About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

17 Med. & L. 225 (1998)
Medical Negligence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

handle is hein.journals/mlv17 and id is 233 raw text is: Med Law (1998) 17:225-228 Medicine and Law @YozMor 1996 Psychiatry Law and Ethics MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Dr. J.J. Bradley, Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist, Camden & Islington CHS NHS Trust, Hon. Senior Lecturer, University College London, London, UK Abstract: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is well recognised as a consequence of natural and man-made disasters, accidents and assaults. An increasing number of plaintiffs making claims for compensation alleging medical negligence complain of the symptoms of PTSD. Medical accidents such as anaesthetic awareness and stillbirths may be claimed as stressors and relatives may allege PTSD as a psychological injury following witnessing the death or suffering of a loved one. A series of cases will be presented. Many cases are entirely genuine but increasing media publicity has alerted potential plaintiffs and their legal advisers to the symptoms of PTSD which make evaluation of symptoms difficult for psychiatric experts. Psychometric tests exist to screen PTSD but research has shown that they can be falsified and it would be unwise to rely on such tests. Post traumatic stress disorder is well recognised as a consequence of natural and man-made disasters, accidents and assaults. An increasing number of plaintiffs making claims for compensation alleging medical negligence also complain of the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The generally accepted descriptive classificatory systems are the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM4) and the International Classification of Disease (ICDIO), published in 1994 and 1993 respectively. The criteria for diagnosis of PTSD in both systems are in broad agreement. In particular that the stress should involve experiencing distress 225

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most