£250,000 Mental Health Compensation Payout For A Psychiatric Injury – Case Study

By Jop Anderson. Last Updated 15th November 2023. In this guide, we will discuss a case study regarding personal injury claims payouts for a psychiatric injury. In it, we provide information on who could potentially claim a mental health negligence compensation payout. We also give details on the biggest compensation payout in the UK and explain how depression compensation payouts in the UK could be calculated. If you’re considering making a mental health injury claim, this psychiatric injury claims guide could help you. We offer up-to-date guidance on mental health compensation payouts in the UK for 2022 claims, and show you how psychiatric injury compensation amounts could vary depending on how you’ve suffered. We offer guidance on claiming for injuries to mental health from medical negligence, and mental health compensation payouts for PTSD too.

If you’re considering claiming compensation for mental health injuries, or would like to know ‘how is compensation calculated?’ for such claims, this guide could be useful to you.

If you would like to speak to an advisor about your potential claim, get in touch using the details that follow.

• Call 0800 073 8801
• Contact us online for a call back
• Use our live webchat at the bottom of the screen.

Select A Section

• Psychiatric Injury Compensation Case Study
• Mental Health Injury Claims Criteria
• Mental Health Compensation Calculator – Calculating Compensation For Mental Health
• Claim Compensation For Mental Health Injuries With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
• Helpful Links Relating To Personal Injury Claims Payouts For A Psychiatric Injury

Psychiatric Injury Compensation Case Study

In this case study, we are going to take a look at a personal injury claim, that resulted in a £250,000 payout for a psychiatric injury. While this mental health compensation payout seems significant, it is not the biggest compensation payout in the UK.

The victim was a 54-year-old man, who fell more than 30 feet from scaffolding while he was working, performing an inspection. The victim sustained some serious injuries, inclining fractures to his lower back and other bones, as well as a very severe blow to the head.

Although the multiple fractures the claimant sustained all seemed to heal properly, he was left with two ongoing problems. Firstly, he suffered chronic pain disorder in the lower part of his leg. Severe enough to prevent him from working, and also stopping him from taking part in his usual hobbies and pastimes. Secondly, he suffered a psychological injury in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The claimant engaged a solicitor to process a personal injury claim for him. This claim was successful, and he was eventually paid an amount of compensation totalling a quarter of a million pounds.

What Accident Led To The Claimant Suffering PTSD?

The victim, in this case, had been working at the top of a high scaffolding tower, inspecting the work of another member of the workforce. He fell 30 feet to the ground. The fall caused several fractures, including one in the vertebra of his lower back.

The road to recovery was long and painful, with the victim immobilised for a long time after the accident. He was unable to work, and unable to get involved with family activities, and also had to stop his hobbies and interests. Although the injuries did eventually heal, he was left with chronic pain syndrome in one leg, and the entire experience had been so traumatic, that he now suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The victim contacted a personal injury lawyer, and arranged for them to process a psychiatric injury compensation claim on his behalf.

How Did Personal Injury Solicitors Help This Claimant?

The personal injury solicitor, in pursuit of psychological trauma compensation, contacted the victim’s employer in order to try and negotiate for a settlement. The premise for this claim, was that the work-related injury was a result of the company that employed the claimant, failing in their Health & Safety duties. Specifically, not ensuring that a person working at height was provided with proper training and safety equipment.

Mental Health Injury Claims Criteria

Before we discuss how much compensation for psychological damage a claim could bring, let us explore who could make a claim.

To be able to make a psychological damage compensation claim, you must demonstrate that your mental injuries were caused by a relevant third party breaching the duty of care they owed you.

Various parties owe you a duty of care in daily life. Some of these parties include:

• Employers – Every employer owes their employees a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect their health and safety while at work and performing work-related duties. This is as per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).
• Road users – All road users have a duty of care towards others on the road. They must use the roads in a way that does not cause harm to themselves or others. They should also follow the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the rules and guidance within the Highway Code.
• Occupiers- Parties that are in control of public premises, such as libraries, public parks, and restaurants, for example, owe members of the public a duty of care. They must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those using that space for its intended purposes. This is per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

If you would like to learn more about your eligibility to claim or for a free valuation of the mental health compensation payout you could potentially receive, please do not hesitate to get in touch with an advisor.

