Psychiatric Injury Compensation Amounts (JC Guidelines)
Not every psychological injury following an accident meets the specific diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Anxiety disorders, depression, adjustment disorder, and phobias caused by an accident are all separately recognised and compensated under the Judicial College Guidelines, in their own “Psychiatric Damage Generally” category. This guide sets out those brackets. If your diagnosis is specifically PTSD, see our PTSD compensation amounts guide instead, as it’s valued on a different, generally higher scale reflecting the specific severity of that condition.
The Main Brackets
Severe Psychiatric Damage — £66,000 to £141,500
Reserved for cases with marked problems across multiple areas of the claimant’s life — relationships, work, and day-to-day functioning — combined with a poor prognosis for future recovery. Cases at the top of this bracket typically involve a claimant whose ability to cope with life and work has been severely affected, often with little realistic prospect of significant further improvement.
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage — £23,000 to £66,000
Covers significant problems similar to the severe category, but where the prognosis is more optimistic. Courts look closely at how the injury has affected the claimant’s ability to work, their relationships, and their prospects of recovery with appropriate treatment when placing a case within this bracket.
Moderate Psychiatric Damage — £7,150 to £23,000
Cases showing significant improvement by the time of trial, with a good prognosis for continued recovery. Relevant factors include how the injury affected the claimant’s ability to cope with life, education, and work; the impact on relationships; the extent of any treatment required; and how far that treatment has been effective.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage — £1,850 to £7,150
The level of the award will reflect the length of the period of disability and the extent to which daily activities and sleep were affected. Cases here typically involve a shorter-lived reaction to the accident that resolves well within one to two years, without significant lasting symptoms.
Common Causes
- Road traffic accidents causing driving anxiety, generalised anxiety, or a depressive episode short of full PTSD
- Workplace accidents or near-misses causing anxiety about returning to work or to a similar environment
- Slips, trips, and falls where the physical injury is minor but the psychological reaction is disproportionate — often in claimants with a pre-existing vulnerability
- Witnessing an accident involving someone else, without meeting the stricter legal tests for a PTSD or secondary-victim claim
- Medical negligence causing anxiety, depression, or adjustment difficulties short of a formal PTSD diagnosis
- A prolonged or difficult claims or recovery process contributing to or aggravating an existing psychological reaction
Factors That Move a Case Up or Down the Bracket
- Whether the condition has fully resolved, partly resolved, or is expected to be permanent
- The impact on the claimant’s ability to work, including any time off, reduced hours, or need to change role
- The effect on relationships, family life, and social functioning
- Whether the claimant has needed medication, counselling, or other treatment, and how effective that treatment has been
- Any pre-existing psychological vulnerability, and how the accident has interacted with it
- The quality and clarity of the medical evidence linking the diagnosis to the accident
Special Damages You May Also Be Able to Claim
- Lost earnings, past and future, where the condition has affected the claimant’s ability to work
- The cost of private counselling, CBT, or psychiatric treatment where NHS waiting times are long
- Medication costs
- Care and assistance from family members during periods when the claimant has struggled to function independently
- Travel costs to treatment and specialist appointments
Common Questions About Psychiatric Injury Compensation
What’s the difference between this and a PTSD claim?
PTSD is a specific diagnosis with its own diagnostic criteria and its own, generally higher, JC Guidelines bracket. This “psychiatric damage generally” category covers everything else — anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, and similar conditions — that a psychiatrist or psychologist diagnoses as caused by the accident but which doesn’t meet the specific PTSD criteria.
Do I need a psychiatrist’s diagnosis to claim, or is my GP’s note enough?
A GP’s note of “low mood” or “feeling anxious” after an accident is a helpful starting point but is rarely enough on its own to value a claim properly. A report from a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, confirming the diagnosis and linking it to the accident, is generally needed to place the case accurately within one of the brackets above.
I had anxiety before the accident. Can I still claim?
Yes. The “eggshell skull” principle means a pre-existing vulnerability doesn’t defeat a claim — the medical expert will assess the additional harm the accident caused on top of your pre-existing condition, and the case is valued on that additional harm.
Can I claim for psychiatric injury alongside a physical injury?
Yes, and this is the most common scenario. Psychiatric damage is valued separately from the physical injury and the two figures are added together as part of the overall claim, rather than one being absorbed into the other.
Related Guides
Compensation by Injury Type | UK Payout Amounts
How Much Compensation for Personal Injury? (JC Guidelines)
Personal Injury Compensation Calculators
Personal Injury Claims — UK No Win No Fee
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