the individual circumstances of your case and your suffering. One of the most important things you need to do though is instruct a firm of expert personal injury lawyers to represent you for the claim. This is very important – you need the right level of care and representation.
You can also claim for losses and expenses such as lost earnings from time off work, which can include past losses and future lost earnings too. This, combined with care and assistance from family and friends and any claim for private counselling, can make up a large proportion of the claim. You are entitled to an award for the injuries alone, based on the medical evidence and official guidelines mentioned above, and the losses claim on top of that.
Call our claims helpline for advice on 0800 634 7575 today.
