Personal Injury Claims
No-win, No-fee claims
If you’ve been injured in an accident that occurred because someone who had a duty of care towards you breached this duty, you may be able to claim compensation for your suffering.
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PTSD Compensation Claims
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PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is a mental health condition caused by frightening, stressful, or distressing incidents or events. Personal injuries and accidents can obviously cause physical symptoms, but there’s also a chance that the trauma could lead to the development of PTSD – and you can make a claim for that, too.
PTSD was first medically acknowledged during the trench warfare of the First World War and was known as shell shock, which was sufficiently recognised as a condition that disabled soldiers mentally and physically so that they could not return to the battlefield.
The name ‘PTSD’ was first used during the Vietnam War in the 20th century, following research on the psychological trauma suffered by military personnel. First called ‘post-Vietnam syndrome’, the name PTSD was coined when scientists realised that this condition could be experienced on any battlefield. Around 30% of Vietnam War veterans experienced some form of PTSD during their lifetime.
It’s easy to see why a war zone would produce feelings of stress and complex, negative emotions. Still, in time, psychologists and doctors began to understand that anyone who has lived through a deeply distressing or disturbing experience can develop PTSD.
PTSD was officially recognised as a mental health condition in 1980. It can affect daily life, family life, the ability to form and maintain relationships and work.
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What Are The Symptoms Of PTSD?
PTSD symptoms vary amongst sufferers. Not everyone experiences the same symptoms or with the same intensity. Symptoms don’t have to be present consistently and may be absent for months or years before reappearing, often triggered by a specific or traumatic event.
Some of the symptoms of PTSD include:-
- Intrusive thoughts – unwanted memories and recollections crowd into the sufferer’s mind
- Flashbacks – these are often triggered by specific drivers like a similar event or location but can also be random
- Nightmares – disturbing dreams and broken sleep coupled with insomnia, difficulty falling or staying asleep, and an inability to concentrate when awake
- Memory loss – impaired recall of the event or the days surrounding it
- Negative thoughts – poor self-perception and a negative approach to different life aspects
- Isolation – deliberate distancing from social contact
- Anger – anger and irritability can be uncontrollable and seemingly triggered by unconnected and trivial things
- Loss of interest in life – a failure to derive pleasure from previously enjoyable activities and a lack of motivation to do things
- Hyperarousal – constant alertness, being in a perpetual state of readiness and anxiety
- Difficult emotions – being overwhelmed by challenging emotions, difficulty in experiencing positive feelings, and an absence of happiness or satisfaction
- Heightened startle response – easily frightened or startled
These symptoms can be severe and often persistent, significantly impacting the sufferer’s daily life.
What Is A PTSD Compensation Claim?
PTSD compensation claims are personal injury claims and follow the same process as a claim for physical injuries.
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How Do You Claim Compensation?
To claim compensation, you need to have a formal diagnosis of PTSD and proof that another party is at fault. That party must owe you a duty of care, and they must have breached that duty.
What Is Duty Of Care?
A duty of care is a legal obligation one person or organisation owes to another.
When you go into public spaces, the controller of that space has a duty of care to ensure your reasonable safety. That could be the owner of a multi-storey car park, the supermarket chain you shop in regularly, or the local authority responsible for the safe footing on pavements and walkways. This duty of care is enshrined in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
All road users owe a duty of care to each other, including cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. This duty is found in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
People seriously injured in car accidents may be able to claim for post traumatic stress disorder alongside other physical injuries.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe employees a duty of care. This applies to all working environments, not just those with clear and evident dangers like construction sites and other outdoor locations.
Establishing whether there is a duty of care is one of the first steps in personal injury claims based on how the accident occurred.
Why Use Us?
Most people find it too difficult to try and make a personal injury claim themselves; the technical aspects are challenging and require expert input. Plus, if you are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the last thing you want to do is fight a lengthy legal battle.
We offer a free consultation to anyone who wants to make a PTSD claim.
There is no charge, so this is on a no win, no fee basis. Under this, there are no legal fees unless you are awarded a compensation payout, where we will then take a small percentage of the award. We won’t take a single penny if you don’t win, so there is no financial risk to you.
