By Peter Trowell

I recently settled a claim for a family in Brentford who suffered shock when a crane toppled over and went through the roof of their house in the early hours of the morning. They suffered no physical injury, but to be awoken suddenly with people screaming at you to get out of your house in case it collapsed was truly frightening.

It does sound a bit odd to have a personal injury claim when there is no injury, but psychological trauma is an injury. After all the mind can be damaged just as the body can. Of course, as with a physical injury a psychological injury can be cured, although the healing process might be lengthy.

In the case to which I refer above, one of the children in the family was more affected by the trauma than the others, in as much as it took several years before she would walk past a crane without fear of it falling on her. The speed with which a person might recover is dependant on many factors. One person may perceive an event to be traumatic when another may not.

The causes are many and include road traffic accidents, physical attack, crime, natural disasters etc. The level of damages that might be awarded varies greatly depending on the individual and the cause. However it is encouraging to know that psychological trauma (often referred to as post traumatic stress disorder) is a recognized illness and the courts will award damages in appropriate cases.

If you have been affected by an incident that you think may have caused psychological injury get in touch and speak to one of our experts to find out whether you can make a compensation claim and more importantly how we can help with rehabilitation.