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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is shattering to endure. The emotional struggle, lack of sleep, inability to focus, and lingering anxieties can leave individuals feeling drained and isolated. Since 1895, Good & Murray Smith LLP has guided clients through the legal processes to recover compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.
PTSD arises when a person either experiences or witnesses a truly traumatic event, such as a serious car accident, a distressing incident at work, a physical attack, or the sudden death of a loved one. Sometimes these symptoms manifest right away, but in other cases they may emerge weeks, months, or even years later.
If you have experienced PTSD because of someone else’s fault or negligence, you may be entitled to bring a personal injury claim specifically for post-traumatic stress disorder.
A PTSD claim is a type of personal injury action seeking compensation for the psychological trauma and its effects on day-to-day living, relationships, and capacity to earn a livelihood. While many people who bring such a claim also have physical injuries, this is not strictly required. An individual who witnessed or experienced a harrowing event can pursue a claim if that experience caused emotional and mental harm severe enough to be classified as PTSD.
Symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks, depression, insomnia, recurring distressing images, trembling, nausea, anxiety, irritability, and inability to concentrate, or even self-harming behaviours. These challenges can drastically reduce your quality of life, impeding your ability to carry out tasks at work and at home.
When you pursue a PTSD claim for compensation, you are entitled to claim for the psychological damage itself, medical expenses you have borne, and any loss of earnings you have encountered or may face in the future.
PTSD Compensation Examples
Post-traumatic stress disorder can arise from any number of distressing events. The following situations can qualify for PTSD compensation:
A clear causal link between the traumatic event and your symptoms forms the foundation of a successful claim.
To pursue a PTSD claim in Ireland, it is vital to show the connection between a traumatic event and your psychological suffering. Equally essential is supporting medical documentation, typically from a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist. In certain claims, it may be necessary to demonstrate a related physical harm, but pure psychological injury cases also arise if the event was exceptionally traumatic.
Claims often include costs of therapy, medication, or other treatments. Loss of earnings may also feature if you cannot work or must take time away to recover. We strongly recommend engaging an experienced solicitor to help evaluate your case and build the most persuasive claim.
Post-traumatic stress disorder claims can be intricate, given the nature of psychological injury. Our firm has handled many PTSD cases and knows how to gather the right evidence to show the event’s link to your diagnosis.
Your first step is an in-depth discussion of what happened, your PTSD symptoms, and how these issues have affected your life. Our solicitors treat everything you share with absolute discretion and understanding.
Thorough evidence is at the heart of every PTSD claim. Your medical records must establish the diagnosis, and you may need additional documentation illustrating how PTSD has affected your work or finances. For instance, we might compile proof of lost wages or other expenses.
When the evidence is ready, we submit your post-traumatic stress claim to the Personal Injuries Resolution Board (formerly known as “PIAB”). If you have also sustained physical injuries in the same event, they will be included in the documentation.
Once the PIAB process is complete, either a settlement figure is proposed or, if necessary, we move on to negotiating with the other side or pursuing litigation.
The amount of compensation in a PTSD claim depends on the individual facts and the severity of your symptoms. The Personal Injury Guidelines suggest that moderate PTSD may be valued between €10,000 and €35,000, while severe cases might fall between €60,000 and €120,000. These ranges are subject to change. Minor cases attract awards of €500 to €10,000. Each case is evaluated on its own merits, taking account of how your personal and professional life has been disrupted, the potential duration of therapy, and whether your condition has permanently altered your well-being.
In most cases, the law specifies that you must bring a personal injury action within two years of the incident date or from the date you realised you suffered harm connected to that event. However, there can be exceptions, especially if the symptoms took time to emerge or if the injured person was under 18 at the time. Because time limits can be strict, we advise contacting Good & Murray Smith quickly once you suspect or confirm PTSD.
If your PTSD is caused by someone else, you can seek compensation. Confirming the relationship between the cause (such as a road collision or assault) and your resulting symptoms is a vital step in establishing your entitlement. If you are not fully certain, contacting an experienced solicitor to discuss your situation is often the best route to clarity.
Yes, it is possible, but the threshold is quite high. You must suffer from a recognised psychiatric illness, and have the medical reports to support that. You must show that someone deliberately acted in a manner so extreme that it caused you significant emotional harm. You must also prove that this distress seriously affected your mental health, demonstrating a clear link between the person’s conduct and your suffering.
Yes, in some cases, you can still claim if the symptoms of PTSD emerged much later. However, the legal time limit typically begins when you first became aware that your PTSD was linked to the traumatic event. Consulting a solicitor promptly can clarify your position.
Yes, you can. A claim for PTSD can be made even if there were no physical injuries, as long as the psychological trauma was caused by a specific event and can be supported by medical evidence.
Yes. If your employer failed to provide a safe environment or did not address known risks that led to the traumatic event, you could pursue a claim for PTSD arising from the workplace incident.
Yes. A parent or legal guardian can act as the child’s “Next Friend” to bring a PTSD claim on their behalf. The time limit for filing does not start until the child’s 18th birthday, but starting the process sooner is usually better for preserving evidence.
You can still make a claim, but the compensation may reflect the extent to which the traumatic event worsened your condition. Your solicitor will work with medical experts to demonstrate the specific impact of the incident on your mental health.
Yes. If medical negligence caused or contributed to a traumatic experience that resulted in PTSD, you may have grounds for a claim. This includes situations like botched procedures or distressing events during childbirth.
In certain circumstances, family members who have been severely affected by a loved one’s PTSD may bring a claim for nervous shock. This usually applies if they directly witnessed the traumatic event or its immediate aftermath.
At Good & Murray Smith LLP, we believe in assisting those with valid claims to seek the compensation they are entitled to. If you feel ready to speak with a solicitor experienced in post-traumatic stress claims, reach out to our office.
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If you’ve been injured and believe you may have a claim, don’t wait. Good & Murray Smith LLP is here to help. Contact us to arrange a consultation to review your case and guide you through the next steps.
