Northern Ireland’s police service wins trauma appeal

Court of Appeal overturns High Court judgment

Summary:

Officers and former officers of the RUC and PSNI had hoped to win substantial damages for psychological and psychiatric injuries sustained during the ‘Troubles’. The Court of Appeal has, however, overturned an earlier finding of the High Court. Nick Hanning examines the judgment.

THE Northern Ireland Court of Appeal (CoA) has dashed the hopes of thousands of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and (since 2001) Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers by overturning a judgment of the High Court regarding psychiatric injuries suffered in policing the conflict in Northern Ireland1,2,3. In 2007, the High Court found the RUC/PSNI to have been in breach...

Nick Hanning is a legal executive advocate at RWPS LLP, specialising in occupational stress cases.

Author: Hanning N

Tags case law law ptsd - post traumatic stress disorder trauma

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2009 (vol. 06/3) pp12-14

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