Personal Injury: Stressing the point

Here's a controversial claim - Psychiatric claims are probably the most divisive kind of claim in personal injury litigation. Writing in Legal Week, David Platt gives his view on recent judgments seen in this controversial area of personal injury litigation.

"On one hand, their supporters view the recoverability of such claims as an acknowledgement of the breadth and humanity of the common law, denying any distinction between physical and mental injury. They believe tortfeasors and employers should pay for the consequences of their actions, rather than be deflected by oldfashioned views over what used to be termed ‘moral fibre’ — or so the argument goes. And on the other hand, detractors regard the way in which psychiatric claims have played out as the worst example of the compensation culture in practice. The ‘Dianafication’ of our society and our recent cultural relativism has arguably led to an obsession with self and an inability to find internal solutions for our own problems. " more..