Injury Claims – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Drowsiness / Lethargy
• Headaches / Migraines
• Vomiting
• Loss of use of part of the body e.g. weak arm or leg
• Seizures
• Blurred Vision
• Bleeding from nose or ear
• Irregular breathing

The most common type of psychological injury suffered following an accident is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to Mental Health Ireland PTSD is a “reaction to exposure to a very stressful and traumatising event”. People suffering from PTSD will usually experience symptoms such as:

• Becoming emotionally numb
• Confusion
• Unusual behavior
• Difficulty speaking or being understood
• Becoming aggressive or violent
• Flashbacks to the traumatising event
• Panic attacks
• Nightmares
• Avoidance of situations related to the traumatic event
• Difficulty sleeping
• Outbursts of emotion
• Sweating
• Nausea

PTSD can be a severe and long term mental health problem. Many people diagnosed with PTSD suffer from feelings of anxiety for years following the traumatic event. It is vital that anyone experiencing signs of PTSD obtains treatment from an appropriate expert such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

A person bringing a claim for a psychological injury will only be compensated if they are found to be suffering from a recognised psychiatric injury; it is not sufficient to show that they were suffering from grief, sorrow or emotional upset.

You have two years from the date of your accident within which to make a claim after which time your case will become statute barred. If you have any legal questions or wish to start your claim, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated and experienced team of solicitors who will be more than happy to talk you through the whole process and answer any questions that you may have. Contact us 7 days a week by Phone: 01 453 7890 Email: info@lawline.ie or fill out our Call Back Form.

• The entitlement to claim for these types of injuries was first recognised in the English case of McLoughlin v O’Brien in 1983 which was followed in Ireland and re-stated in the Supreme Court in the case of Kelly v Hennessy in 1996. This case law set out the criteria that must be satisfied in order for a claimant to succeed in a case for PTSD or “nervous shock”.
  • There must be a recognised psychiatric injury;
  • The illness must be shock induced;
  • The nervous shock complained of must have been caused by the acts or omissions of the defendant;
  • The nervous shock must have been sustained due to an actual or apprehended physical injury, to either the claimant or to another person;
  • Lastly, it must be established that the defendant owed a duty of care to the claimant not to cause a reasonably foreseeable injury.

  This case law further established that a person may be entitled to recover damages for nervous shock where they came across the immediate aftermath of an accident, either at the scene of the accident or at the hospital if the accident involved a person with whom the claimant had a close personal relationship.

  In the case of McLoughlin v O’Brien (1983) a woman had been told about an accident which had taken place an hour previously which involved her husband and children. This woman went to the hospital where she saw her dead daughter, seriously injured husband and other children in the same state they had been in at the scene of the accident. She later claimed that she was suffering with nervous shock as a result of seeing her family this way. The Court held that this was “sufficiently proximate” to the event in both time and place and she was entitled to recover damages for nervous shock.