Psychiatric claims are probably the most divisive kind of claim in personal injury litigation.

On one hand, their supporters view the recoverability of such claims as an acknowledgement of the breadth and humanity of the common law, denying any distinction between physical and mental injury. They believe tortfeasors and employers should pay for the consequences of their actions, rather than be deflected by oldfashioned views over what used to be termed ‘moral fibre’ – or so the argument goes.