You can claim psychological injury damages as part of your compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated October 25th, 2022

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When most people think of a personal injury compensation claim, they usually consider physical injuries such as a broken arm or whiplash. However, as well as physical injuries, a claimant should be aware that psychological trauma is also something for which they can claim.

At Direct2Compensation, we realise that making a claim for personal injury compensation is not just about the money. Indeed, we regularly see many different motivating factors that lead to people contacting us for help, and we know that there are many benefits to making a claim other than a financial settlement.

One of these benefits is being able to access psychological rehabilitation therapies to speed your recovery, at the expense of the third-party you are claiming against.

Psychological injuries shouldn’t be ignored

By ignoring the psychological effects of their accident, a claimant of personal injury compensation could well be undervaluing their compensation settlement. When working out the value of a claim and what settlement a claimant is likely to receive, a solicitor will take in to account medical evidence and special damages. If a claimant has not properly reported their accident and injury details, including psychological injuries, it is harder to claim compensation for them.

As with all injuries, getting professional diagnosis and treatment of a psychological injury is vital when it comes to pursuing a claim for personal injury compensation.

Examples of psychological injuries that can lead to a compensation claim

One example of psychological injuries could be a claimant who was injured in a serious car accident. Let’s say they drove for a living and as a result of their accident suffered physical injuries, but were also left feeling unable to get back behind the wheel due to the psychological trauma. They may lose their job or have to change career. If they reported the injuries to their doctor and had treatment or a referral for psychological therapy, this would form a large element of their claim when the various criteria that make up the settlement value are evaluated.
Psychological trauma after a motorcycle accident. These accidents are notorious for serious physical injuries, with often permanent disabilities resulting from a serious crash. Psychological trauma often links with such incidents with people no longer confident to ride their motorcycle or being left suffering flashbacks or nightmares. This can also apply to witnesses.
Post traumatic stress disorder after being involved in a serious accident at work. Workplace accidents can cause nasty injuries, often with permanent repercussions for the victim. A serious accident at work could lead to an employee losing the confidence to return to the workplace.
Some high pressure jobs may give rise to claims for stress at work.
People surviving after being involved in fatal accidents, or anyone who has witnessed something in which someone has been very badly injured or killed in an accident.
Panic attacks. Sometimes what can initially seem an innocuous accident like an elderly lady falling on a damaged section of pavement can result in more than just a fractured wrist. We’ve come across people who have lost all confidence after a tripping accident and are no longer able to go out in to their local town alone. The fear of a repeat of an accident and the subsequent injuries is a real problem and although most people realise that they are unlikely to suffer the same kind of injury twice, they sometimes suffer a psychological barrier to getting out of the house.
One very common accident type that leads to ongoing psychological injuries involves people who have suffered brain or head trauma. In many cases, those who suffer such injuries are often left with severe post accident psychological trauma, behavioural changes or memory loss. Whilst such injuries are hard to see, they do exist and claimants often don’t know where to go for help.

Why claim psychological damage compensation?

An obvious outcome of any successful personal injury claim is that the claimant will receive a compensation settlement. Whilst this is always welcome and can help the claimant move on after a nasty accident, there is no financial settlement amount that means that injuries or trauma can be forgotten and put away.

With Direct2Compensation, your psychological injuries compensation claim will be made on a No Win No Fee basis, so you will never be charged any fees at all if your claim does not succeed. A successful claim can lead to a compensation settlement being made to you, with the value of the claim including all lost income and incurred costs along with the potential access to rehabilitation therapies.

Remember, any person injured in an accident that was not their fault – whether physically injured, psychologically traumatised (or both) can make a claim for compensation, and Direct2Compensation can help.

Making a claim for psychological injuries compensation is a legal right for any person diagnosed with such a condition as a result of an accident that was not their fault
A successful claim will lead to the claimant receiving a financial settlement covering the extent of their psychological injury and how it has affected their life.
A successful claim settlement will include a special damages claim covering any loss of income caused by the psychological trauma.
The claimant could well access specialist rehabilitation therapies such as counselling, CBT treatments and other suitable therapy.

Access mental health therapies

Fortunately, most psychological injuries can be treated with therapies, where a psychologist will help an injured person to learn to re-programme the brain to reduce the symptoms of conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

One of the potential outcomes of making a claim for psychological injury compensation, other than a financial settlement, could be accessing excellent medical treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), psychotherapy, counselling and other treatments. These can help people overcome the severe effects that psychological injuries can have on those who have been involved in nasty or distressing accidents.

Compensation amounts

Severity of injury	Compensation amount
Severe psychiatric damage	£51k - £109k
Moderately severe psychiatric damage	£18k - £51k
Moderate psychiatric damage	£6k - £18k
Less severe psychiatric damage	£1k- £6k
Severe PTSD	£56k - £94k
Moderately severe PTSD	£22k - £56k
Moderate PTSD	£8k - £22k
Less severe PTSD	£4k - £8k

Find out if you can claim

Clearly, most victims of personal injuries sustain what can be described as fairly minor injuries from which they can expect to make a full recovery, and therefore, no psychological trauma is likely to exist. However, in accidents that involve serious trauma it is likely that the injured party will have suffered shock and psychological injuries, and these can form part of the claim.

If you want help and advice on the issue of psychological trauma after an accident and wish to discuss a possible claim for personal injury compensation, please give us a call. Your GP or health professional will also be able to assist you.

At Direct2Compensation we know how to help you pursue a psychological injury claim successfully. We’ll ensure that your rights are protected and help you begin to move on with your life with our supporting claims process and expert solicitors.

