Psychiatric Injury

Question 1

What is stage one of the Psychiatric Injury model answer?

Answer 1

Here, because C has suffered from (state mental illness suffered) , they may be able to claim for psychiatric injury.

Question 2

What is stage two of the Psychiatric Injury model answer?

Answer 2

In order to claim psychiatric injury, C must be suffering from a recognised psychiatric illness which was a resultant of the incident and also it must have long-term effects. E.g, PTSD. Physical symptoms of fear and panic such as sweating are not sufficient (Reilly v Merseyside Regional Health Authority).

Here, C is / is not suffering from a recognised psychiatric injury because… (state what C has suffered and explain whether or not this would be considered a psychiatric injury).

Question 3

What is stage three of the Psychiatric Injury model answer?

Answer 3

It also needs to be determined that the defendant was the cause of the claimant’s psychiatric injury. The normal rules of causation apply. Here, D is the cause of the psychiatric injury suffered by C because… (apply causation).

Question 4

What is the primary victim answer for Psychiatric Injury?

Answer 4

It then needs to be determined whether the claimant was a primary or secondary victim.

APPLY WHICH IS RELEVANT

Primary victims are directly involved in the incident, being in the ‘zone of danger’. They are, or could have been, physically injured. If personal injury of some kind is reasonably foreseeable to the claimant because of the accident, the D is liable for psychiatric injury (despite no physical injury). C doesn’t have to prove that that PSYCHIATRIC injury was foreseeable as D takes C as they find them (Page v Smith).

Here, C would be classed as a primary victim because (state why C feared for their safety and why personal injury of some kind was reasonably foreseeable).

Question 5

What is the answer for rescuers?

Answer 5

Rescuers can still be primary victims if they are at risk (Chadwick v British Railways Board)., Herre, even though C was a rescuer, they will be classed as a primary victim as they have put themselves at risk by (state how).

Question 6

What is the secondary victim answer for Psychiatric Injury?

Answer 6

A secondary victim is someone who suffers psychiatric injury / nervous shock without personally being exposed to danger. Here, C would be classed as a secondary victim because… (state why they’re secondary and not primary).

A secondary victim will only be able to make a claim if they meet the Alcock criteria. Firstly, the secondary victim must have a close tie of love or affection with the primary victim. This means that they must have not only a close type of relationship but also be close in fact. Presumed to exist between spouses and parent to child. Other relationships will require evidence (White v CC South Yorks). Here, C has close ties of love and affection with the primary victim because (explain why relationship satisfies criteria).

The secondary victim must have suffered mental injuries at the scene or its immediate aftermath (McLoughlin v O’Brian). Here, C has witnessed the scene / immediate aftermath because…

The secondary victim must have witnessed the accident with his or her own unaided senses. It is not enough for them to have learned of the incident through a third party. Here, C perceived the incident through their own unaided senses because…

The secondary victim should also be of reasonable fortitude, customary phlegm would foreseeably have suffered some psychiatric injury (Bourhill v Young). C must not be vulnerable to a psychiatric injury, therefore thin skull doesn’t apply. Here, a person of reasonable fortitude and customary phlegm would have suffered psychiatric injury because…

Finally, the psychiatric injury must be induced by shock, ‘a sudden assault on the nervous system’ (Alcock). Here, the psychiatric injury has been induced by an assault on the senses when…