We will find you a personal injury solicitor who is an expert in your particular injuries, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Examples Of How Someone Could Develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD can arise from many different incidents and events. A traumatic experience for one person may not lead to psychological injury in someone else.
A serious road traffic accident is a clear case when the victim may suffer flashbacks and nightmares and can claim compensation for PTSD alongside other physical injuries.
It is possible to experience traumatic events in a setting that doesn’t necessarily involve an accident.
For example, someone in a beauty salon receiving a hot wax treatment was burned because the therapist didn’t check that the temperature of the wax was correct before starting the treatment. You may be able to claim for the burns and the psychological injury caused.
Other examples include assaults in the workplace, medical negligence, accidents in the workplace, and injuries that occurred during military service.
Minor symptoms don’t invalidate a compensation claim for PTSD, although clearly, more severe symptoms that have a far-reaching impact may receive a higher financial award.
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If you suffer from PTSD, then you might have a claim.
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How Much Are The PTSD Compensation Payouts?
Claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are all different, so it’s hard to compare one case with another.
The Courts and the legal profession use a framework called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to determine financial awards in PTSD claims.
Post traumatic stress disorder claims are graded by their level of severity, and each grade has a financial range for compensation.
Severe PTSD cases are characterised by long-term or permanent loss of life quality. In these cases, PTSD claims can attract financial awards between £73,050 and £122,850.
The level below is described as moderate post traumatic stress disorder in which the sufferer only experiences short-term episodes of PTSD due to a traumatic incident. Recovery has been good, and only minor symptoms persist, attracting compensation amounts of between £9,980 and £28,250.
Less severe PTSD has trivial symptoms that disappear between one and two years after the event. Compensation amounts in these accident claims range from £4,820 to £9,980.
The Difference Between General Damages And Special Damages
General damages compensate the victim for their suffering and apply to physical injuries and psychological injuries, including PTSD. The figures in the Judicial College Guidelines steer the parties and the Court towards settlement depending on the severity and persistence of the symptoms.
Special damages refer to tangible and easily definable losses. These include medical expenses relating to psychological treatment or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as well as other forms of medical treatment. They can also include prescription costs and travel expenses to medical appointments.
Special damages also include lost earnings due to time away from work and a lower-than-usual salary if the claimant is on statutory sick pay.
How much compensation you will receive in total depends on the unique details of your claim.
How No Win No Fee Solicitors Co Can Help You Claim Compensation For Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
If you wish to start the claims process for compensation for PTSD, we recommend working with personal injury experts. Our personal injury solicitors are experienced in PTSD compensation claims following a traumatic event and can help you.
We work on a No Win No Fee basis, so you won’t pay any legal fees to start a claim. You’ll receive free legal advice and only pay a small fee if your case is successful.
By taking a fee at the end of the claim, our doors are open to everyone looking for expert legal representation. There is no financial risk to claimants who experience PTSD, and no one is denied the chance to claim because of their financial situation.
If you’d like to find out if you can make a compensation claim and how much money you could receive, get in touch now. You can write to us here, call us on the number above or message us now via our live chat box. We’re always happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we’ll answer common questions regarding bicycle accident claims.
Can I make a successful PTSD claim if I am already suffering from a psychiatric disorder?
In order to make a successful PTSD claim for financial compensation, you would need to be able to show that you had new and definable symptoms of PTSD as a direct result of an accident, incident or traumatic event. Your pre-existing psychiatric disorder may mean you are more likely to suffer from PTSD, or it could make the symptoms of PTSD worse, but you should still be entitled to claim. Existing mental disorders are not a bar to a PTSD compensation claim. However, the symptoms of PTSD overlap with many other mental health conditions like depression and anxiety disorder, so you will need a robust and expert diagnosis to separate PTSD from another condition with similar symptoms.
How do I prove I've got PTSD?
