Psychological symptoms after an accident deserve appropriate healthcare attention whether or not a compensation claim succeeds. For a civil injury claim, the legal assessment must also establish the relevant duty, breach, causation and recoverable consequences. Distress, a clinical diagnosis and a successful legal claim are related but different matters. None should be used as a shortcut for the others.
This guide concerns England and Wales. It explains how to preserve a treatment history and evidence of functional impact, while distinguishing clinical assessment from legal entitlement. It does not diagnose PTSD, depression, anxiety or another condition, and it does not recommend a treatment programme. The practical asset is a psychological impact evidence log designed to record experience accurately without repeatedly reliving the event for the claim.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 or attend A&E. For urgent mental health help, use NHS 111 or the appropriate local urgent service. The NHS urgent mental health guidance explains available routes. A solicitor's appointment or evidence diary is not a substitute for urgent care.
Clinical diagnosis: describe experience without self-labelling
Symptoms need assessment in context
An accident can be followed by changes in sleep, mood, confidence, travel, concentration or social participation. Tell the appropriate healthcare professional what you experience, when it began and how it affects you. Do not assume a particular diagnosis from a web page or another person's story.
The NHS information on PTSD describes the condition and routes to help. It is useful background, but an individual diagnosis requires assessment. Not every difficult reaction after an accident is PTSD, and the absence of that diagnosis does not mean a person's distress should be dismissed.
For the claim record, use your own words and concrete examples. “I avoid the route where the collision occurred and now take a longer journey” describes an effect. “I definitely have permanent PTSD” may go beyond what has been established. Accurate language allows clinicians and legal experts to ask the right questions.
Separate reported symptoms from findings
A consultation record may note symptoms you described, a working diagnosis, a referral or a confirmed professional opinion. These entries are not interchangeable. Preserve the actual record and ask the clinician for clarification if you do not understand the explanation.
A legal chronology should identify the status of the information. For example, note that a referral was made for assessment rather than stating that the referral itself proves a diagnosis. This distinction prevents later summaries from becoming more certain than the original evidence.
If a record contains a factual error, raise it through the appropriate process. Do not rewrite clinical documents yourself. Keep your explanation and any correction so the history remains transparent, including where the clinician's opinion differs from your understanding.
Seek support for health reasons
You do not need to wait for a legal expert examination to ask for treatment or support. Clinical care and litigation evidence have different purposes and timescales. Tell the solicitor about care received so it can be considered appropriately, but do not delay a health enquiry to preserve symptoms for compensation.
Equally, do not begin a particular treatment solely because you believe it will increase the claim. Discuss suitability, benefits, risks and alternatives with the appropriate clinician. The legal team can address funding and evidence questions separately.
If access is delayed, record the referral date, response and practical barriers. A gap in treatment may have several explanations. Preserving the actual sequence is more useful than assuming that lack of attendance either disproves the symptoms or proves a failure by a service.
Causation: establish what the accident changed
Build a chronology rather than an argument
Record the event, early reactions, first disclosure to a healthcare professional, subsequent assessments and changes in function. Include periods of improvement, worsening and relevant later events. The chronology should help an expert understand the sequence, not force every development into a single cause.
Symptoms beginning after an accident can be important evidence, but timing alone does not resolve causation. An expert may need to consider the accident, previous health, other stressors, physical pain, treatment and the course over time. Provide the information honestly even where it complicates the narrative.
The legal question may concern a new condition, an aggravation of an existing problem or another additional consequence. The answer depends on the evidence and applicable principles. Do not assume that a history of mental health treatment automatically prevents a claim or that it can be ignored because the accident was distressing.
Use a realistic pre-accident baseline
Describe how you functioned before the event: work, travel, sleep, family responsibilities and ordinary activities. Include existing limitations and support. A baseline with no ordinary difficulties can be less credible and less clinically useful than a balanced account.
Relevant earlier records may show both problems and recovery. Tell the solicitor about them so the expert can assess the actual position rather than relying on a selective summary. A previous diagnosis does not necessarily describe how you were functioning immediately before the accident.
An Accident Worsened an Existing Condition addresses the separate evidence task of identifying additional harm. The practical comparison should remain specific: what was present before, what changed and what supports that account.
Distinguish the accident from later pressures
Financial difficulty, employment uncertainty, prolonged pain and the litigation process itself may affect wellbeing. Record these circumstances without deciding their medical significance. The expert can consider whether and how they relate to the injury and the condition being assessed.
