Could I Claim For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash?

By Stephen Moreau. Last Updated 30th January 2024. If you have suffered from anxiety caused by a car crash, you might be wondering whether you can claim. You could be entitled to pursue compensation if another road user’s negligence caused the car accident and you suffered physical or psychological injuries as a result.

All road users owe one another a duty of care. If this is breached, causing a serious accident that results in injuries, this constitutes negligence. We’ll look at the duty of care that road users owe and how a breach could occur.

This guide aims to provide you with all of the information you need to make a personal injury claim. For instance, we’ll look at how long you have to begin your claim and how much compensation you could be owed if your claim succeeds. Moreover, we will look at the benefits of hiring a personal injury solicitor and the services that they can provide.

You can speak with an advisor from our team for free legal advice. They are available to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a free consultation, please:

Anxiety caused by a car crash

Anxiety caused by a car crash claims guide

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Claim For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash?
  2. What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash?
  3. Time Limits To Claim For Road Traffic Accidents
  4. Evidence To Support A Claim For Compensation For Anxiety After A Car Accident
  5. Calculating Payouts For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash
  6. Begin Your Claim For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash

What Is A Claim For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash?

If you have been in a car crash caused by another party and you have been diagnosed with anxiety due to the incident, then you may have grounds to claim compensation. To make a personal injury claim for anxiety caused by a car crash, you’ll need to establish the following:

  1. You were owed a duty of care.
  2. This duty was breached.
  3. Due to this breach, you suffered a physical or mental injury, such as anxiety.

Road users owe each other a duty of care to use the roads in a responsible manner that avoids causing harm to themselves and others. Also, as part of their duty, road users should adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and follow the rules and regulations set out in the Highway Code. 

Should another road user breach this duty of care, and this causes you to suffer a psychological or physical injury, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim.

For more advice on whether you’re eligible to start a claim for anxiety caused by a car crash, contact our advisors for free today.

Front Of Red Car Smashed After A Car Crash.

What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash?

According to the NHS, anxiety is a feeling of unease, for instance, being worried or scared. It could occur after a car accident. You may be worried about travelling on the roads again because you’re scared that you’ll be involved in another accident. 

Anxiety symptoms could include:

  • Restlessness
  • A feeling of worry or concern
  • Trouble concentrating or sleeping
  • Dizziness
  • An effect on your heartbeat, for example, heart palpitations

If you have experienced anxiety following a car crash that a negligent road user caused, you could be entitled to claim. Please speak with our advisors for more details. 

How Many People Suffer With Anxiety?

If you are wondering how common mental health problems are, we have provided you with statistics from the mental health charity Mind. 

In England, 1 in 6 people reported that they suffer from a common mental health condition in any given week. 

Furthermore, 8 out of 100 people endured mixed anxiety and depression, with 4 out of 100 people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

If you have endured anxiety caused by a car crash caused by negligence, please speak with an advisor from our team. You might be eligible to claim. 

Woman Sat On Sofa Suffering Emotional Health Problems.

Time Limits To Claim For Road Traffic Accidents

Provided you have a valid case to claim compensation for anxiety caused by a car crash, you must initiate proceedings before the personal injury claims time limit expires. Generally, this is three years from the date of the car accident as per the Limitation Act 1980.

However, in some cases, this limitation period is suspended. This suspension applies to:

  • Children below the age of 18 cannot make their own claim for a car accident. These parties have the time limit paused until the day of their 18th birthday, giving them three years from that date to file a claim. At any point during this pause, a court-appointed litigation friend can act on their behalf.
  • Those without the mental capacity to manage their own claim will have the time limit suspended indefinitely. During this suspension, a litigation friend can manage the car accident claim on their behalf.  However, if the injured person regains this mental capacity and a claim was not made for them, they will have three years from the date it was deemed that they recovered their capacity to start the claims process.

If you have any questions about time limits for personal injury claims for car accidents, please get in touch with our advisory team.

Evidence To Support A Claim For Compensation For Anxiety After A Car Accident

In order to form the basis of a valid car crash anxiety compensation claim, you must be able to provide evidence that negligence occurred. Evidence can come in many different forms, including:

  • Dashcam footage: Dashcam footage of the accident can help prove who is liable and how the accident occurred.
  • Medical records: Your medical records can detail your injuries, their severity, and the medical treatment you may need going forward. This includes both physical injuries and psychological injuries, such as a broken bone and anxiety after a car accident.
  • Psychiatrist letter: A letter or other documentation from a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist could help support a claim for anxiety.
  • Photographs: Taking pictures of the accident site and any physical symptoms of injuries creates a visual record of what happened.
  • Witness contact details: When you take the contact details of potential witnesses, this means that their statements can be taken at a later date.

