Have you suffered trauma resulting from an extreme event?
by Mitchell Clark

EXTREME events can occur at any time, in any situation. Whether it's a bank hold-up, an explosion in a factory, a boating disaster, a hostage siege or something entirely different, the result is almost always personal trauma for the innocent people involved.

Nobody can eradicate extreme events from human life. But the law can go a long way to easing the effects of the resultant trauma on those unfortunate enough to have experienced such events.
People affected by a traumatic event are often entitled to either:
1. Criminal compensation – where someone has been the victim of a criminal act such as a bank hold-up, a hostage siege or even reckless driving.

2. Civil compensation – where negligence on the part of another party associated with the trauma can be proved. A current example at MBA Lawyers is a matter in which our firm is representing a security guard against his former employer in a claim based on unsafe procedures that caused the guard to be held hostage by bank robbers.

Negligence cases involve consideration of whether a person or people had acted reasonably to prevent or avoid such a traumatic event.
The effects of a traumatic event can include 'hidden' injuries such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. These emotional injuries can be just as debilitating and as costly as physical injuries. People involved in car accidents often suffer some form of emotional injury, some statistics indicating that up to 30 per cent develop a mild form of trauma.

The law requires face-to-face counselling to be provided after a traumatic event. In a recent case involving the State Rail Authority of NSW, the court awarded over $500,000 for emotional injury caused by the failure to provide proper debriefing after the claimant witnessed the aftermath of a suicide on the railway tracks.

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