*You can also browse our support articles here >. Judgement for the case White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire. Programme for stress management. The later case Hambrook v Stoke Bros, highlights a number of other issues relating to duty of care and further developed claims for nervous shock .In this case, damages were awarded even though the person suffering nervous shock did not witness the incident, but was close by, and the shock was suffered as a result of fear, not for her own safety, but that of her child. The plaintiffs in the case were police officers who suffered psychiatric injury after witnessing the Hillsborough stadium disaster. Many of the 1.3 million residents of South Yorkshire have had enough. Appeal from White, Frost and others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and others HL 3-Dec-1998 No damages for Psychiatric Harm Alone The House considered claims by police officers who had suffered psychiatric injury after tending the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy. The very moment Smith was being thrown off the van by the wind, Robertson did not in fact see what happened as he was driving. The injuries were psychiatric, being suffered when they witnessed a crash from the ground. In my view the only sensible general strategy for the courts is to say thus far and no further. The 2003 decision of Fletcher v Commissioners for Public Works clearly demonstrates this point. More news from across Yorkshire Held: The general rules restricting the recovery of damages for pure psychiatric harm applied to the plaintiffs claims as employees. He further considered that, such a proximity relationship or close tie of love and affection might exist between the family members or friends. Top Tier Firm Rankings. His brother in law and his nephew also had been present in the football ground who was watching the live match from the terrace. He claimed damages from the respondent for contributory negligence of other officers in failing to come to his assistance. The Irish courts have been much more responsive in allowing recovery for nervous shock. Interestingly, it was also stated the purpose of the visit was to identify the body and not to aid the injured or rescue victims as in other compensation cases. The defendants resisted saying that the injury alleged, the development of pleural plaques, was yet insufficient as damage to found a claim. In this case, the claimant argued that he was entitled to recover damages for psychiatric injury as he satisfied all the additional criteria for recovery which have been laid down in the case of Alcock[38]. The plaintiff sought medical advice and was told there was a risk that he could contract mesothelioma. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. Moreover, a rescuer in relation to whom physical injury was not reasonably foreseeable could not recover damages for psychiatric injury sustained by witnessing, or participating in the aftermath of, an accident which had caused death or injury to others; such rescuers were to be categorised as secondary victims, and so would have to meet the conditions specified by Lord Oliver in Alcock. The outcome of the Frost v Chief Constable Of South Yorkshire Police case, in which the House of Lords decided that the plaintiffs ( police officers) who, as a result of assisting the victims of the Hillsborough disaster ,which had been caused by negligence,( for which the Chief Constable was liable) , were not entitled to damages for nervous shock , either because their employment relationship gave rise to duties which were not owed to strangers, nor as rescuers , I feel gives credence to this statement by Lord Steyn . See para 1.5 n 14 below. The children had severe head and face injuries, concussion and fractures. More news from across Yorkshire Before discussing the above cases, it is essential to give a brief outline of the term nervous shock and its history. During a major football match in the Hillsborough ground, one part of the football stadium was crashed because the South Yorkshire police allowed an excessively large number of spectators in that part of the stadium which was already full. The House of Lords reversed the Court of Appeal decision in Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1997] 1 All ER 540, which had found that the plaintiffs were primary victims, as rescuers. All of them were connected in various ways . They would allow claims for pure psychiatric damage by mere bystanders: see (1997) 113 LQR 410, 415. Firstly shock had to occur as a result of what the plaintiff witnessed from his / her unaided senses .This required that the plaintiffs be close to the event. of Ireland (1884) illustrate that even though no physical injury occurred, the plaintiff was clearly in physical danger and therefore was allowed recovery. *595 Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police. The claimants (C) were all police officers who had been on duty within Hillsborough Stadium during the eponymous disaster, in which 95 Liverpool FC fans were killed and many others injured. The case centred upon the liability of the police for the nervous shock suffered in consequence of the events of the Hillsborough disaster . Recovery, on the other hand, for a secondary victim is differentiated and is much more restricted. The law on recovery of damages for psychiatric illness is entirely based on common law. The new chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has shared her "incredible pride" at leading the force. Facts. . The defendant argued that, there was no negligence on his part as far as the claimants psychiatric illness was concerned. The secondary victims must be close to the accident both in terms of time and place. The case of Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire[22]is the best example which provided the criteria for recovery of psychiatric injury claims by the secondary victims. 