Psychological Damage Compensation

Can you sue social services for emotional distress?

If you or somebody you love has been the victim of abuse, and a failure by social services has worsened your suffering, you can claim compensation for psychological trauma. If the abuse happened when you were a child, you can still take legal action.

You can also make a claim if social services have wrongly accused you of abusive behaviour.

The most usual reasons for claims against social services are:

• Social workers’ negligence.
• Abuse in a care home.
• Abuse by a foster parent.
• A child being removed from their home without the legal process being followed.

Social services have a legal duty of care. If they have failed to uphold their duty to you or someone you love, please get in touch with our solicitors, who can talk to you about your rights.

How much compensation can you claim for work-related stress and anxiety?

By law, employers have a duty to ensure their employees’ health, safety, and welfare. Work-related stress is a serious health and safety issue, and employers must treat it in the same way as any other potential hazard.

Work-related stress can leave an employee unable to work. It can cause a range of physical symptoms, including headaches, insomnia and panic attacks. These symptoms can lead to long-term mental illness and physical conditions, including depression and heart disease.

Employers must take reasonable steps to identify risks to their employees and take measures to control those risks. They also have a legal duty to protect employees from discrimination at work and any unlawful behaviour that can cause stress.

Where an employee suffers from a long-term mental health condition, an employer must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the law to help them to be able to do their job. An example of a reasonable adjustment is arranging for an advocate to support them at work.

If you have been medically diagnosed with work-related stress and your employer is at fault, you may be able to claim compensation.

How much compensation can you claim for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

PTSD can occur after witnessing an extremely traumatic event such as a violent death. The symptoms of PSTD range widely and can include nightmares, flashbacks, inability to sleep and physical symptoms such as trembling and nausea.

Those who suffer from PTSD can find making a legal claim overwhelming, so our experienced solicitors make every effort to ensure the process is simplified.

How do you prove psychological injury?

You will need evidence to support your psychological injury claim, just as with all personal injury claims. This evidence must demonstrate how your mental health and quality of life has been impacted by what has happened to you.

Medical evidence is an essential basis for your psychological injury claim. If you have suffered a physical injury, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Evidence of a psychological injury can be collected subsequently by arranging a medical assessment from a psychologist or psychiatrist.  

Other useful psychological damage evidence: 

• A diary – Consider keeping a diary of your symptoms.
• Counselling or GP – If you are suffering mentally due to the incident, evidence of treatment or discussion with your GP or counselling.
• Witness statements – Collect the contact details of any witnesses so your solicitor can obtain statements.
• Photographs or camera footage of the incident.

Our personal injury solicitors can advise you what documents you need, and we can arrange a medical assessment to support your claim.

Can you claim psychological damage compensation?

If you have suffered a psychological injury that was somebody else’s fault, our experienced personal injury solicitors can help.

Our solicitors can handle your psychological injury compensation claim on a No Win, No Fee basis, so there is no financial risk to you if your claim is unsuccessful. We will ensure you receive the maximum amount of psychological damage compensation for your injury.

At Davisons, we assure you that we’ll provide regular updates on your psychological injury claim and address any inquiries you may have.