Could I Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

This guide will discuss when a personal injury compensation claim could be made for a psychological work injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It will discuss the eligibility criteria that need to be met, the time limits that need to be adhered to, and the ways in which you could build and strengthen your case.

Additionally, our guide explores the duty of care that is owed to employees, as well the central piece of workplace health and safety legislation that sets their responsibilities.

You can also find examples of how an employee could suffer from PTSD due to an employer breaching the duty of care they owed you.

Furthermore, we discuss the compensation that could be awarded to address the impact of the harm you suffered on different areas of your life.

Finally, this guide concludes with an overview of No Win No Fee agreements and the benefits of working with a solicitor who offers their services under these terms.

For more information on the process of beginning an accident at work claim, please get in touch with an advisor from our team. They can offer free advice as well as answer your questions. To reach them, you can:

Enquire about a claim online
Call 020 3870 4868
Use the live chat option below.

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When Could You Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Can You Get PTSD From A Workplace Accident?
What Evidence Could Help Prove Your Work Related PTSD Claim?
What Could You Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
How No Win No Fee Solicitors Could Help You With A PTSD Claim
Read More About Work-Related Injury Claims

When Could You Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

There are two potential instances that might lead to you suffering from a psychological work injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. For example:

You could witness a traumatic workplace accident.
You could sustain a severe, traumatic or life-changing injury which leads to the development of PTSD.

If you meet the relevant criteria, you could seek compensation for PTSD suffered by itself, as well as PTSD suffered alongside a physical injury. The criteria for starting a personal injury claim is:

Your employer owed a duty of care to you where and when the accident transpired.
They breached this duty of care.
The breach resulted in you sustaining harm, either physically, psychologically, or both.

This forms the basis of negligence in personal injury claims.

Employers have a duty of care as laid out by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This means they are required to take steps which are reasonable and practicable to keep employees from becoming injured. Some of the steps they could take to uphold this duty include performing regular risk assessments, and acting on any findings to reduce the risk of injury.

If you have evidence that you were injured at work because your employer failed to uphold their duty of care, you may be eligible to begin a claim.

How Long After An Accident Could You Make A Work Related PTSD Claim?

You will typically have three years to start a claim from the date an accident has occurred, according to the Limitation Act 1980. However, exceptions can apply in certain cases. For example:

If the injured party has a reduced mental capacity to claim, an indefinite pause is placed on the time limit. If they recover their capacity to claim, the time limit restarts from the recovery date. They will then have three years from this date to start legal proceedings, provided this hasn’t already been done for them.
If the injured party is under the age of 18, the limitation period is paused until they turn 18. They will then have three years from this date to start their own claim, provided one hasn’t already been started for them.

You can give our advisors a call to see what time limit would apply to your workplace accident claim. They can also provide further guidance on the exceptions that could apply to the time limit for a work related PTSD claim.

Can You Get PTSD From A Workplace Accident?

PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that can be caused by events that are frightening, distressing, or frightening. There are several ways a workplace accident could cause PTSD. For example:

You witness a fatal accident, caused by faulty machinery, involving a colleague. While you are not physically harmed, you suffer from PTSD in the aftermath of the accident.
After being badly injured in an accident, such as a traumatic amputation to the arm, you develop PTSD.

It’s important to note that not all incidents of an accident at work leading to a work injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, will form the basis of a valid personal injury claim. It needs to be proven that negligence occurred.

For more information on claiming after a serious accident at work, please contact our team on the number above.

What Evidence Could Help Prove Your Work Related PTSD Claim?

There are several pieces of evidence that could help strengthen your claim by proving that you experienced harm due to your employer breaching their duty of care. For example:

Medical records, such as a psychologist’s report, test results, and scans.
A diary outlining your treatment, symptoms and mental condition after the accident.
CCTV footage or footage from a personal device that shows the accident.
The contact details of potential witnesses who could later give a statement. However, a claim can still proceed if there were no witnesses to an accident.
A copy of the incident report from the workplace’s accident book.

A solicitor from our panel can support you in gathering or requesting evidence as part of a claim. To learn more about this service, and others they could offer, please do not hesitate to contact our team of advisors.

What Could You Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

After a successful personal injury claim for a work injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, you may be awarded compensation under up to two heads of claim, which are:

Special damages, which account for financial losses that come from injuries. For example, you may need to take time off work to recover from the harm you experienced, causing you to sustain a loss of earnings. Compensation for this monetary loss could be awarded under special damages, provided evidence is given to prove the loss, such as payslips.
General damages, which compensate for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, both physical and psychological. As mentioned, you can claim for psychological damage alone, physical injuries alone, or both together.

Injuries can be valued using a combination of medical evidence and Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG lists guideline compensation brackets, some of which we have used to create the table below. It is important not to take any figures as a guarantee of what you could receive from a successful claim, as settlements differ from case to case.

Compensation Table

INJURY	SEVERITY	NOTES	COMPENSATION
Multiple Very Severe Injuries with Financial Losses	Very Severe	A settlement compensating for the impact of multiple very severe injuries and the monetary expenses incurred as a result, such as lost income, medical bills, and care costs.	Up to and above £1,000,000
Paralysis	Tetraplegia	Factors that have a bearing on the award given include the presence of a psychological impact, as well as the person's age.	£324,600 to £403,990
	Paraplegia	Factors that can influence the award given can include depression, age, and life expectancy.	£219,070 to £284,260
Leg	Amputation (i)	Cases where both legs are lost above the knee are included in this bracket.	£240,790 to £282,010
	Amputation (ii)	Both legs are amputated below the knee.	£201,490 to £270,100
Arm Amputation	Loss of One Arm (i)	A person with full awareness is reduced to a state of helplessness that is considerable in nature.	Not less than £137,160
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	Severe	Injuries in this bracket affect all aspects of life in a negative way and prevent the person from functioning at the same level as they did prior to the trauma.	£59,860 to £100,670
	Moderately Severe	A better prognosis is achieved due to the person recovering after receiving professional help. However, a significant disability is still likely for the foreseeable future.	£23,150 to £59,860
	Moderate	The person will have made a significant recovery. There may be ongoing issues but these aren't majorly disabling.	£8,180 to £23,150
	Less Severe	A mostly full recovery within a couple of years with only symptoms of a minor nature continuing after a longer period.	£3,950 to £8,180
Facial Disfigurement	Very Severe	A very disfiguring cosmetic effect, and the person will have a severe psychological reaction.	£29,780 to £97,330

For a personalised estimate of how much you could be awarded in compensation following a successful personal injury claim, please get in touch on the number above.

How No Win No Fee Solicitors Could Help You With A PTSD Claim

A solicitor from our panel could extend a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) offer to you if you have a valid claim. A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee contract where you do not pay a fee to your solicitor for their services:

Upfront.
During the case.
If your case fails.

Your solicitor will deduct a success fee if your claim is successful. This will be a percentage of the compensation awarded to you. You would agree to the percentage with your solicitor in advance, but it is capped by the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.

How To Reach Out To Us

You could receive a free consultation and assessment of your case if you get in touch with an advisor from our team. They can discuss whether you’re eligible to claim for a psychological work injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. If you are, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel who could begin working on your case.

For more information, you can:

Enquire about a claim online
Call 020 3870 4868
Use the live chat option below.

Advice On How To Claim For Work Injury Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder