Psychological Injury Claims

Most people picture broken bones or whiplash when they think of an accident. But accidents cause emotional harm too. English law takes this seriously. Psychological injury is a real, compensable part of a personal injury claim.

This guide covers who can claim, how these claims work, and what they're worth.

What Counts As Psychological Injury

Not every bad feeling qualifies. To claim, you need a recognised, diagnosable psychiatric condition. Ordinary worry or short-lived grief doesn't count on its own.

Conditions that often follow an accident include:

• PTSD
• Anxiety disorders and panic attacks
• Depression
• Adjustment disorder
• Phobias linked to the accident, such as a fear of driving
• Sleep problems caused by the trauma

Symptoms can include flashbacks, constant alertness, mood swings, and trouble concentrating. Many people don't mention these symptoms. They think they should just move on. But early medical help matters. It aids recovery and can strengthen any claim, as the evidence section below explains.

Who Can Claim: Primary and Secondary Victims

The law splits claimants into two groups.

Primary Victims

If you were directly involved in the accident.

You can claim for psychological injury whether or not you were also hurt physically. In Page v Smith, the House of Lords ruled that a primary victim doesn't need to show psychiatric injury was foreseeable. They only need to show that some injury, physical or psychiatric, was foreseeable. This makes primary victim claims easier to establish.

Secondary Victims

If you saw an accident happen to someone else, often a loved one.

These claims face extra hurdles. Courts have long applied the test set out in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police. It requires close ties of love and affection with the injured person, presence at the scene or its immediate aftermath, and direct, unaided perception of the event.

This area changed in 2024. In Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the Supreme Court narrowed secondary victim claims.

Claimants must now witness a genuine "accident". For example, a sudden, external, unexpected event. Watching a loved one die or decline from an undiagnosed illness no longer counts, even if a doctor's negligence caused the missed diagnosis.

This makes secondary victim claims from clinical negligence much harder. Claims from witnessing a real accident, like a car crash, are unaffected.

How a Claim is Evidenced

A solicitor can't diagnose you. Your own account isn't enough on its own either. Claims rest on two things:

1. Medical records: GP notes, therapy records, and any treatment show your symptoms and when they started.
2. An independent expert report: A psychiatrist or psychologist assesses you, gives a diagnosis, and offers an opinion on cause, prognosis, and treatment needs.

This is why quick medical help matters. It creates a record your claim can rely on later. A long gap between the accident and your first mention of symptoms makes cause harder to prove, even when the injury is real.

If you need rehabilitation, such as CBT, your solicitor can often arrange and fund this early under the Rehabilitation Code. You don't need to wait for the claim to finish.

How Psychological Injury is Valued

Courts and solicitors value general damages using the Judicial College Guidelines. The 18th edition came out in April 2026. It raised the previous figures by about 8.3%, in line with inflation.

Current guideline brackets are roughly:

General Psychiatric Damage:

• Severe: £72,440–£152,900
• Moderately severe: £25,190–£72,440
• Moderate: £7,740–£25,190
• Less severe: £2,040–£7,740

PTSD (its own category):

• Severe: £79,080–£133,000
• Moderately severe: £30,580–£79,080
• Moderate: £10,810–£30,580
• Less severe: £5,220–£10,810

If you have both a physical and a psychological injury, each gets valued separately. The two figures are then combined, with an adjustment to avoid double-counting. You can also claim financial losses on top: therapy costs, lost earnings, and ongoing care.

These brackets are a guide, not a guarantee. Your case's value depends on its severity, prognosis, and medical evidence.

Time limits for claiming

You normally have three years to claim.

The clock starts on the date of the accident, or on your "date of knowledge" under section 14 of the Limitation Act 1980. Date of knowledge means the date you first knew, or should have known, that you had a significant injury caused by someone else's fault.

This matters for psychological injury as symptoms can build slowly. You might not recognise them as a medical condition until later.

So the three-year clock may start later than the accident date, depending on your circumstances. Courts can also allow a late claim in some cases. If you're not sure whether you're still in time, get advice rather than assume you've missed it.

Time Limits for Claiming

You normally have three years to claim.

The clock starts on the date of the accident, or on your "date of knowledge" under section 14 of the Limitation Act 1980. Date of knowledge means the date you first knew, or should have known, that you had a significant injury caused by someone else's fault.

This matters for psychological injury as ymptoms can build slowly. You might not recognise them as a medical condition until later.

So the three-year clock may start later than the accident date, depending on your circumstances. Courts can also allow a late claim in some cases. If you're not sure whether you're still in time, get advice rather than assume you've missed it.

No Win No Fee Psychological Injury Claims

We know that worrying about legal costs is the last thing you need when you’re already struggling with your mental health. That’s why we can handle most psychological injury claims on a No Win No Fee basis, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.

What this means for you:

• No upfront costs: You don’t pay anything to start your claim.
• No win, no fee: If your claim isn’t successful, you won’t pay our legal fees.
• A clear, capped success fee: If you win, a success fee is taken from your compensation. By law, it can’t be more than 25% of your compensation for pain, suffering and past losses, and we’ll agree the amount with you before we start.
• Protection against other costs: Where needed, we can arrange insurance to cover expenses such as medical reports, so you aren’t left out of pocket.

We’ll explain all of this clearly at the start, with no hidden charges, so you can focus on your recovery.