Psychiatric Harm Flashcards
Hicks v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992]
A claimant may only recover for a recognised psychiatric illness (not for mere grief, anxiety or distress)
A claimant can only recover as a primary victim if they were within the zone of physical danger
Page v Smith [1996]
Page v Smith [1996]
Shows a claimant can only recover as a primary victim if they were in within the zone of physical danger
For a primary victrim. the psychiatric harm must be caused by distress resulting from involvement in an accident or its immediate aftermath
Rothwell v Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd and another; (and other conjoined appeals) [2007]
Bourhill v Young [1943]
A Secondary victim can only recover if psychiatric harm was reasonably foreseeable in a person of ordinary fortitude
McLoughlin v O’Brian [1982]
For a secondary victim, witnessing the immediate aftermath may suffice
A Secondary victim can only recover if psychiatric harm was reasonably foreseeable in a person of ordinary fortitude
Bourhill v Young [1943]
For a secondary victim, witnessing the immediate aftermath may suffice
McLoughlin v O’Brian [1982]
Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992]
Gives the Alcock control mechanisms - guidlines for when a secondary victim can recover:
- relationship with victim
- Proximity in time and space
- Shock
Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Ronayne [2015]
Shows the ‘shock’ requirement on the Alcock test has proved difficult to establish
White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1998]
Shows that a rescuer is only a ‘primary victim’ if apparently exposed to danger
Dooley v Cammell Laird & Co Ltd [1951]
There is a special status for ‘involuntary participants’
Walker v Northumberland County Council [1995]
Recovery for psychiatric harm may be allowed where the defendant has assumed responsibility