Do not assume that every later distressing event breaks the claim, or that all later distress is legally attributable to the defendant. Those are questions requiring professional analysis. A complete chronology helps the solicitor identify them.
Where several events are involved, use separate dates and descriptions. Avoid compressing months of different pressures into one statement that everything began immediately after the accident if that is not accurate. Precision about sequence supports a more reliable assessment.
Who experienced the event matters legally
Direct involvement and witnessing harm are different situations
A person injured or endangered in an accident may face a different legal analysis from someone whose psychiatric illness arises from witnessing injury to another person. The law contains specific requirements and limits. A diagnosis alone does not establish that the defendant owed the relevant duty to every affected family member or witness.
Tell the solicitor exactly where you were, what you perceived, your involvement and relationship to anyone injured. Distinguish direct observation from what you later learned through a call, message or video. These details may matter to the legal assessment, and should not be adjusted to fit a perceived test.
This article does not provide a universal eligibility checklist for psychiatric injury. A solicitor should apply the appropriate authorities to the actual facts, particularly where the claim concerns harm caused by witnessing another person's injury or death.
Clinical negligence and family witnessing claims need specialist analysis
The Supreme Court decision in Paul and others v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and others addressed psychiatric injury claims by relatives who witnessed deaths following alleged failures to diagnose and treat disease. It illustrates why a distressing event and established psychiatric illness do not automatically satisfy the legal requirements for a secondary-victim claim.
Do not assume that rules for a road collision apply unchanged to a medical crisis. Nor should a short online summary be used to decide that every possible claim in a medical setting is excluded. The factual and legal distinctions require careful advice.
If this is your situation, provide the sequence of events and relevant clinical information without repeatedly rehearsing distressing detail unnecessarily. Ask the solicitor what information is needed for an initial assessment and what can be obtained later through records.
Treatment history: preserve the pathway
Record referrals and attendance separately
Keep the referral date, service, appointment date, attendance and outcome. A referral made is not treatment received. A waiting-list entry is not a refusal of care, and a missed appointment may have a practical explanation that should be recorded.
Preserve correspondence about cancellations, access requirements and rescheduling. If transport, work, childcare or communication difficulties affect attendance, explain them to the provider and solicitor as appropriate. Do not let an inaccurate shorthand such as “did not engage” stand unexamined where it omits relevant facts.
A treatment chronology can be concise. Its purpose is to show what was recommended, what happened and what remains outstanding. It should not contain invented session details or attempt to replace the clinician's notes.
Distinguish treatment goals from legal prognosis
A clinician may focus on current support and improvement, while a medico-legal expert addresses causation, likely duration and future needs for the court. Their reports can serve different purposes without necessarily conflicting.
Ask your solicitor to identify the actual question requiring expert evidence. If prognosis remains uncertain, the report should explain why and whether further treatment or review may assist. Do not treat a recommendation for therapy as a promise of complete recovery or proof that a condition is permanent.
The NICE PTSD guideline concerns recognition, assessment and treatment. It is a clinical resource, not a damages tariff. A compensation claim still needs evidence specific to the individual and the legal issues.
Preserve costs and payment arrangements
For privately arranged care, keep the provider's recommendation, terms, invoices and payment evidence. Identify who paid and whether reimbursement or insurer funding was agreed. A solicitor's referral does not necessarily make the firm responsible for the bill.
Do not assume every private expense will be recovered. The assessment may consider the relationship to the injury, reasonableness and supporting evidence. Discuss significant commitments with the legal adviser where possible, while obtaining appropriate healthcare advice about the actual need.
Record travel and other related expenses separately, with their purpose. Avoid duplicate entries where a package already includes a cost. Future treatment estimates should identify the professional recommendation, proposed scope and uncertainties rather than simply repeating a past invoice indefinitely.
Functional impact: show what changed in ordinary life
Travel and leaving home
Describe routes, modes of transport and activities affected. If you avoid a particular journey, record the practical consequence: extra time, alternative transport, assistance or missed participation. Do not assume that every preference for a different route is a psychiatric symptom.
Include occasions when travel is manageable and the circumstances that help. A balanced account can show limitations without claiming total inability. If a clinician has recommended an activity or support plan, follow that advice rather than changing behaviour for the claim.