If you think you may have PTSD, then you’ll need to speak to a medical professional who will undertake some essential questioning to see if there is a basis to refer you. Usually, this starts with your GP who will refer you to a mental health specialist – a community psychiatric nurse, a psychiatrist, or a psychologist. You can self-screen for PTSD – there is a valuable tool on the PTSDorg.uk website, but if you want to make a personal injury claim for PTSD compensation, then you will need a formal diagnosis. You will also need evidence of the incident or event which caused the PTSD. This could be documentary detail or video footage, photos of an accident, and other witnesses’ testimony of the event.
Can you treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
The main treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are talking therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and medicine. Eye movement desensitisation (EMDR) is a psychological treatment that can reduce the symptoms of PTSD. Like other therapies, it involves revisiting the traumatic event or incident while making eye movements, usually following the therapist’s finger. Two medicines are used to treat PTSD, and these are both types of antidepressants. They are generally only used when talking therapies or other psychological treatments have not worked, or the triggers for PTSD are ongoing. It’s possible to treat PTSD many years after the original traumatic event or incident, so it’s never too late.
I have served in the armed forces. Can I make a claim for PTSD?
Even if you are putting yourself in harm’s way, like being in a war zone on military service, it is still possible to claim PTSD compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). You will need to show that the service caused your PTSD injury, but you don’t need to demonstrate that the MOD has been negligent. Unlike civilians, who have a shorter time limit, military personnel have up to seven years from the date of the incident to submit a PTSD claim to AFCS.
Is there a time limit for making a PTSD claim?
PTSD claims are like all other personal injury claims and have a three-year limit from the date of the traumatic event, incident, or accident or later if PTSD was not diagnosed at the time. The three year time limit does not apply to those aged under 18 (called minors). The period of time for claiming compensation only begins to run from their 18th birthday. It also doesn’t apply to people who lack mental capacity and won’t start running until they have recovered their mental capacity sufficiently to make a claim.
I witnessed a serious road traffic accident but wasn't involved in it. Can I still make a claim for PTSD compensation?
Witnesses not directly involved in an accident or traumatic event can still make a claim for PTSD if they have suffered psychological injury from what they saw. This is called being a secondary victim. You will need to meet specific criteria to put forward a PTSD claim. First, you must have a close tie of love to the immediate victim (spouse, sibling, or child). Next, you must be close in space and time to the incident; for instance, you may not have witnessed a car accident in which your spouse was involved, but you were there within minutes and witnessed the aftermath of your husband or wife trapped in the vehicle with serious injuries. You must be a person of normal susceptibility so that a psychiatric injury in these circumstances was reasonably foreseeable. Medical evidence will be necessary to confirm your diagnosis and support the claim. Secondary victims are a complicated area of law, and you will need proper legal representation to present a case.
What is C-PTSD?
C-PTSD stands for Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. C-PTSD has the same symptoms as PTSD but is usually associated with multiple, long-term, or repeated traumatic events. Emergency workers are often diagnosed with C-PTSD because of their constant exposure to distressing and traumatic scenarios.
How long does PTSD last?
The answer to this depends on the individual and can depend on how long the trauma lasted, how intense it was, and that person’s proximity to the event or incident. People who receive regular treatment tend to recover more quickly than those who don’t. Some people find their symptoms disappear within a few weeks and self-manage. You will need a formal diagnosis if you require time off work because of your symptoms and/or want to make a personal injury claim for compensation.
Are interim payments available in a PTSD claim?
An interim payment is having some of your compensation in advance of the final settlement. In a claim for personal injury or medical negligence, receiving some of the money can be possible before the case is finally settled. An interim payment can pay for treatment or rehabilitation and help with domestic costs, especially if you can’t work. The defendant must have admitted liability in the case.
Will my PTSD claim go to Court?
A lot of cases settle before they reach the courtroom door. If a duty of care is clearly owed and there are no real liability issues, then it can be cheaper for the defendant to offer to settle out of Court. In this scenario, the defendant’s solicitor will make an offer of compensation, which is received by your personal injury solicitor. You don’t have to accept it, but it’s essential to listen to the advice offered by your solicitor and their recommendation. If you persist in going to Court and reject reasonable offers, you could be penalised by the Court and have to pay the defendant’s costs. Your personal injury solicitor won’t accept any offer from the defendant without discussing it with you first. If the defendant denies liability, then your case will go to Court.