If you have suffered psychological injures as a result of an accident that was not your fault, you are entitled to claim. We can also advise you on how to report your injuries to the right people if you haven’t already done so. Contact us on 01225 430285, or if you prefer, .

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Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

I suffered a burn trauma but I also suffered from anxiety my daughter spoke with a insurance company I think it was accident claim line no win no fee because I was to traumatised and still am then when my daughter finished explaining what happened the woman asked to speak with me at the time she never stopped speaking and I don’t even know what she was talking about since then I found out she took a insurance out my daughter contacted them and explained you never said anything to me about insurance so why did you do that to my mother knowing she was vunerable and still is i have received nothing about the insurance r how much it cost I am so scared and don’t know what to do right now?

Which ever company your Daughter contacted appear to have acted in breach with the regulatory frame work that companies such as ours must adhere to in order to ensure we are compliant with the legislation and regulatory requirements of personal injury compensation. The fact that the company in question seem to routinely attach after the event (ATE) to all claims rings immediate alarm bells anyway (as this is often a pointless cost burden to claimants and is definitely not always needed), but to add such a policy without having provided verbal and written guidance as to what the product is and why it is being recommended is a breach of regulatory rules. However, unless you have signed any paperwork that authorises the policy to be sold and for the Solicitors to commence, you cannot face any charge.

If you have signed papers that you believe enable the company to sell a product you had not been informed of, you should immediately seek to terminate the instructions in writing, citing the failure of the person you spoke with to advise you of the same.

Our Solicitors do not routinely recommend the sale of ATE cover – indeed, they rarely do as it is a pointless cost that you don’t need to face if you win your claim. If you would like further help from us and would like a simple, straightforward and honest personal injury claim service, please call us on 01225430285 or request a call from us she’s she’s.

I was helping a child whilst at work when the 13 year old autistic child smashed me in the face with a TV handle. I felt very humiliated and have suffered from depression for three years myself. I have been crying from the moment I was hit until now. It feels like a lot of damage has been done to my heart. How much money should I claim?

It is impossible to state the value of any potential settlement at this stage. In order for a settlement value to be reached in a claim for personal injury compensation, the injured claimant would need to have relevant medical expert consultations and a Solicitor would then obtain a report from the specialist regarding the physical and subsequent emotional injuries. This report would provide a prognosis for the injuries, listing relevant treatments and an expected recovery period and from this, a settlement valuation can be reached.

I was physically attacked while at work and I was punched in the face from the side/behind and resulted in me having a broken jaw, this has left me on a liquid diet for minimum 6 weeks, also unable to work until my jaw is fully recovered and possibly needing surgery consisting of a mental plate and few screws, this has also affected my daily life PERMANENTLY and in so many different ways that I couldn’t even begin to explain via this comment.

However I am having extreme difficulty with my work even just getting the insurance details etc and I am looking for some help so that I can take legal action and claim compensation for the injuries and losses I have suffered. Any help would be highly appreciated and there is a lot more, however just won’t put that here but I would be happy to speak over the phone or in person, please feel free to get in touch if you feel you could help or support in anyway.

Our Solicitors can assist you in exercising your legal rights to claim personal injury compensation and recover lost income or other costs you may have incurred. Your frustration with your employer in failing to provide you with straightforward information that you have requested is sadly not uncommon and that is one of the many reasons that having a Solicitor who is a specialist in personal injury law acting for you on a No Win No Fee basis is of benefit. A Solicitor can take the stress off your shoulders and allow you to focus on your recovery and getting back to normal, whilst they get on with obtaining evidence and information and ensuring that your legal rights are upheld.

In terms of your injuries, the physical side of things will clearly be evidenced by your medical records already, but given the nature of the way that your injuries were sustained, you may also be suffering psychological trauma. In incidents where people are injured in an attack, the immediate thinking of the injured party is of the pain and physical discomfort. However, it is common that in the days and weeks after the injury – when the physical pain eases a little, that the psychological trauma comes to the fore. If this is the case for you, it is vital that you discuss this with your GP and seek referral to the right medical specialist. This enables you to both seek the right help, but importantly include the psychological trauma element in your claim – which should be reflected in any settlement that you receive.

We note that we have now spoken with you and we look forward to helping you further as and when you are ready to proceed.

My Son was murdered in 2018. Since I have developed PTSD, panic attacks, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Now I can’t go out on my own (amongst a lot of other symptom)s.

Now i’m wondering if I can I sue the catalyst – my sons murderer, who was sentenced to 18 months in Prison.

Although it is possible to bring a civil case against someone responsible for a criminal matter, it is likely to be difficult to sue the individual in question. The main hurdle to overcome is financing such a claim as there is no insurers against whom to pursue a claim, meaning that even if you succeeded, there is no guarantee that the individual would have sufficient financial wherewithal to be able to pay a settlement or legal costs.

The main route open to you as the victim of a criminal act would be to pursue a claim via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

How long do I have please to claim for psychological harm from employer after resigning as a result of that harm? Many thanks

Personal Injury claims must be made within 3 years of the cause of any injury – whether that be physical or psychological injury.

Hi I was in my flat last week with my son and a guy petrol bombed the flat above me which resulted in my front door blowing in and also my gas box blowing off the wall my son was screaming he was going to die my flat is flooded and I’m now homeless my son was about to jump off the balcony as he thought he was going to die in the blast therefore I had to grab both his legs, the guy that caused the fire and explosion is now facing life in prison as everyone in my building had to be evacuated and are now left homeless, I can’t eat or sleep and my anxiety is through the roof.