Avoid deliberately confronting a distressing situation to produce evidence. Clinical decisions about exposure or other treatment belong with qualified professionals. A diary should record ordinary experience, not create an unsupervised experiment.
Work and study
Psychological difficulties may affect attendance, concentration, interaction or particular tasks. Obtain the actual duties and record adjustments, hours and support. A job title alone does not reveal the demands or the effect of a changed arrangement.
Keep financial records separate from functional observations. Full pay during a temporary period may coexist with reduced duties, while a pay reduction may have more than one cause. The solicitor needs evidence of both the loss and its relationship to the injury.
Returning to Work During an Injury Claim provides a progress sheet for actual hours, tasks, support and review. A return should be assessed accurately, not treated automatically as complete recovery or as something to avoid for legal reasons.
Relationships and participation
Changes in family routines, social contact or valued activities can be relevant. Describe specific examples and frequency while respecting other people's privacy. A broad statement that relationships are ruined is less useful than an account of the particular changes and supporting observations.
Family members may notice effects you do not identify in the same way. Preserve their perspective without allowing it to replace your own. Differences can be discussed with the appropriate professionals rather than resolved by coaching everyone into identical descriptions.
The claim should not turn ordinary disagreements into assumed psychiatric consequences. Include context and earlier patterns where relevant. The expert can assess whether the observed change is connected to the condition and accident.
Psychological impact evidence log
Use the log only to the extent it is helpful and manageable. If detailed recording increases distress, discuss that with your clinician and solicitor. A proportionate factual record is preferable to repeated lengthy retelling.
| Field | Useful information | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Date and activity | What you were trying to do | An undated general statement about every day |
| Experience | Your own description of what occurred | Assigning an unconfirmed diagnosis |
| Functional effect | Task interrupted, assistance or alternative used | Assuming every inconvenience is a separate loss |
| Duration or frequency | A reasonable account of the pattern | False precision or automatic identical entries |
| Context | Relevant circumstances and other pressures | Selecting only facts supporting one cause |
| Support or treatment | Contact made and advice actually received | Presenting a referral as completed treatment |
| Evidence source | Record, observer or contemporaneous message | Reconstructed detail presented as a same-day note |
| Improvement | What was manageable or changed positively | Concealing recovery to maintain a claim narrative |
A short entry can be enough
Date: __. Activity: _. What I experienced: . What I did or could not complete: . Assistance or alternative: . Approximate duration: . Relevant context: . Healthcare contact if any: . Record made on: ___.
You do not need to include a detailed description of the accident in each entry. The log concerns current effects. Keep sensitive material secure and ask the solicitor how it should be shared. Do not post the diary publicly as a way to establish credibility.
If someone helps you write, identify their role. Your description and their observation should remain distinguishable. A polished narrative written entirely by another person may not reflect how you experienced the event or current symptoms.
Review patterns with the appropriate professional
A short summary can identify recurring difficulties, changes and questions for assessment. It should not turn a few episodes into a claim of continuous impairment. Keep the underlying entries and explain the period covered.
Ask the clinician what information is useful for care, and the solicitor what is proportionate for evidence. Their needs may differ. You should not be required to maintain an exhaustive symptom catalogue merely because a claim exists.
If the record reveals an urgent concern, seek appropriate support rather than waiting for the next legal review. Evidence preservation is secondary to health and safety. The log's role is to communicate experience accurately, not to manage a crisis.
Independent assessment and sensitive records
Prepare without rehearsing a desired diagnosis
Bring a factual chronology, treatment information and examples of functional effects. Tell the expert about previous conditions and other relevant events. If dates are uncertain, say so and identify records that may clarify them.
Do not memorise diagnostic criteria to make your account fit a condition. The assessment should reflect actual experience. Ask for suitable communication arrangements, breaks or support where needed, and explain any difficulty during the appointment.
Preparing for an Independent Medical Examination addresses practical preparation and factual corrections. It does not provide techniques for influencing an expert. Honest participation is essential to both appropriate assessment and reliable legal evidence.
Understand why records are requested
Relevant medical records can help assess diagnosis, history, causation and prognosis. Discuss the scope and purpose of requests with your solicitor, particularly if the material is sensitive. Do not assume that every record will necessarily be disclosed to every person involved.
Equally, do not conceal relevant history because it feels embarrassing or potentially unfavourable. The solicitor needs to know about it to advise properly and address privacy through lawful procedures. Selectively omitting material can undermine the assessment.
