Psychiatric injury

Question 1

Psychiatric injury

Definition ?

Answer 1

Berhrens and Ors: psychatric injury is a long term mental illness that is greater than shock or grief

Question 2

Psychiatric injury

type of victim

Answer 2

• the success of the claim depends on the type of victim that the claimant is:
• Paige v Smith confirms the types of victim as
  1. primary: Someone in the zone of physical danger at the time of an incident
  2. secondary: Someone not within the zone of danger but who witnesses a horrific event or its immediate aftermath

Question 3

Psychiatric injury

primary victim

Answer 3

1. can claim automatically
2. primary victims will include
   * someone directly involved
   * near missers
   * rescuers who fear for their own saftey

Question 4

Psychiatric injury

Secondary victims

Tests in brief

Answer 4

Alcock Criteria
1. C must have a close tie of love and affection to V
2. the claimant must have suffered mental injury at the scence or immdediate aftermath
3. the claimant was told of the accident through their own unaided senses

Question 5

Psychiatric injury: Alcock criteria

1. close tie of love and affection

Answer 5

this must be close in type (i.e blood relation) and in fact (provide evidence)

Question 6

Psychiatric injury: Alcock criteria

2.the claimant must have suffered mental injury at the scence or immdediate aftermath

Answer 6

• McLoughlin v O’Brien: witnessed imediate aftermath 2 hours later
• Alcock eight hours later (not sufficent)

Question 7

3.the claimant must have suffered shock through their own unaided senses

Answer 7

Alcock: it is not enough for the them to have seen or heard of the incident through TV or radio