I can’t stop crying, so I’ve called my doctor who has now put me on medication to help my nerves, anxiety and also my panic attacks. I keep having panic attacks and my son keeps jumping and crying at every little bang or noise he hears. I am now put in homeless accommodation and having to move from hostel to hostel every few days which are full of addicts and alcoholics and my son is petrified. The council never fixed the main door that leads into the building of my flat and that’s how the guy got in to blow up the flat above me. The council has been asked to fix the door on many occasions, but they never did and now they have fixed the door yesterday as I told them I’m taking it to a Solicitor. The police taped the road off as CID had to come and investigate, the housing association that I am with is cadder housing in Glasgow.

As you are the victims of a criminal act, you can pursue a claim via the Criminal Injuries Claim Authority (CICA) and our Solicitors can assist with this. There may also be grounds to pursue a claim against the local authority for failing to ensure the security of the building by repairing the door despite repeated requests to do so.

Our specialist Solicitors can certainly advise you further and consider pursuit of personal injury claims for the psychological trauma caused to yourself and your son should you wish to do so.

As a result of a job termination in Feb 2021 I have been on government sickness benefit since for stress and anxiety due to bullying in workplace. I have been diagnosed with De quervian syndrome/carpel tunnel symptoms that was a result of my latest employment mentioned above. I was employed as a carer for 6 years and received no recordable training no manual handling training

As you finished with the employer in Feb 2021, we need to look at when your symptoms (carpal tunnel and de quervian syndrome) started and whether those symptoms started within the last 3 years. As you are probably aware, claimants have a 3 year period to pursue a claim, but in cases of a repetitive strain injury, the 3 year period does not start with the date of diagnosis. In such cases, the date of knowledge is used for the purpose of limitation and this runs from the date that you first noticed symptoms and were/should have been aware that the symptoms were likely to be caused by your employment.

I currently take medication for anxiety/depression but I’m doing well with my current dosage and generally feel well. I work in a secure forensic learning disability hospital. I have been bitten on my leg and arm during the restraint of a patient with learning disabilty/autism who has level of violence on a regular basis. It has become overwhelming thinking about going back to work because of the fear of the bullying/intimidation from the patient and the violence I may face. The place I work at knows that this happens routinely but seem to find fault in everything that staff do, so in affect blame us and sweep it all under the carpet.

I get anxiety going to work everyday and I am stressed out because of the volatile environment that we work in and lack of support. Where do I stand legally because I feel like my employer is letting staff be abused mentally, emotionally and physically. The patient also says that staff are not allowed to take breaks and are to do things for her although we are entitled to the breaks. In my opinion the patient is wrongly diagnosed and the NHS is letting this happen. There is a very high turn-over of staff to manage the patient due to the working environment which is just burning people out (alot of sickness).

Given the nature of the workplace and the kinds of people who are cared for within the setting, there are some inherent risks posed to the staff that provide the services for the individuals. This is ‘normal’ and staff have to accept this, but employers are duty bound to ensure that all staff are appropriately trained and that all patients are assessed for their levels of care need, their behaviour and for the risks that they pose to the staff. In cases where a patient is routinely causing injury or inflicting fear, the employer does need to review whether the individual is in the correct setting. Our Solicitors have done a lot of successful work for people working in such environments, such as care staff and support workers and we may well be able to help you too.

In your case, you may well be able to pursue a claim – both for physical injury (for the hitting and biting injuries) and potentially for work related stress. That said, the claim for the physical injuries would be a more sensible route with emotional trauma and anxiety added in to that.

The key thing is to make sure that your concerns and the issues you are facing with anxiety are addressed to the employer in writing. You should make them aware that this individual is routinely dangerous and that they need to assess whether they are in the correct setting. You should also make sure that any physical injuries are also reported in writing along with the details of the anxiety, stress and lack of support that you have also identified.

My son and my 86 year old mother were in bed when a car was driven (by a drink driver) into their home. At present my son has been put in a hotel and my mother is residing with me. My son is on low income and is struggling to pay for take away foods as there are no cooking facilities where he is. He cannot live with me as he does not drive, so is staying a couple of minutes from his work. They are unable to live in the house as it is unsafe and my son is frightened to enter the home.

Both my mum and son are not sleeping, both are living out of a suitcase, both are very emotional. My mums home is the house that she grew up in, even throughout the war, so the emotional distress this has caused is enormous. We cannot get all of my mums possessions out of the house most of her belongings are at the front of the house where it is deemed as unsafe. This is causing a lot of strain on the whole family. Each day I am getting more angry knowing that the person that caused this awful situation is probably still comfortable in their own home if they are not now in prison (which I hope they are!)

Your Son and Mother may be able to pursue personal injury claims for the emotional trauma caused to them in the incident as they witnessed the event first hand. However, such claims are not straightforward and a claimant would need to have sought medical attention for their emotional stress and been referred to a relevant specialist medical practitioner for treatment.

After an abusive long term relationship, not a day goes by when I’m not overcome with feelings of depression, anxiety about dating & pregnancy, and also panic attacks. The individual also submitted false allegations to police, which further added to my distress as these were fabricated claims. I often find I’m haunted by nightmares, tremors and unbearable anxiety. Some days are easier than others, but it’s very clear to me that extensive counselling or therapy is needed to be able to fully recover. Is this something that can be pursued?

