Your employer has a duty to ensure that you are protected mentally and physically whilst you are at work. High-pressure work environments where employers have failed to put in place enough safeguards to protect you from physical or psychological injuries can lead to the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you have been diagnosed with PTSD, and you believe your employer is at fault for this, you may be able to bring a claim for compensation against them. On this page, you will find general information to consider before making your claim, together with details of how our team can help you.
Here at McCarthy + Co, our highly experienced team of personal injury solicitors have many years of experience in assisting people whose lives have been severely affected by negligent behaviour on the part of their employers. By speaking to one of our legal experts we can quickly help you to ascertain whether you might have a case against them, then guide you towards winning the compensation that you deserve.
Bringing a workplace PTSD compensation claim
Certain work environments pose a far higher risk in terms of the potential for staff to develop PTSD symptoms. Members of An Garda Síochána, the military, fire brigade, and paramedic service, for example, all place themselves in high-risk, traumatic situations on a regular basis. Without adequate care and support in these roles, a PTSD diagnosis may be inevitable for those who are involved in a particularly upsetting and traumatic incident.
However, it is not uncommon for people to develop PTSD due to working in other environments such as schools, hospitals, offices, factories, and retail environments. Below you will find some scenarios that can be the cause of triggering PTSD. If any of these situations sound familiar, our team might be able to take on your case and help you to bring a compensation claim.
- Failure to follow health & safety procedure – all employers, including those who operate in dangerous situations such as tackling house fires or responding to emergency requests, have a duty to protect their staff. Failure to provide adequate health & safety training or failure to follow legal procedures can result in staff being exposed to situations they are ill-equipped to deal with, causing the onset of PTSD.
- Unreasonable demands placed on you by management – you may have experienced a situation where your employers placed you under an unreasonable amount of pressure to deliver unrealistic levels of work, causing significant stress and a degrading effect on your mental well-being.
- Bullying and harassment from colleagues – you may have experienced deliberate attempts by your colleagues to undermine your confidence, ability, and well-being through discriminatory behaviour and/or recurrent bullying.
- Placing you in an unnecessarily dangerous situation – PTSD can also be brought on by unexpected, unnecessary, or criminal occurrences such as assaults at work parties or events, being asked to use dangerous or faulty equipment which caused you injury, being involved in a car accident with a colleague who was driving dangerously or being asked to carry out risky duties that you are not trained for.
If you have been diagnosed with PTSD, and you believe your condition is caused by a negligent employer, you should take whatever steps you can to collect evidence regarding your situation. This might include written testimony from colleagues or other witnesses, photographs of where your injury took place, or recordings/CCTV footage of the incidents. Once you have collected as much evidence as possible, you should then seek the advice of a specialist personal injury solicitor, who will investigate your claim, establish if you have a case, then guide you on its likely outcome and how much compensation you might be able to win.
Useful resources
Some links relating to PTSD that you may find useful.
- WebMD – What is PTSD
- BBC – Why long-term workplace trauma is a real phenomenon
- Oxford Academic – Work-related post-traumatic stress disorder
- Center for Workplace Mental Health – Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
About McCarthy + Co
With more than 30 years of experience in dealing with personal injury claims, McCarthy + Co. has experience in a wide variety of work-related compensation claims cases, including situations that caused staff to develop PTSD. We are a family-run business, and we pride ourselves on offering honest, impartial, and helpful advice.
Our offices are based in Dublin and Cork, but we have worked with clients throughout Ireland in locations ranging from Galway to Waterford. You can count on us for legal advice, guidance, and assistance on any form of personal injury.
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PTSD Compensation Claims
If you are suffering from PTSD, and you believe your employer is at fault, contact our solicitors today to make a start on your claim or gather more information. Call us on 1800 390 555 and an experienced member of staff will discuss your situation and potential next steps. You can also email on info@mccarthy.ie and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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