If you can establish that another person is liable for an accident which cause you harm/loss, not only will you be able to claim for physical injuries sustained, you will also be able to recover for any psychological harm incurred.
You should note that the psychological harm must be an identifiable illness or condition which you have sustained together with, or because of a physical injury. So mere shock or distress following an accident may not be enough to claim for a psychological illness and you will need a specialist report to show there is a more severe underlining problem.
This is because in the case of Hatton V Sutherland, it was held that:
- The dividing line between unpleasant normality or emotion, and recognised psychiatric illness, remains difficult to draw.
- A number of mental disorders do not have a known organic origin, but depend upon interaction with the patient’s personality and circumstances.
- Treatment, and the patient/’s response to it, is frequently uncertain in outcome, and may be contentious within the psychiatric profession.
This means that it is very difficult on most cases to put a straight cut value on a psychological injury.
The courts take a very cautious approach when awarding compensation for such type of claims and a person claiming psychological damage will be expected to have sustained some sort of physical injury as well.
A physical injury is usually visible whereas with a psychological injury, the expert relies on the patient’s recollection of how they feel and it is often very difficult to say how long the symptoms will take to resolve.
To help ‘calculate‘ the recovery period the following approach is taken:
- The psychiatrist examining the patient will conduct the examination armed with his professional knowledge of the various recognised psychiatric conditions.
- The psychiatrists will also have available number of tests to help him check whether symptoms have been exaggerated or manufactured, and to confirm the reliability of the person giving the account.