The only way that such action would be pursuable would be via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme for the victims of injury, whether physical or psychological caused through criminal action. This would include abusive relationships, coercive control or domestic abuse.

To be able to pursue such a claim, you need to report the alleged criminal behaviour to the Police and follow through with statement provision or pressing charges if required to do so.

There may be grounds to pursue a claim, but it is unlikely to be against her employer. In the scenario you describe, the liable party will be the taxi driver and possibly the taxi company. However, it may be more straightforward to pursue a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) as the injury – in this case psychological trauma and anxiety, was caused by a what is likely to be seen as a criminal act. Was the incident reported to the Police?

Can I claim psychological injury if the other party is deceased? I had a fatal collision with a pedestrian who was trying to cross the motorway.

You can pursue a claim for psychological injury, but you must have an at fault party against whom to pursue the claim for negligence. Your situation is unfortunate on many levels. Notwithstanding the obvious trauma caused to you, as the at fault party is deceased, it is unlikely that there is an estate against which you can seek to pursue a claim.

I understand due to the time frames I may have difficulty with this case, but I would like to find out if I have any option. 12 years ago whilst in a Graduate job for a big name high street bank, the cash counter of our branch was violently raided by a group of men with weapons. I was threatened with assault and forced to hand over all the money I had access to.
At the time I was not given adequate emotional support or follow up counselling sessions and no follow welfare checks were done and I have always repressed any feelings of anxiety brought on by this as a coping mechanism. Recently I have been experiencing severe nightmares and social anxiety for which I have been receiving CBT. After talking through my past life events it seems this could be symptomatic of delayed PTSD triggered by this event in particular. The incident has caused me many years of mental injury that has only come to light through my recent therapy.
I was also bullied and emotionally abused by my manager in this role, which I feel contributed to my fear to speak out at the time.
Is it too late to seek legal action against my employer for their handling of this?

It is most likely that you are suffering delayed effects of what was a very traumatic and upsetting incident. However, in terms of any avenue to seek compensation, you will now be statute barred and unable to take action.

Dear Mr Morris

I worked for a bank for 15 years. I was made redundant but harassed as a result of my mental health and my employer failed to listen to my requests about adjustments. I now have FND and am severely impacted and unable to work.

If this has happened to you within the last 3 years and your symptoms were not present before that, you can seek to pursue a personal injury claim for psychological injury against your former employer. We have specialist Solicitors who can advise you as to whether the circumstances of your situation will enable a successful claim.

Hi, I was at work and my job was to go in these trenches, cut the cables then clean the trenches from asbestos. I ended up cutting through a 11,000 volt cable, I was in complete shock and it’s effected me psychologically big time. I found out afterwards that the site manager had a isolation cert to say the cable was still live but never passed it on to my supervisor. I’m just curious how much I would get in a claim like this please?

Assuming you reported the psychological trauma (flashbacks, anxiety etc) to your Doctor and there was an incident report completed at work, you should be able to pursue a claim for the impact that this incident has had upon you.

At this stage it is impossible to say what value your claim would have, but our specialist Solicitors would ensure that an appropriate medical expert assessed your situation in order that the maximum possible claim value could be recovered for you.

I was involved in a road traffic accident and have been suffering anxiety since, I am nervous driving and have been suffering nightmares. I have booked an appointment with the GP.

When was your road traffic accident? If it was on or before 31st May 2021, pursuing a claim should be a straightforward matter.

If you would like our specialist Solicitors to pursue your claim for psychological injury, please call us on 01225430285.

I’ve recently had someone drive their vehicle at me as i was riding to work, using it as a weapon, purely for riding a bike legally on the road. Although there wasn’t any physical contact, the incident was terrifying.

This caused a breakdown at the scene, and a second one while reporting at the local police station 15 minutes later when i went to report it; I don’t believe i can continue riding because of the behaviour of this driver, meaning that i have to find a different way to get to to work. with the associated costs involved.

The incident and breakdowns were captured on camera, and will be passed to the police for prosecution for assault and dangerous driving, which will in itself, mean I’ve got to “relive it” while making a written report tonight, so i’ll relive the event and emotional impact to trying to capture it for the witness statement.

Is there any why that I can reclaim for emotional distress caused by the driver’s behaviour – the driver’s behaviour is going to have a long term impact.

There is certainly potential to pursue a claim for compensation in this matter. As you have reported the incident to the Police and have video footage of the incident, there is evidence to support you in any claim should you pursue the same.

We recommend that you make a GP appointment to discuss the incident and seek referral to a psychological specialist in order that there will also be medical evidence available in due course.

Should you wish to seek further advice from our specialist Solicitors, please provide further information via the ‘start your claim‘ form on our website and we’ll be in touch to help you.

I worked for the NHS as a nurse for 7 years at the beginning of the pandemic 70% of the staff in my unit was off sick. The shifts were poorly managed and we ended up with shortness of staff and using a lot of bank staff. The shifts were so chaotic and putting patients at risk that led me to stop sleeping properly, increasing my levels of anxiety and led me to be inpatient for three weeks in a psychiatric ward with Non-organic psychosis and ongoing medication and psychological support. Do you think I can sue my previous employer for damaging my mental health?

Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that you would be able to establish that your employer had been negligent in this situation. Although the cause of your health issue is clear and people would have every sympathy with you, the courts will be unlikely to find the employer has acted improperly. The pandemic hit suddenly and caused much unavoidable upset and problems in various workplaces.

