This course is aimed at practitioners who are new to the field of clinical negligence and will provide viewers with a practical discussion of the difficult and often misunderstood topic of psychiatric injury.
Psychiatric injuries caused as a result of clinical negligence can be equally, if not more debilitating than physical harm. However, as these injuries are not visible there is an overriding concern that they are easy to fake, which may explain why the current rules outlining what can and cannot be claimed for are both arbitrary and outdated.
This course delivered by experienced solicitor, lecturer and former NHS consultant Alison Joyce will ensure that practitioners recognise the severity of conditions such as anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and are capable of handling such cases in a sensitive manner.
Although claims for psychiatric injury are not restricted to those who have suffered physical harm, it is more difficult for secondary victims to make a claim. This course will discuss the stringent circumstances in which a claim can be made and what claimants must demonstrate in order to do so e.g. that they have sufficient ‘ties of love and affection’ with the primary victim, that there was a ‘shocking event’ and that they were ‘close in time or space’ to the incident.
If a claimant is able to prove breach of duty and causation they also must establish that they have suffered damage. This course will consider what does and does not constitute a recognised psychiatric injury for which a claim can be made.