How Much Compensation For A PTSD Claim?

By Stephen Moreau. Last Updated 6th February 2024. You may want to make a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claim because you have experienced this mental harm through negligence. This guide will walk you through the process of claiming compensation, look at potential compensation awards and provide information about how a No Win No Fee solicitor could be beneficial to your case.

If you are considering making a PTSD claim, have you thought about getting some legal help to guide you through the claiming process? Hiring an injury lawyer could be a wise choice as they could streamline the entire process for you. Near the end of this guide, we look at how you can hire legal representation with no upfront costs to you.

To be eligible to make a PTSD claim, you must be able to demonstrate that a party owed you a duty of care.

For instant advice, you can:

Personal injury solicitor examines PTSD claim form

Select A Section

  1. PTSD Claim Compensation Payouts – How Are They Calculated?
  2. What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And When Could I Claim?
  3. PTSD Claims – Example Scenarios
  4. Gathering Evidence For A PTSD Claim
  5. Make A PTSD Claim With A No Win No Fee Lawyer

PTSD Claim Compensation Payouts – How Are They Calculated?

Generally, PTSD compensation payouts can consist of two heads of claim. These are general damages, and special damages. The first head of claim, general damages, is awarded to every successful claimant as part of their PTSD settlement offer. General damages address your PTSD symptoms, and any other physical symptoms or mental health injuries you suffer. It also addresses the way these injuries affect your life.

When solicitors and other legal professionals calculate this head of claim, they’ll often refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that lists physical and psychological injuries and provides guideline settlement brackets, including amounts of PTSD compensation. Examples of these guidelines taken from the 16th edition of the JCG are included in the table below. Please note that the first entry in the table is an estimated figure that is not based on the JCG.

Edit
General Damages Compensation Bracket Comments
Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages Up to £500,000+ If you have suffered multiple serious injuries both physical and psychological, then you may be compensated for these and related special damages, such as loss of earnings.
Severe Psychiatric Damage (a) £54,830 to £115,730 Marked problems with ability to cope with aspects of life and interpersonal relationships. Questions around future vulnerability and treatment effectiveness.
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage (b) £19,070 to £54,830 Significant problems with areas mentioned in above bracket, but with considerably more optimistic prognosis.
Moderate Psychiatric Damage (c) £5,860 to £19,070 Prognosis for all areas mentioned above show marked improvement by time of trial with optimistic ultimate outcome.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage (d) £1,540 to £5,860 Awards take into consideration length of the period of disability as well as how much sleep and activities are affected.
Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (a) £59,860 to £100,670 Involves permanent effects that prevent individual from functioning at pre-trauma levels. All aspects of their life have been severely affected.
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (b) £23,150 to £59,860 Significant disability for the foreseeable future; however, prognosis with treatment is more optimistic than previous bracket.
Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (c) £8,180 to £23,150 Individual will largely recover from their trauma, any remaining effects will not be overly disabling.
Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (d) £3,950 to £8,180 Virtually a full recovery within 1 to 2 years, though minor symptoms may continue beyond.

Please note that this table is for illustrative purposes only, and the actual amount of compensation that you could receive may vary.

Special damages address the financial losses you suffer as a result of your PTSD. For example, if your PTSD is so severe you can no longer work, special damages could cover any lost earnings. Similarly, it could help you claim back the cost of prescriptions, travel, childcare or medical treatment including psychological treatment.

To learn more about making a personal injury claim and what you could receive through a PTSD compensation claim, contact our team today.

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And When Could I Claim?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder which can be caused by an event that is very stressful, frightening or distressing. PTSD can potentially be caused by traumatic events such as an accident at work, a road traffic accident or a serious accident in a public place. 

You may be able to claim compensation for PTSD if you can prove that:

  • You were owed a duty of care
  • This duty was breached
  • You suffered harm as a result. 

You can claim for a psychological injury, such as PTSD, by itself, or alongside a physical injury.

What Is Duty Of Care?