I was a passenger in a works vehicle when it reversed over a woman and killed her. I have given statements to the police and Hertsmere Borough Council since the accident. I was unable to return to work for 2 weeks & I’ve been in touch with a counsellor.

You can seek to pursue a claim for psychological injuries and given what you have witnessed, it would seem reasonable and just for you to do so. We have specialist Solicitors able to assist with such action on a No Win No Fee basis. If successful with a claim for psychological injuries, you could obtain a financial settlement, recover any lost income and also obtain costs for medical treatments such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapies.

It is good that you have seen a counsellor, but it is important that your GP is made aware of the issues you are having in terms of what you saw and how it is impacting you and that you seek an appropriate referral for further treatment.

Can you claim for both PTSD and post concussion syndrome together?

Yes, our medical experts would be able to provide detailed reports on both the PTSD and Concussion separately in order that the impact of both conditions were understood, along with a prognosis and details for suitable therapies/treatments to reduce and remove the symptoms. This would then allow our specialist Solicitors to gain an understanding of the correct valuation for your claim and settle the matter as one claim with the defendants.

My Solicitor told me that claiming for mental health problems only without any bodily injury is not possible within the personal injury sector in Scotland. Only bodily injuries can be claimed for compensation? This is true?

Claiming for psychological injury is possible, but only in the more serious of cases where a full diagnosis has been made and a referral by a GP to a suitably qualified psychological health Doctor has been made.

Hi regarding my claim for the accident, the insurance company admitted liability but wanted proof of causation. Now seen an independent medical expert, and psychology report, all saying it’s linked to the accident. Is that enough evidence for the insurance to admit causation as well?

The views and reports of specialist experts – such as medical experts – should be sufficient for the defendant insurers to proceed. Of course, they may wish to seek further reports etc, but as you now have supportive evidence from the medical expert and psychology report, any further experts are likely to simply further support the same view.

Hopefully can get it sorted now, been 2 years. I’ve seen an independent gp, a orthopaedic specialist and a psychiatrist. And all their reports agree the accident was the cause of my injuries

Good luck!

Daughter’s car went over a man who they saw jump off a bridge. The man landed on one car then was on the road and daughter couldn’t avoid going over him. They were uninjured. They are both in shock
If anyone,who would they seek compensation from?

Sadly, the routes to making a claim for compensation in such circumstance are very limited and it is unlikely that they will be able to obtain compensation for the psychological trauma caused to them in this incident.

The deceased has caused this incident but is no longer here to be claimed against and it is unlikely that they have left an estate with sufficient finances to compensate the individuals.

Can I claim psychological compensation for 8 years of harassment from a neighbour including indirect sexual harassment, stalking and fear of violence? I am still suffering in fear, day to day affected, health issues, even after moving away from him. It took 8 years for the council to take it seriously and move me. I had to fight to get restraining order breaches charged in this last year. Mistakes have been made by the council and police. Other breaches weren’t investigated.

The route to compensation in such circumstances would be via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). However, given the time frames you mention, it is likely that you are now out of limitation.

You can contact the CICA directly via the .gov website.

What’s the criteria for psychotherapy clients who have been caused trauma and permanent damage to their lives by the actions of psychotherapists? I have some evidence in the form of admissions by the practitioner from a formal complaint, and recordings of sessions (which were not admissible to his member organisation which show his perverse treatment of me). It also seemed clear to me he had a mental health problem. His member organisation are incompetent at dealing with complaints and treat complainants with disdain and are rude, ignore the evidence and signs of other problems, so I am still left with a serious problem affecting me.

If the Psychotherapist who you believe caused you harm was medically qualified (i.d a Doctor working within the NHS), you may have grounds to pursue a claim for clinical negligence compensation. We would recommend that you make enquiries with a dedicated clinical negligence specialist at the earliest opportunity to discuss this matter.

Hi there,

I was involved in a huge car accident in Nov 2018. The car i had collided with due to this van pulling out, the driver had passed away a week later, this driver was same age as my dad and have since been struggling mentally and haven’t drove or bothered to renew my licence since it expired in 2019 as i am far too nervous as a passenger let alone a driver. I have since been awaiting for a trial date as the police have charged me with death by dangerous driving, my lawyers are confused with this as the reports from the independent road traffic expert had mentioned should the driver of the van not pull out in front of my car the accident would not of happened. I have been struggling more and more as time has passed. Recently i have had to resort to public transport instead of taxis or lifts from family members due to high level of anxiety and the fact i have been charged with something that myself and lawyers believe is not my fault. What is your view on this? My parents say i may have Post Traumatic Stress as i had only recently began to really struggling moreso than before and have had to resort to being put on anti-depressants and sleeping tablets. I also have been seeing a Councillor.

The actions of the police/criminal justice system and any personal injury claim must be seen separately. Whilst the 3rd party van that pulled out and caused you to have the huge and tragic crash was at fault, the Police are duty bound to investigate the actions of each motorist and in your case, it is likely that your speed of travel has been highlighted as a contributory factor in this matter.

You mention that you already have a legal team in place and you should therefore ensure that they are fully aware of the psychological impact that this accident is having on you and you should seek specialist medical help regarding this matter.

I was in a taxi heading back home and has we was turning into another road the taxi driver drove us into a open manhole without no cover on it, due to the impact of the stop it caused me to have whiplash and has made my anxiety go straight through the roof as I already suffer with this. I can’t sleep at night as it’s giving me panic attacks due to my anxiety what would you say I’m able to claim due to this?

