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GAZETTE
L A W B R I E F
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER '996
1
• •
HI I
A.
PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
by Dr. Eamonn G. Hall
Introduction
In their seminal book,
Irish Law of
Torts
, Professor Bryan McMahon and
Professor William Binchy devote a
chapter to nervous shock. In that
chapter, the authors examined the
circumstances in which compensation
may be claimed for "negligently
inflicted disturbance of mental
tranquillity". This medical condition is
now known as "nervous shock" and
perhaps more appropriately as post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The courts in Ireland have
become increasingly willing to
afford compensation for
negligently afflicted post-
traumatic stress disorder. Irish
law has been ahead of most
common law jurisdictions.
Professors McMahon and Binchy in
their book state that over the past
century, the courts have become
increasingly willing to afford
compensation for negligently afflicted
post-traumatic stress disorder. The
authors state that Irish law has been
ahead of most common law
jurisdictions. The learned authors refer
to the case of
Byrne -v- Southern and
Western Railway Company
(Unreported, Court of Appeal, February
1884). Mr. Byrne, the plaintiff, was a
superintendent at the telegraph office at
the Limerick Junction railway station.
One day, as a consequence of the
railway points having been negligently
left open, a train crashed into the wall of
the telegraph office. When Mr. Byrne
heard the noise and saw the wall falling,
he "sustained a nervous shock which
resulted in certain injuries to his health".
Mr. Byrne received the sum of £325 in
damages which Professors McMahon
and Binchy correctly consider was a
very substantial sum at that time. The
Court of Appeal refused to set aside the
award and the verdict.
This note provides an overview on the
law relating to post-traumatic stress
disorder and notes recent developments.
The Symptoms
It is of note that the railways gave rise
to the early reported cases of trauma.
Professor John Erichsen, a professor of
surgery, who wrote
On Railway and
Other Injuries of the Nervous System
in
1866 (London: Walton and Maberly)
was one of the early writers on
traumatic injuries and contributed
indirectly to the development of
jurisprudence in this area.
Dr. David Muss in
The Trauma Trap
(Doubleday, 1991) noted that post-
traumatic stress disorder is just that - a
disorder or illness which can arise after
someone has experienced a traumatic
event. It is not simple anxiety or
depression although some
characteristics are shared. It is a very
specific set of symptoms and if these are
not present the person cannot be said to
be suffering from the disorder. Dr. Muss
stated that the essential feature of this
disorder is the development of
characteristic symptoms following a
psychologically distressing event that is
outside the range of usual human
experience - outside the range of such
common experiences as simple
bereavement, chronic illness, business
losses and marital conflict. The cause of
the stress producing the symptom will
be markedly distressing to almost
anyone and is usually experienced with
intense fear, terror and helplessness.
Often a characteristic of the disorder is a
great mental depression and disquietude
and a disturbed state of mind.
Recent Developments
The most recent case in Ireland on post-
traumatic stress disorder is
Kelly -v-
Hennessy
[ 1986] ILRM 321. It is
appropriate to refer to the facts of the
case. In April 1987 Mr. Kelly, the
husband of Mrs. Anne Kelly, (the
plaintiff) and two daughters had been
travelling by car from Ashbourne, Co.
Meath to collect Mrs. Kelly's niece
from Dublin Airport. Mrs. Kelly
remained at home. A car driven by the
defendant, Mr. Fergus Hennessy,
collided with the car in which Mrs.
Kelly's husband and two daughters
were travelling. Mrs. Kelly received a
telephone call from her niece to tell her
that her husband and daughters had
been seriously injured in the car crash.
On receipt of the telephone call, Mrs.
Anne Kelly immediately went into
shock and began vomiting. She was
taken to hospital where she saw her
husband and daughters, all of whom
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