Who may have owed you a duty of care, and the details of that duty will depend on what type of accident caused your condition. Different types of accidents that may occur due to a breach in a duty of care owed to you can include the following:

  • Accident at work – An accident at work can potentially cause both physical and psychological injuries. They can also potentially occur as a result of your employer breaching the duty of care they owe you. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers owe their workers a duty of care. Under this duty, employers should take reasonable steps to protect their workers from harm. The exact steps they should take will depend on the type of work undertaken but may include procedures like risk assessments and providing adequate training if workers need to carry out manual handling or use heavy machinery.
  • Accident in a public place – If you are suffering from PTSD due to an accident in public, then the party responsible for controlling that public space may have breached the duty of care they owed you. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, parties responsible for controlling a public space owe a duty of care to those who visit it to ensure their reasonable safety.
  • Road traffic accident (RTA) – If PTSD has been caused by a serious road traffic accident, then you may have grounds to claim compensation if another road user is responsible for causing it. Road users owe each other a duty of care to use the roads in a responsible manner that avoids causing harm. They should also adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the rules set out in the Highway Code as part of their duty.

For more advice on your eligibility to start a PTSD claim and how to get support from a personal injury solicitor, contact our advisors for free today.

PTSD Claims – Example Scenarios

There are numerous kinds of serious accidents that you could be involved in that could potentially cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Examples may include:

  • Being involved in a serious road traffic accident. For example, if you were hit by a drunk driver as a pedestrian crossing at a junction, this could cause you to suffer from PTSD as well as physical injuries such as a broken leg.
  • An accident at work. For example, if you had your arm crushed by faulty machinery, this could also cause you to suffer from PTSD.
  • While in a shopping centre, you may fall from a height do to the railing on an upper floor of the supermarket being faulty. This could cause you to suffer from PTSD and a head injury, for example.

Whatever exact kind of accident has led you to suffer PTSD, you may have valid grounds to make a claim for compensation if you can establish that another party breached a duty of care they owed you, and this caused your psychological injury. 

To learn more about how a PTSD claim could be started, contact our team of advisors for free today.

Gathering Evidence For A PTSD Claim

When making a claim for PTSD, you will need evidence that proves negligence occurred. The evidence that may be available for your PTSD claim will depend on what type of incident caused your injury and the circumstances surrounding it. Some examples of the evidence you could collect include:

  • A copy of your medical records confirming that you have been diagnosed with PTSD.
  • Any video footage that shows the incident that caused your PTSD injury. For example, any CCTV footage of the incident.
  • Photos of the accident scene. For example, a photograph of a car accident scene.
  • If any witnesses saw the incident that caused your injuries, then you could request their contact details. They may be able to provide a witness statement that supports your account of how the incident played out.

If a solicitor is supporting your claim, then they can help you with gathering evidence for your claim.

Contact our advisors today if you have any questions regarding evidence or to receive some examples of compensation payouts for PTSD. Additionally, they could connect you with a solicitor on our panel who could help you collect evidence.

PTSD Claims – Time Limits

As per the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit for proceeding with the PTSD claims process is three years from the date of the accident or the date you became aware that a breach in duty resulted in you experiencing harm. The latter date is known as the date of knowledge.

If someone is unable to make their own claim, such as if they are under 18 or they lack the mental capacity to claim, a litigation friend may do so on their behalf. A suitable adult is usually appointed by the courts to act as a litigation friend and can be a parent or guardian.

If no claim is made on behalf of the child by the time they turn 18, they will have three years to start their own claim. Similarly, if no claim is made for the person who lacks the mental capacity, they will have three years to start their own claim from the date they recover their mental capacity. However, in these instances, the time limit is suspended indefinitely.

Speak to our advisors at any time and they can discuss how much compensation for PTSD you could receive. Alternatively, continue reading to find PTSD compensation examples.

Make A PTSD Claim With A No Win No Fee Lawyer

If you are eligible to make a PTSD compensation claim, you could have the support of a solicitor. They might provide their services under a type of No Win No Fee arrangement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

When you have the support of a No Win No Fee solicitor, they usually won’t ask for a payment to cover their services upfront. They typically don’t ask you to pay an ongoing fee either. Should they successfully recover compensation for PTSD, they will take a success fee from your award. The law limits how much they can take. However, if your lawyer doesn’t succeed, you usually won’t have to pay for their services.

If you would like to discuss PTSD claims, get in touch with our advisors. In addition to answering your questions about compensation payouts, they can assess your chance of success. If they think your claim is eligible to you could be connected to one of the solicitors from our panel.

To speak to an advisor:

Learn More About PTSD Claims

Other personal injury claims guides you may find useful:

Call our advisors for help on how to claim compensation today.