Yes, you are able to make a claim and we can help you with this. Ideally, you’ll have the details of the taxi and the name of the road – it is likely that the taxi driver would also wish to claim for the damage to their vehicle.

hi i was heading to work when i witnessed a serious car accident, it happened right in front of my car, i had to slam on my brakes and caught the entire accident on dash cam which gave to police. I’m still suffering flashbacks of the accident and the police are coming back to take witness statements off me, so its making me re live it all over again. Have i got grounds for a claim?

It is possible to claim for psychological injuries if you are a direct witness or directly involved in an accident in which you are not directly injured.

I was mugged last year can i claim physiological trauma?

Psychological trauma is a common injury sustained in a criminal assault or whilst being subjected to a criminal act like a mugging. If your psychological injuries have been discussed with your GP and are on record, you can pursue a claim for criminal injuries compensation.

Please call us on 01225430285 to start your claim or find out more about your rights in this matter.

I was a witness to a domestic violence case in which I had to kick my next-door neighbours door down to rescue their children as my neighbour was stabbing his partner. This incident has seriously messed me up. My neighbour survived and is in hospital still while the perpetrator awaits trial.

I never really thought about claiming as it didn’t seem right, but this matter is now going through court procedures at the moment.

I can’t eat sleep properly and may need to see councillors. Do I have a case in which I can claim for anything?

You may be able to pursue a claim for psychological injury/PTSD via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme. The CICA is a scheme set up to compensate the victims of criminal assault injuries and this may include psychological trauma or PTSD. To pursue a claim, you must act within 2 years of the date of the incident and you must have both reported the incident to the Police and cooperated with them during any investigations (providing statements if requested etc). You must also have sought medical attention for your injuries and discussed the emotional issues and lack of sleep etc with your GP and ideally been referred to a specialist.

An old friend of mine went missing and I found him at 2.30am and he smashed my windscreen with me in the car and then my wing mirror. I have full dashcam footage, police crime number. I am physically disabled and i have a number of mental health diagnosis anyway. This incident has made things 100% worse. Can I claim as the police can’t due to him being sectioned?

The only route to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation would be via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme for the victims of criminal assaults. To make a claim, you need to have reported the incident to the police within 24 hours, cooperated fully with the police and have sufficiently serious injuries.

In your case, whether or not you can establish that your injuries are sufficiently serious will depend on what you have reported to your GP and whether they have referred you on to a specialist in psychiatric injury.

My child was attacked at school by a girl 2 years ago. The police were involved and the girl in question was found guilty at trial and sentenced to pay a £250 fine (which still hasn’t been received).

Since the attack, my daughter (who is 13) has been depressed. She started harming herself, has been referred to CAMS which is still ongoing and she has had some counselling at her school. However, nothing is working and she is no longer the girl she used to be. She spends her time locked away in her room and doesn’t like to leave the house.

As the Police were involved in this incident, your Daughter (with the help of a Parent or legal guardian) can pursue a claim for personal injury compensation via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme for the victims of criminal assault.

This is something our Solicitors can help with on a No Win No Fee basis. You don’t have to have a Solicitor as you can simply apply to the CICA online and handle the claim yourself.

However, you may prefer to have a Solicitor acting on this matter given the nature of the injuries being ongoing psychological trauma and a specialist Solicitor would be able to ensure that appropriate medical evidence is obtained to demonstrate the impact that this incident continues to have on your daughter.

My Husband was involved in an accident on the motorway where a girl jumped off a bridge and he ran over her. This was 17 months ago and he struggles terribly at times trying to come to terms with this. He was exonerated of any blame but no one even told him the inquest had taken place. He suffered further anxiety as he thought he would be called. He had some counselling at the time but tries to manage since. He just works 3 days a week now because its less time at work as an HGV driver that he has to deal with.
Can a claim be made?

Given the nature of this incident, it is totally understandable that your Husband has been badly affected by the events that he witnessed. We would certainly like to help him further and seek some specialist guidance from our expert Solicitors for him. My initial view is that he is likely to be able to take some action via various schemes in place for incidents such as this.

I was doing a night shift on the 13/04/2020, an explosion happened in my place of work shortly before 9pm, we where all evacuated, no injuries, I have been prescribed medication as I am suffering from physiological effects of what happened and what I witnessed, i am not sleeping or eating and I have been vomiting as a result of this incident and fear going back to work, could I claim for physiological damages and loss of earnings?

Our Solicitors can pursue a claim for personal injury for injuries of a psychological nature. The fact that you have discussed your situation with your Doctor and been prescribed medication will provide base evidence to support such a claim.

Please call us on 01225430285 so that we can obtain some further details and present your claim for detailed consideration by our specialist No Win No Fee Solicitor panel. If successful with a claim, you would be entitled to compensation for the symptoms caused to you, able to recover out of pocket expenses caused by the symptoms and access specialist rehabilitation therapies – which in the case of post traumatic stress related symptoms, can massively speed up the recovery process.

Hello Ian,

My question is this: I was sexually and physically abused. My abuser has now gone to prison for the offences. As a direct result of the abuse I have been recently diagnosed with both PTSD and severe psychiatric damage (including recurring depression and anger issues among other things) if I claim successfully will I be eligible for compensation for 1 overarching psychological damage payment or will I be awarded separate amounts for say, PTSD and then another amount for the severe psychiatric damage?
Thank you kindly.

