Psychiatric injury

• What 2 victims are there ?

  Secondary victim -hillsborough disaster - Alcock case

  Primary victim
• Psychiatric injury

  • claims for psych injury are a development of the law of negligence
  • sometimes known as claims for ‘nervous shock’
• Primary victims

  • Those directly affected by the negligence
  • Psychiatric injuries are created as part of the damage and can claim
• Secondary victims

  • those not directly affected by the negligence
  • Restrictions on claims in line with the Alcock criteria
• Page v Smith

  • D failed to give way when joining a main road - collided with c’s car - (physically unarmed ) but caused chronic fatigue syndrome (ME)
  • LP - page was in the “zone of danger” - he was a primary victim
• primary + psych injury - What must be proved ?

  1. There was an accident or sudden event where someone was negligent which caused the injury
  2. some form of mental injury
  3. that a person of reasonable fortitude would have suffered the same injury in the circumstance.

  • reasonable mental strength
• Mental injury - Dulieu v White

  • barmaid suffered fear for her own safety when coaches and horses crashed into the bar
  • Lp : A claim for nervous shock can be made when the claimant suffers real and immediate fear of personal danger
• Hambrook v Stones

  • A mother suffered severe shock when she feared for the safety of her children in an accident - LP - a claim can be made if the (suffered nervous shock fearing for the safety of a family member
• Bystanders - McFarlane v EE caledonia

  • C suffered psychiatric injury when witnessing explosions and rescuing of survivors on the Piper Alpha oil rig
  • LP: bystanders are not rescuers and have to satisfy all the Alcock criteria to claim as secondary victims
• Property owners - Attia v British Gas

  • A woman witnessed her property being destroyed by the fire due to defendants negligence and suffered severe shock
  • LP: claim for nervous shot can be made if caused by witnessing the devastation of your own property
• Near missers


  People who are close to the scene so may have suffered physical and mental harm
• Gradual shock rather than sudden

  Sion v Hampstead Health authority :

  • Suffered psychiatric injury - result of witnessing his sons deterioration in hospital over 14 days
  • LP: no claim in nervous shock as there was no sudden horrifying event
• Gradual shock rather than Sudden. North Glamorgan Nots v Walters. - C suffered a pathological grief reaction from witnessing treatment and ultimate death of her child over 36 hours

  • LP: this could amount to a sudden appreciation of a horrifying event and a claim can be allowed
• Secondary victims:

  criteria comes from the case of Alcock: 


  1. Close ties of love and affection
  2. At the scene of the accident or it’s immediate aftermath
  3. Suffered shock through their own unaided senses