Compensation for personal injury

It may be possible to bring a claim for personal injury in the civil courts where bullying has resulted in reasonably foreseeable psychiatric injury. It is important to control members’ expectations because such cases are complex, risky and very expensive. They usually involve severe injury and long-lasting damage to health and employment prospects. Reps should note that changes to the funding of personal injury claims brought in by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 are likely to severely limit the scope for future victims of workplace harm to fund this kind of claim. For more information see the LRD’s Law at work 2012.

Any member considering this kind of claim should take legal and medical advice as soon as possible. There is a deadline of three years for bringing personal injury claims in the civil courts but it is very important not to leave seeking advice until the last minute, especially as the member is likely to need expert help collecting witness evidence of the bullying, expert medical evidence of its effects, and financial evidence of the losses suffered.