Given the nature of the cause of your injuries being those of a criminal act, you would have a right to make a claim for criminal injuries compensation. Within the UK, there is a tax payer funded scheme that is in place to compensate the victims of criminal injuries – both physical and psychological. The organisation is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). To make a claim, you can claim directly to them and complete an online application or you can choose to instruct a Solicitor or claims specialist to act for you. If you would like our help with a claim, our Solicitors are able to act on a No Win No Fee basis and would charge you nothing if your claim were to fail. However, if your claim were to succeed the Solicitors would deduct 25% of any compensation as their cost as the CICA do not pay legal costs.

With regards to the specifics of your query, both your PTSD and psychiatric injuries would be eligible for compensation. The CICA scheme operates a tariff system that applies a value range for specific injury types. The scheme affords a claimant the right to recover 100% of the value of the ‘worst’ injury, 75% of the value of the 2nd worst and so on.

To qualify for the CICA scheme, a claimant must make a claim within 2 years – although mitigating circumstance in serious cases such as yours will be considered when considering whether that 2 year period can be waived. You must also have cooperated with the Police investigation and assisted (where requested by the Police and CPS) in obtaining criminal convictions against those responsible for your injuries.

Thank you kindly for your prompt and thorough reply!

You are welcome. If you need any further help making a claim or understanding the claims process, please call our team on 01225430285.

The company I worked for caused me to be off sick with extreme anxiety and stress. Needless lying and accusations made against me, caused me to be suicidal, social phobic, anxiety disorder. I was working in shops full of black mould, no health and safety, no equality act. I was then discriminated against and accused of further allegations. I have been mentally abused by the company and my work colleagues.

You may have grounds for a claim for work related stress compensation. To find out whether or not you can make a claim, please complete and return our work related stress questionnaire. You can find this on our website article regarding work related stress, or you can email us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk to request the questionnaire.

Once we have received your questionnaire, we will present it to our specialist in such claims and they will review the information and contact you directly to advise as to whether or not a claim can proceed.

Hi me and my child unfortunately witnessed my partner, his daddy, being attacked with machetes. It’s really took it’s toll on me and my son, can I make a claim?

It is possible to make a claim for psychological trauma as a witness to an incident. We would be happy to look further in to this matter for you if you wish.

I have worked at my present employment for 10 years. Recent redundancies have increased my workload by 300%. (3 members of staff redundant/changed roles). This caused me stress and anxiety and as a result I have been on antidepressants for 14 months and off work for 7 months. I am in the process of going to appeal after my grievance was rejected.
Do I have grounds to claim against my employer?

We can help you to find out whether or not you can make a claim against your employer for work related stress & anxiety. If you would like to do that, please complete our initial questionnaire on our stress at work compensation page which will allow us to have our specialist review your situation and they will then contact you directly to advise you on your potential claim options.

I witnessed a horrific car crash a few weeks ago. My best friend was the driver of one of the cars and sadly passed away at the scene.
I went to the hospital a few days after what happened as I couldn’t sleep, and when I did sleep I’d have terrible nightmares. I’ve not been myself and I’ve been diagnosed with moderate – severe PTSD.
Could a claim help me? Would it get me anywhere? What do you recommend?
Many thanks.

It is possible to make a claim for psychological injuries in the scenario you describe, although as you may imagine, it is not necessarily the most straightforward of matters and it is not certain that you could succeed. Whether or not you can make a claim in your situation is something that our Solicitors would only be able to confirm once some further information is obtained.

With our service however, you can at least make a claim enquiry and find out from one of our qualified Solicitors as to whether or not you can claim without it causing you any undue distress or incurring cost.

My family was involved in a RTC and my husband and myself are going through with a claim I am concerned my 6 and 5 year old voice aren’t been heard by the insurance company. They were not physically hurt but mentally..

If your children have been affected by the trauma of the road traffic collision you were involved in, you should ensure that they are taken to the Doctor to formally discuss the issues you have noticed and seek referral to specialist medical care for them. This will provide the relevant medical evidence needed to support them in a claim for damages as a result of their emotional trauma. If you have a Solicitor acting for you, they should be able to add the claims for your children to the action and hold the insurers to account for them.

Hi, I have recently started a new job around 3 months ago been doing really long shifts, 5 hours in travel to some place’s doing 12 hour shifts then 5 hours home. I have recently had a crash on the motorway as I fell asleep at the wheel after doing 18 hours up to the point of the collision I had gone from the slow lane to the fast lane and onto the barrier in the middle of the motorway. I wasn’t physically injured but since the incident I have showed symptoms for ptsd and been signed off work by my doctor as I don’t have the confidence to get behind the wheel again. I was wondering if I have grounds to make a claim against my employer as it looks like i am going to have to make a career change and this seems to be affecting me really badly mentally. I feel nothing but guilt that I could of hurt someone else really badly and no longer trust myself to go out on the road. I would just like to know if I do have anyway of being able to make a claim please? Thank you

We have previously looked in to claims arising from the same circumstance as the one you describe in your comment and unfortunately, it has not been possible to pursue the claim as there is simply no way to attach liability or negligence to an employer.

Whilst you may have been working long hours with a long commute to the workplace, the employer would not be held liable for the fact that you later fell asleep when driving and collided with the central reservation.

Hi I witnessed Grenfell tower fire since the start where I lost my sister in law her husband and two of their kids, i am out of work and going through therapy, can I make a claim for psychiatric injury?

There is the potential to pursue a claim for post traumatic stress disorder if an event caused through negligence is witnessed and medical evidence is in place to corroborate the injury.