Mental Health Compensation Calculator – Calculating Compensation For Mental Health

If you have experienced an impact on your mental health and a claim you make is successful, your settlement could include different heads of claim, general damages, and special damages. General damages compensate you for your pain and suffering caused by the harm sustained.

When calculating the general damages portion of claims, legal professionals could look to a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a publication that provides guideline compensation awards for different types of harm. We have created a table below using figures from this publication. Whilst the table could be a useful alternative to using a mental health compensation calculator, please only use the figures as a guide.

Type of injury	Severity of injury	Compensation amount
Psychiatric damage generally	Severe (a) - A profound impact on the person's ability to function.	£54,830 to £115,730
Psychiatric damage generally	Moderately severe (b) - Some improvement with professional help and a better prognosis.	£19,070 to £54,830
Psychiatric damage generally	Moderate (c) Some improvement in symptoms would already have taken place and the prognosis would be good.	£5,860 to £19,070
Psychiatric damage generally	Less severe (d) - Recovery would be nearly complete with only minor symptoms remaining.	£1,540 to £5,860
Post-traumatic stress disorder	Severe (a) - This would severely impact every area of the claimant's life.	£59,860 to £100,670
PTSD	Moderately severe (b) - Severe impacts on the person's life but with a better prognosis.	£23,150 to £59,860
Post-traumatic stress disorder	Moderate (c) - Significant impact but with some improvement, and a good prognosis.	£8,180 to £23,150
Post-traumatic stress disorder	Less severe (d) - any ongoing symptoms would not be grossly disabling.	£3,950 to £8,180

Special Damages 

The second head of claim mentioned – special damages – could compensate you for the out-of-pocket expenses caused by the harm sustained. Examples of potential losses that could be claimed back under special damages could include counselling costs and the costs of travelling to medical appointments, for example.

Should you wish to obtain further guidance on what your own case could be worth and what damages could make up your claim if it succeeds, please call our team. One of our advisors would be happy to talk to you about this.

Claim Compensation For Mental Health Injuries With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Legal help can be very beneficial when making psychological injury claims. If you are interested in claiming compensation for mental health injuries, one of our solicitors may be able to help. Our solicitors have years of experience in mental health claims, and take on cases from across the country. This means that you aren’t limited to working with a local professional. 

Our solicitors also work on a No Win No Fee basis. If you choose to work with one of our solicitors, they may offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which means you won’t be expected to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their work. Similarly, if your claim is not successful, then you won’t pay your solicitor for their work.

However, if your claim is successful, then your solicitor will be due a success fee. They deduct this straight from your compensation as a small percentage which is limited by a legislative cap. This helps to ensure that the majority of what you receive stays with you. 

For more help with making a mental health claim, or to find out if you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors, contact our team today:

• Call us on 0800 073 8801
• Use the live chat feature
• Contact us online

Helpful Links Relating To Personal Injury Claims Payouts For A Psychiatric Injury

If you would like to learn more about post-traumatic stress disorder, what it is, how it is caused and how it is treated, the National Health Service has produced this guide:

NHS information about post-traumatic stress disorder

There is a national UK support website for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder, and it can be found here:

UK support website for post-traumatic stress disorder

At the link below, you will find a comprehensive guide to the legal process of making a compensation claim for a psychological injury:

A guide to claiming for a psychological injury

At the link below, you will find a comprehensive guide to the legal process of making a compensation claim for a back injury at work:

A guide to claiming for a back injury at work

Thank you for reading this guide to personal injury claims payouts for a psychiatric injury. Now we’ve explained about the biggest compensation payout in the UK, and offered guidance on how to secure a mental health compensation payout, why not get in touch with our team to start your claim?