All That You Need To Know About Psychiatric Injury And Claims

    When you witness any death or serious injury of your co-worker, or when your loved ones die you will experience severe stress, depression, grief, anxiety which can be very intense. But, in the eyes of the law, it is not possible enough to justify or claim for mental harm or any psychiatric injury as they don’t accept them. You can claim for compensation under the law for psychiatric injury only if, you are suffered by a psychiatric condition and, diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Here we will see the process, who can claim and, how it can be done.  

    Psychiatric Injury

    Psychiatric illness due to accidents or any other trauma falls into three categories like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and adjustment disorder. If you are experiencing these symptoms, then it means you are suffering from psychiatric illness. Psychiatric illness can cause insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, agoraphobia, and nightmares about the accident and so on.

    Who Can Claim?

    Mental harm is more or less related to bullying, harassment or stress in the workplace. It may also arise, due if a person witnesses any injury or death in the workplace. Outside of your workplace, you can claim for mental harm if you witness an accident or involved in an accident of any sort. You can claim for mental harm that is dealt under Wrong acts of 1958. If it involves a motor vehicle, the claim is dealt under the Transport Accident act of 1986. You need to look for the best injury lawyer in Baton Rouge to get the court to consider the claim when

    –    The mental harm was due to sudden shock.

    –    The claimant witnessed the traumatic event

    –    There has to be any relationship between the victim and claimant

    –    Any pre-existing relationship between the claimant and the defendant.

    You can claim for mental harm, if you are injured, witnessed an accident, family members like the parent, spouse or children of the victim, or even a stranger who witnesses the accident. The claim can be further processed only if a psychiatrist diagnoses them and proves that the victim is undergoing psychiatric illness.

    The Process

    To claim damage for mental harm, there has to be someone who has done a fault and, a negligence case has to be proven against them.  For example, in a workplace, the defendant can be an employer or a fellow employee. In the non-workplace situation, it can be a driver who caused the accident. The claimant should demonstrate –

    –    A duty of care- Duty of care owed by the defendant

    –    Causation – psychiatric injury caused by the defenders’ breach.

    Compensation for mental harm requires a lot of struggles as it is not as straightforward as claiming for physical injury. The success for any mental claim solely depends on the duty of care and, causation explained by the victim. It is always better to check for legal advice before proceeding further.

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