If a record concerns another person or includes unrelated sensitive information, flag that issue rather than editing the original yourself. Appropriate handling can then be considered without destroying context or altering evidence.
Correct facts while respecting professional opinion
A report may misstate an employment date, treatment sequence or activity. Identify the exact passage and provide supporting information. Ask the solicitor to raise the issue through the appropriate process.
A diagnosis or prognosis you dislike is not simply a factual error. Further questions or evidence may be appropriate, but the response should be reasoned. Do not demand that a professional adopt a particular conclusion as a condition of using the report.
Preserve the final report and any addendum. If circumstances change afterwards, provide a dated update. An accurate earlier report may require review before settlement without having been wrong when written.
Losses and settlement timing
Evidence each consequence separately
The condition's effect on wellbeing and any financial loss require related but distinct evidence. Lost earnings, treatment costs, travel and assistance should each have a factual basis and explanation of causation. Avoid treating a diagnosis as proof of every amount in a schedule.
For earnings, preserve pay records and actual working arrangements. For expenses, retain invoices, receipts and the reason for the purchase. Where a receipt is missing, identify other evidence rather than inventing one or assuming the item must be abandoned.
Do not add overlapping injury effects twice because more than one diagnosis is involved. Valuation of combined physical and psychological consequences requires appropriate legal assessment. An online bracket or another person's reported award cannot determine the value of your case.
Do not assume treatment must be finished in every case
Settlement timing depends on whether the evidence supports an informed assessment, including prognosis and future needs. Some uncertainty may remain even after treatment. Ask what additional evidence is expected to clarify and whether waiting is useful.
A full and final settlement has important consequences. Do not assume it can be reopened if symptoms later worsen or treatment costs exceed expectations. The solicitor should explain the risks and terms before you give instructions.
If an offer has a deadline, provide the complete document immediately. An upcoming clinical appointment does not automatically extend the offer or protect legal time limits. Medical assessment and procedural decisions must be coordinated actively.
Three hypothetical evidence discussions
Travel avoidance with several possible explanations
Imagine a claimant who stops driving after a collision. They describe fear, but also have a physical restriction and a vehicle awaiting repair. A legal summary that attributes the whole period off the road to psychiatric injury would be premature.
The chronology records each factor and its dates. Clinical assessment addresses the psychological symptoms, while other evidence explains physical restrictions and vehicle availability. The resulting account can identify the additional effect accurately rather than forcing all consequences into one category.
This example does not minimise distress. It shows why separating overlapping causes improves both care discussions and legal valuation. The outcome depends on evidence, not the label chosen in the first enquiry.
A previous condition that had been well managed
A second person has earlier mental health treatment but was functioning well before the accident. Symptoms worsen afterwards. They fear that disclosing the history will end the claim and initially omit it.
A proper assessment requires the earlier records and current chronology. The expert can consider the baseline, new event and course over time. The legal question may concern additional harm rather than an entirely new condition.
The useful lesson is that a truthful history allows a nuanced assessment. Neither the existence of previous treatment nor the timing of new symptoms should be treated as an automatic answer to causation or recoverability.
A delayed referral mistaken for refusal
A third claimant is referred for assessment but receives correspondence at an old address. The service records a missed appointment. Later, an expert sees the note without the surrounding explanation.
The claimant preserves the address-change message and rescheduling correspondence. The factual record can then distinguish a communication problem from a decision not to attend. Any clinical or legal significance is assessed on the corrected history.
This hypothetical illustrates the value of administrative evidence. It does not mean every missed appointment has the same explanation or that treatment gaps should be retrospectively filled with an invented justification.
Keep separate records for symptoms, work and money
One document rarely proves every consequence. A symptom diary can explain experience, an employer's record can establish attendance and a payslip can show payment. Link them by date while preserving their different purposes. This prevents a legal summary from treating a medical note as proof of a precise financial loss, or a salary reduction as proof of a particular diagnosis.
For a period away from work, identify the stated reason, relevant clinical advice, employer response and actual pay. If absence had several causes, explain the sequence. Do not attribute the entire period to psychological harm simply because that is the article or claim category currently being considered. Your adviser can assess the supported additional loss using the full facts.