In order to take this matter further, the initial information you would have to provide to our Solicitors would be the names of your family members who sadly lost their lives in this awful incident and your relationship with them. You would also have to be able to provide some evidence of your familial link with the deceased. Whilst this may seem a harsh request given the grief you have suffered, it is important for the Solicitors to have evidence to prove that you are sufficiently closely linked to the deceased to enable you to claim for the trauma caused to you by their loss.

If you believe that you can provide this initial information and would like to discuss your possible right to make a claim for psychological injury compensation with one of our specialist Solicitor firms, please email the information along with your contact number to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk

Hi, I’ve just quit my job after 10 years as a funeral director from Britains largest funeral company. I have just been diagnosed with PTSD and I am having EDMR therapy at my own expense. The correlation between the sights I have witnessed and PTSD are linked. There was no counselling in place which is unheard of in such a large firm. Do I have a case against them?

The potential claim scenario you describe is very similar to that for a work related stress claim in that you would need to be able to provide evidence (emails or letters etc) where you have requested counselling and disclosed regularly to your employer that you were struggling and that nothing was being done to assist you or explain things on the part of your employer.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you would be automatically entitled to counselling just because of the nature of the job. Did you ever make written complaints or have you ever been seen by occupational health etc?

Myself and my two 8 year olds were rammed and crashed into. Our car has been written off. I can’t sleep, I’m nervous in the car, so are my girls who have been having nightmares. Would like some support for us, is a claim the way to go and possible?

Yes, we can make a claim for both you and your two children. We have specialist Solicitors able to assist with such matters on a No Win No Fee basis and we can explain your rights and how we can help.

You can all claim for physical and emotional injury caused by the negligence of the 3rd party driver. It is important that all symptoms and issues are raised with your Doctor and noted on your medical records.

If you would like to take this further, please use the ‘start a claim’ page of our website and we’ll then call you back and offer you the help you need.

Hi. Just over three years ago I went through a medical negligence incident. I went to a BPAS clinic in London, to have a termination of my pregnancy (due to certain reasons I wish not to discuss). The process was two days long. The first day consisted of an injection in the featus. However, they injected me thinking it was an aneasthetic but instead it was the toxic injection. I felt burning and was in excruciating pain. After telling them that deffinitely wasn’t the anaesthetic injection they then realised they had injected me with the wrong injection. I got rushed to hospital, was told I was very lucky as it would’ve given me a heart attack if the liquid from the needle had gotten into my blood stream. I never claimed simply because I was scared, ashamed and didn’t want the doctor to lose his job etc. Now after years of growing up, I now understand that what that clinic had done was wrong and I don’t want this happening to another poor girl. Since then, I have been suffering with anxiety, of going to the doctors or dentist due to having needles. The second day I had my procedure, I woke up from anaesthetic crying because I was worried it had gone wrong again. Most nights around 2/3 a week, I can see his face and it gives me nightmares or this day. I was wondering if anything could come of it, but most importantly to make sure this definitely doesn’t happen to anyone again.

There are a couple of obvious obstacles in the way of us assisting you with a claim for compensation. It would appear that you were the victim of an incident of clinical negligence and the fact that you sustained physical and emotional trauma and pain as a result is clear.

However, you mention that this incident was just over 3 years ago. If you are over the age of 21 years, you will not be able to make a claim as you will be statute barred under the strict UK personal injury law limitation period, which requires you to make a claim within 3 years of the date of the negligence, or date you became aware of the negligence. Further, we do not handle clinical negligence claims given the specific expertise needed to act on such matters.

I am suffering from health anxiety. I was in a car accident that was not my fault. My anxiety has now become more difficult to manage plus I have aheadache and neck pain. I am awaiting a GP appointment as I am not happy about my health now.

The specialist road traffic accident Solicitors we work with on car accident claims are experts in both recovering compensation for physical injuries, but also in ensuring that any psychological impacts that a car accident may cause are also considered and claimed for. In your case, if you already had some issues with anxiety, you would be able to claim for the worsening of your condition and the impact that the heightened anxiety is having on your day-to-day life. You would also be able to recover compensation for the neck pain (which is likely to be soft tissue trauma such as whiplash) and the headaches.

I was recently involved in a road traffic accident, which was not our fault. I am in the process of claiming now, should I proceed with the settlement now or wait until the end of my prognosis period? The doctor I seen has referred me to a psychologist on my medical report, due to panic attacks etc whilst on the motorway as a passenger. I have been on the motorway once since the accident and made my partner pull off at the next junction.

If you accept an award, it is a full and final settlement – no going back. Therefore, we would recommend that you wait to see how you are after the prognosis period has passed. If you are not ‘better’ at that stage, you could perhaps seek a greater compensation settlement.

Hi, There was a fire at my work place it all burnt down everyone got out. Since then its been two weeks i feel stressed and never feel like returning to a working environment also anxiety and just feeling shocked.

It sounds like symptoms that are best described as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When anyone is involved in or witness to a shocking or distressing incident – such as a huge fire in the workplace, it is understandable that psychological injuries can be sustained.

In your case, you should definitely seek medical help from your GP and discuss your anxiety and concerns with them. Seeking medical attention is important on two fronts. Most importantly, you need to get the right help to make sure that your psychological situation is improved and that you can recover and move on. Secondly, if you do look to pursue a claim for compensation as a result of this workplace incident, you will need medical evidence to support your claim. You can find really useful information on our site on how claimants medical records are used to support their claim for compensation.

You may be able to succeed with a claim for compensation for your psychological trauma if it can be shown that the cause of the fire at your workplace was as a result of employer negligence.

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