Psychiatric Harm

Question 1

What was psychiatric harm called in earlier cases?

Answer 1

Nervous shock

Question 2

Why was it changed from nervous shock to psychiatric harm?

Answer 2

Attita v British Gas (1987) - need to move away from nervous shock as this has a substantial effect on your mental health and lasts longer than a shock would

Question 3

What are the two requirements for psychiatric damage?

Answer 3

Harm suffered is medically recognised and it is sudden not gradual (no damages recoverable for ordinary grief, sorrow or distress)

Question 4

What was the recognised medical condition in Chadwick v British Transport Commission (1967)?

Answer 4

Personality disorder

Question 5

What was the medical condition in Leach v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire (1999)?

Answer 5

Post traumatic stress disorder

Question 6

What was the medically recognised condition in Kralj v McGrath (1986)?

Answer 6

Pathological grief

However normal grief is not

Question 7

What was the medically recognised condition in Vernon v Bosley (1997)?

Answer 7

Distress

Question 8

What was the medically recognised condition in Hicks v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police (1992)?

Answer 8

Fear is not a medically recognised condition as it is a normal emotion

Question 9

What was Lord Lloyd’s definition of a primary victim established in the case of Page v Smith (1996)?

Answer 9

‘…A primary victim is someone who was in the actual area of danger or reasonably believed he was in danger’

Question 10

What was Lord Lloyd’s definition of a secondary victim established in the case of Page v Smith (1996)?

Answer 10

‘…A secondary victim is someone who witnesses injury to another or fears for the safety of another’

Question 11

Which case shows that the claimant does not need to be in danger providing he reasonably believes that he is?

Answer 11

McFarlane v EE Caledonian Ltd (1994)

Question 12

What limitation did Hambrook v Stokes Bros impose?

Answer 12

Shock could occur as a result of what the claimant witnessed and not what others later told the claimant

(Told a child with glasses had been taken out on a stretcher after being run over by a lorry, her child wears glasses so she goes into nervous shock and subsequently dies of a heart attack)

Question 13

What two proximities are considered when awarded psychiatric damage? (Secondary victims)

Answer 13

Physical proximity

Relationship proximity

Question 14

What is physical proximity?

Answer 14

Were you physically there

Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police (hilsborough)

Question 15

What is relationship proximity?

Answer 15

The relationship between the person suffering the psychiatric harm and the person in danger

Relationship of bystander is sufficient in Alcock v Chief Constable South Yorkshire Police

However not in McFarlane v EE Caledonia Ltd

Question 16

What is the special recognition in psychiatric harm?

Answer 16

Fellow employees in danger - if it happened to you it can happen to me - Dooley v Cammel Laird & Co Ltd (1951)

Rescuers - Chadwick v British Railways Board (1967)

Question 17

How to structure a psychiatric harm question?

Answer 17

Identify
Define
Duty of Care?
Primary or Secondary victim?

Question 18

How to identify psychiatric harm?

Answer 18

Has the claimant suffered a recognised psychiatric harm / injury?

Question 19

How to define psychiatric harm (structure)?

Answer 19

What constitutes Psychiatric harm

Case law

Question 20

Duty of care? (Structure)

Answer 20

When does the defendant owe the claimant a duty of care to avoid psychiatric harm?

Case law

Question 21

Primary or secondary victim? (Structure)

Answer 21

Is the claimant a primary or secondary victim

Define (primary or secondary)
Case law
Apply with duty of care noted
Advise 
Critique