Some thoughts on pursing a personal injury case (no responsibility accepted!)

Updated 9 June 2003

I regret I am not able to recommend legal firms, however you might like to know that Cloisters (www.cloisters.com) are barristers who have taken on many personal injury cases caused by bullying. Barristers can only be approached via a solicitor. There are a couple of names on the page media/releases.htm under cases 13 and 16, and I also know that Cloisters co-operate with solicitors Irwin Mitchell. They may also co-operate with solicitors Russell Jones & Walker.

If you’re pursuing a Personal Injury case have a good read of 

stress/ptsd.htm - describes Complex PTSD and lists the differences between "mental illness" and "psychiatric injury"
action/caselaw.htm - especially stress and personal injury cases 
action/waters.htm - establishes the tort of negligence and the right of employees (and office holders etc) to sue their employer for negligence if they (the employee) alerted their employer to the fact that they (the employee) were suffering a psychiatric injury because of bullying and harassment which had been brought to the employer's attention, but which the employer chose to do nothing about
action/hatton.htm - especially the 16 practical propositions to consider

I suggest that anyone starting a personal injury case arms themselves with this information: 

• European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (EJWOP), 1996, 5(2), whole issue devoted to bullying and its effects, including PTSD. Published by Psychology Press, 27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA, UK.
• The late Professor Heinz Leymann was one of the first people to identify the symptoms of injury to health caused by bullying as PTSD: http://www.leymann.se/English/frame.html
• Research from Warwick University, England, identifies bullying as a cause of PTSD: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2952537.stm

At action/disability.htm there's some guidance on winning your disability case.

The Andrea Adams Trust may be able to offer more advice: www.andreaadamstrust.org

At action/words.htm there's an unreferenced page of phrases and strategies which will empower you to take purposeful action.

General advice on action to tackle bullying: action/action.htm

These pages at Bully OnLine are unreferenced:

Informing the employer that bullying is causing you prolonged negative stress: action/inform.htm

Winning your disability case: action/disability.htm

Time limits for bringing a personal injury case: action/timelim.htm

Guidance on preparing for an employment tribunal: action/tribunal.htm

Dealing with a bad reference: action/referenc.htm

Dealing with a gagging clause: action/gagclaus.htm

Beware of people calling themselves lawyers, advocates and consultants: action/lawyer.htm

Tim Field
Webmaster, Bully OnLine at Bully Online
Moderator, BullyOnline action forum