4 policeman (Ps) sued R (chief officer responsible at Hillsborough) for causing them nervous shock through his negligence in allowing the accident to occur. Among all the claimants, thirteen people lost either their relatives or friends because of death. At common law the secondary victims (like the bystanders or spectators) who suffer psychiatric illness as a result of witnessing a defendant negligently endangering or injuring others who are unrelated to them in love and affection, cannot recover. It was agreed between the parties that the only issue was whether they could satisfy the criterion of . Similarly there are some other cases where the claimants were not actually present at the scene of the accident but the court still held the defendant liable for negligently inflicting psychaitric injury to the claimants. HL dismissed their claims since they were suffering extreme grief, not a psychiatric illness. However, Mr. Bankes, Atkin and Sargant L.JJ. It is of paramount importance that the law enforcement Two recent nervous shock cases in Ireland, Fletcher v Commissioners for Public Works [2003] I.L.R.M.94 and Packenham v Irish Ferries Limited [2004] will be discussed , concluding that in Ireland , a policy approach has been adopted based on a standard set of criteria. You should not treat any information in this essay as being authoritative. The boy screamed loud enough and tried to take his foot out the cars wheel by kicking the car with the other foot. This principle was later applied in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police. hYn86 ,tV!%TvIrD9f%E0jBA%r`$)8 He had returned to work, but again, did . Held: If a police officer owes a duty of care to . . Others failed the close ties of love and affection . The second issue was- whether the defendant owes a duty of care to the claimant not to inflict any kind of physical injury or harm to himself. foreseeability of psychiatric shock needed to be considered. The judge found in favour of ten out of the plaintiffs and against six of them. It was the case of King v Phillips[44] in which the claimant having suffered psychiatric illness failed to establish a claim against the defendant as the court considered that the victim was far away from the accident. Lord Steyn and Lord Hoffmann, Lord Browne-Wilkinson Gazette 13-Jan-1999, [1999] 1 All ER 1, [1999] 2 AC 455, [1998] UKHL 45, [1999] ICR 216, [1998] 3 WLR 1509, [1999] IRLR 110, (1999) 45 BMLR 1 House of Lords, Bailii England and Wales Citing: Appeal from Frost and Others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and Others CA 31-Oct-1996 The distinction normally made between primary and secondary victims claiming damages for shock in witnessing a terrible event does not apply to employees who were obliged by their contract to be present. The House of Lords ' Cases In any action for damages in the tort of negligence, the plaintiff has to An action for negligence was brought into the court against the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,100],'swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',114,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-3-0'); Cited by: Cited Keen v Tayside Contracts OHCS 26-Feb-2003 The claimant sought damages for post traumatic stress disorder. Lord Jauncey[32] took the view that such a categorization would be illogical as well as arbitrary. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. This essay aims to provide a critical evaluation of the common law duty of care for negligently inflicted nervous shock in the context of the above statement by Lord Steyn. They claimed that because they were rescuers they should be treated as primary victims. Case Summary Sometimes, the policy consideration came on the way of the secondary victims as an obstacle which did not let the courts give decisions in their favour. He then decided to leave Gotham for a while after having a parent's association, and later the police, on his case (which resulted in Gordon becoming alcoholic and cheating on his wife) and had to shift his focus on the countryside, spending most of his time in scouts camps, wearing a scout chief uniform over his Batsuit, to cover his identity as the Batman. Mental Health of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors. In my opinion, this case illustrates a change of approach in relation to nervous shock recovery. The appellants who had been present at the stadium during the match but failed in their action because they could not establish the fact that the primary victims were sufficiently close to them. Reference this .Cited Rothwell v Chemical and Insulating Co Ltd and Another CA 26-Jan-2006 Each claimant sought damages after being exposed to asbestos dust. The Law Commission Report, Liability for Psychiatric Illnesses, McLaughlin v O Brian (1983) AC 410 310 AT 407. Held: (Smith LJ dissenting) The . On August 18, 1955, the defendant, namely Mr. Sanderson went to the garage along with the claimant and his son for the purpose of collecting his car as they had decided to go out for holiday. He was a road worker instructed to attend by the defendant immediately after a terrible accident. In the case of Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police[5], the court considered the post traumatic disorder to be a recognizable psychiatric injury. . However, considering the surrounding circumstances of the present case (King v Phillips), McNair J. Info: 3380 words (14 pages) Essay [45] Cases and Commentary on Tort, by Barbara Harvey & John Marston, 5th Edition. Cited Hambrook v Stokes Brothers CA 1925 The defendants employee left a lorry at the top of a steep narrow street unattended, with the engine running and without having taken proper steps to secure it. [69] As per Stephenson LJ [1981] 1 All ER 809 at page 823. Secondly, C argued that they fell within the ambit of primary victims, and should thus be permitted to succeed with an ordinary claim in negligence. A number of claimants had witnessed the horrific scenes on the television or had been informed by a third party. As a result, the claimant suffered from a nervous shock. Initially Alcock was not worried about his brother in law as he believed that he would be watching the match from another stand of the stadium which was safe. Byrne v Southern and Western RY .Co. [17] As per Mr. Bankes, Atkin and Sargant L.JJ [1925] 1 K.B 141 at page 142. Positive/Neutral Judicial Consideration . The Court of Appeal's judgment has been discussed at some length by the present authors in an earlier article, "Nervous Shock, Rescuers and Employees - Primary or Secondary Victims?" [1998] SLJS 121. If it was not reasonably forseeable then the defendant owes no duty of care to the claimant and there is no liability for negligence on the part of defendant. [70] As per Griffith LJ [1981] 1 All ER 809 at page 829. Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1991] UKHL 5, [1992] 1 AC 310 is a leading English tort law case on liability for nervous shock (psychiatric injury). Regretted Page v Smith HL 12-May-1995 The plaintiff was driving his car when the defendant turned into his path. At that time she was three of four months advanced in pregnancy. There are many examples where it has been seen that a person after sustaining a genuine shock could not recover damages for psychiatric illness only because of being failure to establish the fact that there was sufficient close relationship with the primary victims. II. Consequently, actions brought by the potential claimants or the victims of psychiatric illness have often been unsuccessful for a number of reasons despite of having been suffered genuine recognized psychiatric injury[1]. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas. .Cited Taylor v A Novo (UK) Ltd CA 18-Mar-2013 The deceased had suffered a head injury at work from the defendants admitted negligence. The facts of this case are as follows, the plaintiff, Mr. So, in this situation- Singleton LJ. .Cited Zurich Insurance Plc UK Branch v International Energy Group Ltd SC 20-May-2015 A claim had been made for mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos, but the claim arose in Guernsey. Subsequently, she learnt from a bystander that one of her children have sustained injury by that running motor lorry. The case Alcock v Chief Constable of Yorkshire Police relates to claims brought by Alcock and several other claimants after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Only full case reports are accepted in court. Frost and Others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and Others (1996) The Times, 6 November, CA. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire. While backing his car out of the garage, the defendant ran over the feet of the little boy which caused him injuries. [39] As per Cazalet LJ. Cited Malcolm v Broadhurst QBD 1970 The principle of foreseeability of psychiatric injury is subject to the qualification that, where the psychiatric injury suffered by the plaintiff is consequential upon physical injury for which the defendant is responsible in law, the defendant . At the trial, Branson J. took the opinion that, the claimant will not be entitled to establish a claim for nervous shock and recover any kind of damages if she had not suffered the shock through the fear of her own safety. The claimants (C) were all police officers who had been on duty within Hillsborough Stadium during the eponymous disaster, in which 95 Liverpool FC fans were killed and many others injured. The Greatorex v Greatorex and another[37]is another case in which the question arose whether a defendant owes any duty of care towards the claimant for not causing him a psychiatric injury by self inflicted injuries. 12 White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police ibid. Two of the plaintiffs were spectators in the ground, but not in the pens where the disaster occurred, the remainder of the plaintiffs learned of the disaster through . .Cited Barber v Somerset County Council HL 1-Apr-2004 A teacher sought damages from his employer after suffering a work related stress breakdown. It was agreed between the parties that the only issue was whether they could satisfy the criterion of . Another appellant, namely Robert Alcock, was present on the ground during the football match and witnessed the whole disaster from the west stand of the stadium. The plaintiff worried excessively and developed reactive anxiety neurosis, a psychiatric illness. In the case of Mcloughlin v O Brian[18], Lord Wilberforce[19] took the view that, the reasonable foreseeability should be the only criteria to determine the defendants liability towards the class of person to whom the duty of care might be owed not to inflict any psychiatric injury through nervous shock sustained by reason of physical injury or peril to another. Take a look at some weird laws from around the world! The married mother-of-one began her policing career in 1998 with Humberside Police and joined South Yorkshire Police in 2017 as Assistant Chief Constable. He submitted that the court must take into account the decision given by the House of Lords in the case of Bourhill v Young[59]before reaching its final decision in the present case. Only Parliament could take such a step. The plaintiff, Mr Smith was deemed to be a primary victim, since he was involved in the accident and risked personal injury. In this case, the claimant-namely Mr. McCarthy also lost his half brother in the Hillsborough disaster. Although, according to the guidelines of television broadcasting, none of the television channels highlighted any scenes that relate to the dying or suffering of the spectators in that disaster[24]. Before making any decision, you must read the full case report and take professional advice as appropriate. Finally, the secondary victim is required to satisfy the court that his psychiatric illness was a direct result of witnessing or hearing of the traumatic event or its immediate aftermath[26]. During the course of the disaster, scenes were broadcasted live on the television. All of the aforementioned cases demonstrate clearly that claims relating to nervous shock are indeed highly complex and, in my opinion, some of the outcomes seriously flawed. Due to his death, Rough was also very distressed which resulted in a psychiatric illness. Although the policy of the court seems to pose a substantial barrier or obstacle to the success of claims of this sort, but the court has justified this policy by showing an intention to restrict wide range of potential claimants who can bring successful action. swarb.co.uk is published by David Swarbrick of 10 Halifax Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 2AG. The distinction between primary victim and secondary victim was made in the Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, where all claimants were secondary victims. So, it is the secondary victims who are required to prove the fact that he has sustained a psychiatric injury because the person with whom he is in a close relationship has in fact suffered from a severe physical injury. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. The Court of Appeal held that no claim could be brought by a secondary victim for psychiatric injury caused by a separate horrific event removed in time from the original negligence, accident or first horrific event. However, an action was brought by the mother for psychiatric injury against the defendant. This chapter considers the landmark decision in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 AC 310 concerning liability for psychiatric injury, or 'nervous shock'. /Length 13 0 R
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