Psychiatric injury damages disallowed

Monk v PC Harrington Ltd and others • Davies Lavery – The Brief • September 2008

An employee who witnessed a serious accident at work was not entitled to recover damages for psychiatric injury. Case law distinguishes between claimants who are regarded as “primary victims” and others who are classified as “secondary victims”. Primary victims are entitled to recover damages for psychiatric illness provided that injury to them was reasonably foreseeable. Secondary victims must satisfy certain conditions before they are entitled to recover.