[The concept of "compensation neurosis" in psychiatric expertise]

The concept of "compensation neurosis" in German civil and social law is subject to controversial considerations. Despite long-standing discussions it still remains unclear, whether "compensation neurosis" means a genuine psychiatric disorder, or whether it merely stands for a person who claims unjustified demands after having suffered a traumatic situation. The term "compensation neurosis" therefore is not to be used as a diagnosis in psychiatric expertise. Diagnosis should be made according to ICD-10 or DSM-IV-criteria. The patient's psychic and psychosocial impairments must be related to the severity of his trauma and to the history of his pretraumatic and posttraumatic psychic symptoms. To help estimate posttraumatic financial compensation a complete psychopathological and psychodynamic examination with detailed assessments of individual psychic impairments is essential in psychiatric expertise.