Psych Injury Duty of Care Flashcards
Steps to establishing duty of care for psychiatric injury
a) Proof of psychiatric illness
b) Primary or secondary victim
Psychiatric illness: PTSD
Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire
Psychiatric illness: ME/chronic fatigue
Page v Smith
Psychiatric illness: Gambling addiction
Calvert v William Hill Credit
Primary victim test
Mediately or immediately involved (Alcock v CC of South Yorkshire)
‘Zone of foreseeable physical danger or reasonable belief that they are in that zone’ (White v CC of South Yorkshire)
Limitations to the strict definition of primary victim
W v Essex CC (foster child sexual abuse)
In Re Organ Retention Group Litigation (stillborn children organs retained)
‘Zone of foreseeable danger’
Foreseeability of physical injury (Page v Smith), did not matter if the actual injury was not physical
“Foreseeability” narrowed for zone of foreseeable danger
Foreseeability must be about immediate injury, not an injury very long from now that may not even take place (Grieves v FT Everard) (absestos; pleural plaques)
Negligent primary victim - secondary victim
No liability (Greatorex v Greatorex)
Secondary victim test
4 proximities (Alcock v CC of South Yorkshire)
a) Proximity of relationship
b) Proximity of time/space
c) Perception by own sight/hearing
d) Shock
Proximity of relationship
Close ties of love and affection
a) Presumed e.g. parent-child, married couple (see engaged couple)
b) Proven (e.g. brother-in-law in Alcock failed)
Proximity in time/space
Used to be strict approach (e.g. lapse of time, prior knowledge = no proximity)
Now more flexible (Galli-Atkinson v Seghal)
Perception by own sight/hearing
Witnesses that were not present ruled out
Uncertainty re ability to identify individuals even if the person was watching it e.g. children in hot air balloon (Alcock)
“Shock”
= Sudden appreciation by sight or sound of a horrifying event, which violently agitates the mind
Starting point: dramatic, unexpected event
Now more flexible where the shock is not experienced in a moment but over a sequence of events (North Glamorgan NHS Trust v Walters)
Employees e.g. rescuers
No special protection (White v CC of South Yorkshire)