To learn more about the evidence you need to claim compensation for anxiety after a car accident, contact our team of advisors today. If your claim is valid, they may connect you with a personal injury solicitor from our panel who could help you collect evidence for your claim.

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Calculating Payouts For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash

If you are successful in your claim for anxiety caused by a car crash, the compensation you will be awarded may be made up of two heads of claim. You will receive general damages for the pain and suffering that is caused by your injuries. 

To help you determine how much you could receive, we have drafted a table of compensation figures provided by the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is a document used by legal professionals to assist them when they value claims. 

However, these figures are not guaranteed and should only be used as a rough guideline. This is because each claim is completely unique and your settlement could differ depending on your circumstances. Also note that the first and last two entries in this table are not based on the JCG.

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Type Of Injury Compensation Bracket Details
Multiple Serious Injuries With Special Damages Up to £1,000,000+ If you have sustained multiple serious injuries (physical and mental) in a car crash, then you may receive compensation for all of these plus related special damages, such as the cost of home care.
Psychiatric damage (severe) £54,830 to £115,730 Severe issues copying with social and working life with the prognosis being very ppor.
Psychiatric damage (moderately severe) £19,070 to £54,830 The person will suffer with various significant issues but there will be an optimistic prognosis.
Psychiatric damage (severe) £5,860 to £19,070 Despite suffering with various types of problems, marked improvements will have been made.
Anxiety disorder (severe) £59,860 to £100,670 Includes permanent impacts that stop from working or functioning at anything near pre-trauma level.
Anxiety disorder (moderately severe) £23,150 to £59,860 There will be some recovery with professional assistance, but the injured person will still be considerably disabled for the foreseeable future.
Anxiety disorder (moderate) £8,180 to £23,150 The injured person will have made a significant recovery with any permanent symptoms not being grossly disabling.
Whiplash Figures- Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 £4,345 A whiplash and mental injury lasting more than 18 months but less than 24 months.
Whiplash Figures- Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 £4,215 A whiplash injury lasting more than 18 but less than 24 months

Special damages could also be included in the compensation you are awarded. This head of claim looks to reimburse you for any financial harm experienced due to the accident in which you were injured. 

For example, if you suffer from anxiety, you might need to go to counselling that is not covered by the NHS. These costs may be reimbursed by special damages. It may also account for a loss of earnings if you need to take time off work to recover. 

It is important to keep proof of how your injuries impacted you to strengthen your chances of being compensated. A personal injury solicitor can help you with this; speak with our advisor today to see if you could be connected with one from our panel. 

Whiplash Reform Programme

The introduction of the Whiplash Reform Programme has affected the way that low-value road traffic accident claims are made. There have been some changes to the way that low-value injuries are compensated.

Drivers or passengers who are over the age of eighteen and who have sustained injuries worth £5,000 or less are required to claim via the government’s Official Injury Claims portal.

Furthermore, the introduction of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 could affect how much injuries are worth. The tariff amounts might still be applicable even if the claim does not need to be made through the portal.

Begin Your Claim For Anxiety Caused By A Car Crash

You may find it beneficial to claim with a solicitor who works on a No Win No Fee basis. The solicitors from our panel could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.

If you are represented via a CFA, there are typically no fees to pay upfront or while your claim is ongoing. Moreover, if your case is lost, you generally do not have to pay for the services provided by your solicitor. 

In the event of a successful claim, your solicitor will take a percentage of the payout you receive. A capped-by-law success fee will be deducted from the compensation you receive by your road accident solicitor. 

You can speak with an advisor from our team who can assess your eligibility to claim on a No Win No Fee basis. As previously stated,  they can offer a free consultation at a time that suits you best. To get in touch: 

Two Toy Cars Crashed Into Each Other In Front Of Gavel With Out Of Focus Lawyer At Wooden Desk.

Related Car Crash Claims

Here are some more of our own guides that might be beneficial when looking to make a road traffic accident claim: 

In addition, we have included further guides related to this topic: 

Thank you for reading this guide on how to claim if you have suffered from anxiety or other injuries related to emotional and mental health following a car crash.