For cancelled activities, preserve booking or cancellation records where relevant, but do not assume every abandoned plan produces recoverable compensation. The circumstances, reason and financial consequence matter. An activity's emotional importance may be relevant to the injury's effects even where no separate expense is recoverable. Those are different questions and should be presented clearly.
Agree how updates will be communicated
Ask the solicitor how often to provide a concise update and what developments require earlier contact. A new assessment, material improvement, work change or settlement offer may matter more than a daily stream of messages. A workable process reduces administrative burden while keeping the legal advice aligned with current evidence.
If telephone discussions are difficult, request a suitable alternative. Written summaries, planned calls or support from an authorised person may help, depending on your needs. Confirm that important instructions have been understood and recorded. Communication support should make decision-making more accessible without allowing another person to substitute their own preferences for yours.
Keep a copy of major updates and the response. This creates a clear record of what the adviser knew when giving advice, and helps identify outstanding questions before an expert review or settlement decision. It is practical case organisation, not a requirement to document every private thought.
Make a focused enquiry about psychological consequences
Provide the accident date, your involvement, relevant treatment history, current functional concerns and any offer or deadline. Identify whether you were directly involved or whether the concern arises from witnessing harm to another person. That distinction helps the solicitor identify the correct legal framework early.
Ask what records and expert evidence may be needed, how sensitive information will be handled and what communication arrangements are available. You do not need a perfected diary or self-selected diagnosis before seeking advice.
Use the serious injury claims page for an enquiry about the legal position. AJS operates on private fees and does not provide legal aid. Confirm accepted instructions, appropriate expertise and the cost of work. Healthcare support should continue through the suitable clinical routes independently of whether the firm accepts the claim.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is psychological injury compensable only if I also have a physical injury?
The legal position is not answered by a universal rule requiring physical injury in every case. Different situations, including direct involvement and witnessing harm to another person, can involve different requirements. A recognised condition, causation and the applicable duty framework need assessment. Describe the facts accurately and obtain advice rather than assuming either automatic entitlement or automatic exclusion.
2. Does feeling distressed after an accident prove PTSD?
No. Distress deserves attention, but PTSD is a clinical diagnosis requiring appropriate assessment. Other explanations or conditions may be relevant. Describe your experience and functional difficulties to a healthcare professional rather than matching your account to an online checklist. For the legal claim, a diagnosis also does not by itself establish liability, causation or the value of compensation.
3. Should I wait for the claim to fund treatment?
Do not delay seeking appropriate healthcare advice solely because funding or liability is unresolved. Ask the clinical team about suitable support and tell the solicitor about recommendations and access difficulties. Private costs require separate consideration and reimbursement should not be assumed. The claim process and clinical care have different purposes, and urgent health concerns need the appropriate medical response.
4. Can I claim if the accident worsened an earlier mental health condition?
Potentially, but the additional effect and legal requirements need evidence. Provide the earlier history, baseline function and post-accident chronology honestly. An expert may need to distinguish pre-existing difficulties from worsening attributable to the event. Previous treatment does not automatically defeat the claim, and concealing it can prevent a reliable assessment and create serious evidential problems.
5. What should I put in a psychological impact diary?
Record the date, activity, your experience, functional consequence, assistance and relevant context. Include improvements and uncertainty, and distinguish your account from another person's observation. You do not need to retell the accident in detail each time. If recording increases distress, discuss a proportionate alternative with your clinician and solicitor so evidence gathering does not become harmful or excessive.
6. Can my partner's observations support the claim?
They may provide useful factual evidence about changes in routines, participation or support, but should be specific and independently expressed. A partner cannot diagnose the cause solely from observation. Preserve your own perspective too, including differences in recollection. Avoid coaching relatives into identical language or treating every relationship difficulty after the accident as automatically injury-related.
7. What if I missed treatment appointments?
Explain the actual circumstances and preserve relevant correspondence. A missed appointment can have different reasons, including access, communication or personal decisions. Do not invent an explanation or assume the entry has no significance. The solicitor and expert need an accurate history to assess it fairly, and current healthcare needs should be addressed through the appropriate service.
8. Does a referral prove I received therapy?
No. A referral, acceptance, appointment and completed treatment are separate stages. Keep dates and records for each, including waiting-list or cancellation information. The distinction matters when an expert considers treatment history and prognosis. Avoid summarising proposed support as delivered care, or interpreting an administrative delay as a clinical decision that treatment is unnecessary without checking the actual position.
