Medical negligence and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is well recognised as a consequence of natural and man-made disasters, accidents and assaults. An increasing number of plaintiffs making claims for compensation alleging medical negligence complain of the symptoms of PTSD. Medical accidents such as anaesthetic awareness and stillbirths may be claimed as stressors and relatives may allege PTSD as a psychological injury following witnessing the death or suffering of a loved one. A series of cases will be presented. Many cases are entirely genuine but increasing media publicity has alerted potential plaintiffs and their legal advisers to the symptoms of PTSD which make evaluation of symptoms difficult for psychiatric experts. Psychometric tests exist to screen PTSD but research has shown that they can be falsified and it would be unwise to rely on such tests.