Unit 4 - Psychiatric Harm Model Answer

Psychiatric Harm Model Answer:

In order to claim to be successful the claimant has to have a "positive psychiatric illness", put simply the claimant must have a recognised medical condition, grief or distress are not enough. Once this is established the C is categorised as either primary or secondary victims. Primary victims are those that either suffer physical harm (Simmons v British Steel) or are at risk of suffering physical harm (Page v Smith). Primary victims arre owed a duty of care and they can claim for psychiatric harm, even if they suffer psychiatric harm when others would not (Page v Smith).

Secondary victims are people who have sufferered psychiatric harm after witnessing the incident or its immediate aftermath. It was established in McLoughlin v O'Brian that in order for the C to claim as a secondary victim, the psychiatric harm must be reasonable foreseeable. This was developed in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire where it was established that 4 criteria must be proved before it is held that a duty of care is owed to secondary victims.

Alock confirmed the test in McLoughlin v O'Brian, that first of all…