9. Will an independent expert be my treating clinician?
Usually the medico-legal appointment has a different purpose, although the precise role should be clarified. The expert may assess diagnosis, causation, prognosis and functional effects for the claim. That does not automatically create an ongoing treatment relationship. Continue appropriate clinical care and ask who handles any healthcare concerns identified during the assessment rather than assuming the legal report replaces treatment.
10. Should I learn diagnostic terms before the assessment?
It is better to describe your own experience accurately than to rehearse terminology or criteria intended to secure a diagnosis. Ask the provider for an explanation of the process if needed and raise genuine communication concerns. An honest account, relevant history and concrete examples help the assessment. Trying to perform a condition can undermine both clinical understanding and legal evidence.
11. Can a witness to another person's accident make the same claim as the injured person?
Not automatically. Claims arising from witnessing harm involve specific legal requirements and limits, which differ from some directly involved claimant situations. Tell the solicitor where you were, what you perceived and your relationship to the person. A clinical diagnosis alone does not establish the necessary duty or proximity. Specialist assessment of the actual facts is important.
12. Do the same rules apply after witnessing a medical crisis?
Do not assume that rules for a road accident apply unchanged. The Supreme Court's Paul decision demonstrates important limits in psychiatric injury claims connected with witnessing deaths following alleged clinical negligence. The precise facts and legal category matter. Obtain individual advice rather than treating a brief online summary as proof that every such claim either succeeds or is impossible.
13. Can returning to work reduce or end the psychological injury claim?
A return is relevant evidence, but its meaning depends on duties, hours, adjustments, support and sustainability. It does not automatically establish full recovery. Record the actual arrangement and financial position accurately. Equally, do not avoid appropriate work to preserve compensation. The assessment should reflect genuine progress and any continuing injury-related disadvantage supported by the evidence.
14. What if treatment notes contain sensitive information unrelated to the accident?
Discuss the scope, relevance and handling of records with your solicitor. Do not alter or selectively conceal originals yourself. Privacy issues can be addressed through appropriate legal procedures, but the adviser needs to know what exists. Flag information about third parties or particularly sensitive material so its treatment can be considered lawfully and proportionately.
15. Can psychological symptoms be valued separately from physical symptoms?
The legal assessment considers the relevant injuries and consequences while avoiding overlap. It is not simply a matter of adding every diagnostic label or online bracket together. Appropriate medical evidence and the overall effect on the person matter. Ask the solicitor how combined symptoms, financial losses and future treatment are being assessed in the particular case.
16. Is a private therapy invoice automatically recoverable?
No. The solicitor must consider the relationship to the injury, reasonable need, cost and supporting evidence, alongside the claim's merits. Keep the recommendation, provider terms, invoice and payment information. Clarify funding before substantial commitments where possible. An expense may be genuine without being fully recoverable, and a referral by a legal adviser does not necessarily make the firm the payer.
17. What if symptoms improve before settlement?
Tell the solicitor and relevant clinicians. Improvement is important evidence and should be reflected in prognosis and valuation. It does not erase genuine earlier consequences, but continuing loss should not be claimed on outdated assumptions. A balanced record can distinguish recovery, remaining limitations and uncertainty. Do not conceal progress because you worry it will affect the amount of compensation.
18. Can I settle while psychological treatment is ongoing?
Sometimes, but only with informed advice about the evidence, prognosis, future needs and settlement terms. Ongoing treatment does not automatically prohibit settlement, and an unfinished assessment may leave material uncertainty. Ask what further information could change the valuation and understand finality. Do not assume the claim can later be reopened if the outcome is worse than expected.
19. Should I repeatedly describe the traumatic event to strengthen evidence?
No. Evidence should be gathered proportionately, and repeated detailed retelling is not automatically useful. Ask your clinician and solicitor what information is needed and how to provide it in a manageable way. Existing records and a concise chronology may assist. If discussing the event causes significant distress, seek appropriate support and agree suitable communication arrangements for necessary appointments.
20. What makes a useful first enquiry about psychological harm?
Provide the event date, your direct involvement or witnessing circumstances, relevant treatment and current functional effects. Include earlier conditions honestly and identify any legal deadline or existing representation. Ask about accepted scope, expertise, fees and sensitive-record handling. You do not need to diagnose yourself, and an enquiry acknowledgement does not confirm that the firm is protecting the claim.
