PTSD Compensation Claims UK: How to Claim (2026)

Overview

A PTSD compensation claim is a civil claim brought by someone who has developed post-traumatic stress disorder because of another party's negligence, breach of duty, or unlawful conduct. It sits within the broader category of personal injury law, but the injury itself is psychiatric rather than physical.

Because you cannot photograph a panic attack or X-ray a flashback, these claims rely heavily on clinical evidence, typically a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist using recognised diagnostic criteria. Claims of this kind can arise from a wide range of circumstances.

Road traffic collisions, workplace incidents, assaults, clinical negligence, historic abuse, and witnessing a loved one suffer serious harm are all common triggers. The compensation awarded usually has two elements: general damages for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by the condition itself, and special damages for financial losses flowing from it, such as lost earnings, private therapy costs, medication, and sometimes ongoing care needs.

The value of any given claim depends heavily on severity, prognosis, and how deeply the condition has disrupted the claimant's life.

Key steps

1. Get a clinical diagnosis. Before anything else, see your GP and ask for a referral, or arrange a private assessment with a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. A formal diagnosis using established criteria is the backbone of any PTSD claim. Self-reporting symptoms is not enough on its own, because the defendant's insurer will always test the medical picture.
2. Gather evidence of the triggering event. Collect anything that documents what happened: police reports, incident forms at work, hospital records, witness statements, photographs, dashcam footage, or correspondence. The stronger the paper trail showing the event and who was responsible, the easier it is to establish breach of duty and causation later on.
3. Document the impact on your daily life. Keep a journal of symptoms, missed work, cancelled plans, medication, and therapy sessions. Save receipts for anything you have paid for out of pocket, including travel to appointments. This evidence supports the financial side of your claim and gives any expert instructed in the case a clearer picture of how the condition actually affects you.
4. Instruct a solicitor who handles psychiatric injury. Not every personal injury firm handles psychological claims well. Look for someone with genuine experience in PTSD and complex trauma cases. They will usually work on a no win, no fee basis, arrange an independent medical report, and take on the correspondence with the opposing insurer or defendant.
5. Be prepared for the time it takes. Psychiatric injury claims often move more slowly than straightforward physical injury claims because the prognosis can take time to stabilise. Settling too early risks undervaluing the claim if symptoms persist. A good adviser will help you decide when the medical picture is clear enough to negotiate seriously.