Psychiatric and occupational stress

Psychiatric injury—recognised psychiatric illnesses

To succeed in a psychiatric illness claim the claimant must first prove that they have developed a recognised psychiatric injury or illness. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are common examples of psychiatric illnesses which can lead to successful claims if their cause can be linked to the index event. Obtaining expert evidence on psychiatric injuries is expensive. If you are acting for the claimant, then you will not want to commission a report unless you have good reason to suppose that some psychiatric injury has been sustained (the cost of a report that is ultimately not relied on is unlikely to be recoverable at the conclusion of the case). On the other hand, if you choose not to obtain such evidence, you are, in practical terms, dooming any potential psychiatric injury claim to failure. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Psychiatric injury—recognised psychiatric illnesses.

Psychiatric injury—establishing liability

To succeed in a claim for psychiatric illness, the claimant must show that there was a foreseeable risk that the index event would cause injury.

In assessing liability, a contrast must be drawn between: