Psychiatric injury

• In the event of psychiatric injury, the claimant must prove negligence on behalf of the defendant. The claimant must show they are suffering from a recognised psychiatric injury with long term effects- shown in Reiley Apply. The claimant must also show that this illness has been caused by the traumatic event witnessed, shown in Sion Apply
• Next, to decide if the defendant had a DOC to the claimant, it must be identified if the claimant is a primary or secondary victim.
• A primary victim is a person who reasonably fears for their own safety or they are within the zone of danger. Within Page, two points were made: first point being that primary victims do not have to show that the psychiatric injury was foreseeable, merely that some kind of injury was foreseeable. Apply The second point being that the primary victim does not need to be a person of normal fortitude- thin skull rule applies Apply
• A secondary victim is an unwilling witness to the traumatic incident in question but is not personally in danger or physical harm. A secondary victim has to be a person of normal fortitude to claim. A strict test applies to see wether a secondary victim can claim for psychiatric harm: Alcock control mechanisms
• The following control mechanisms must be established for secondary victims before psychiatric injury is allowed. The first is that they must have close ties of love and affection with the primary victim. Apply The second is that they must witness the accident or it's immediate aftermath with your own unaided senses- used in McLoughlin Apply
• The third is that the psychiatric injury must be induced by shock. Lord Akner explained this as a 'sudden appreciation by sight or sound of a horrifying event which violently agitates the mind'. All three criteria must be satisfied for a claim to be successful.
• OIR Those who put themselves in danger (rescuers) can claim for psychiatric injury. For primary victims, established in Chadwick, it is within public interest to allow claims by rescuers if they suffer injury- it was held that danger and injury is foreseeable to those who try to help and rescue Apply
• OIR Bystanders who witnessed an accident cannot claim unless they satisfy Alcock criteria. McFarlane Apply