Psychiatric Injury

• psychiatric injury- also known as nervous shock. A severe long term mental injury which is more than shock or grief.
• Primary Victims must prove negligence.
• The claim will have to be supported by medical evidence and the injury must be sufficiently serious and badly affect the claimant.
• Bourhill V Young

  A claim made made by a fishwife who heard an accident involving a motorbike. She saw the blood and miscarried her child as a result. Her claim failed because she wasn’t related to the motorcyclist.
• McLoughlin V O’Brien:

  Mrs McLoughlin‘s husband and children were in a car accident and she was at home when informed about the accident. She went to the hospital and suffered shock when she saw them and learnt of one of her children’s death. Claim was allowed as she arrived at the hospital within 2 hours of the incident.

  Claim can succeed for mental injury suffered shortly after an accident.
• Primary victims- those involved in the accident and different physical and/or mental injuries.
• Secondary victims- not involved in the accident but suffered mental injury as a result of what they saw or heard at the scene of the accident or in its immediate aftermath.
• Page V Smith:

  Distinction was made between primary and secondary victims.
• Alcock V Chief Constable of South Yorkshire:

  Too many football fans were allowed into an area in Hillsborough ground which led to many suffering crush injuries. 96 fans died and hundreds were injured.
• Alcock criteria:

  Sets out what secondary victims must prove to succeed;

  1. Claimant has to have close ties of love and affection with the victim. Closeness has to be proved.
  2. Claimant must’ve suffered mental injuries at the scene of the accident or in its immediate aftermath.
  3. Claimant suffered shock through- own unaided senses meaning seeing or hearing.
• Rescuers: will have to have been actively involved in helping the victims of the accident. Courts also don’t want to discourage rescuing.

  Chadwick V British Rail.
• White V Chief Constable of South Yorkshire:

  Considered a secondary victims because they didn’t put themselves at risk.
• Bystanders: witnesses to an accident or aftermath who do nothing to help. Wont be able to claim unless they satisfy the Alcock criteria- McFarlane V E E Caledonia.
• Property Owners: Attia V British Gas- a woman witnessed her own house burning down which caused her severe shock and her claim was allowed.
• Near Missers: People close to the scene and may have suffered physical or mental injuries and are regarded as primary victims.
• Gradual shock rather than sudden shock:

  Sion V Hampstead Health Authority
• Young V Downey stated that it it necessary for a secondary victim to appreciate that their loved one has been injured in the accident.