Secondary victim cannot recover

Keen v Tayside Contracts (Scottish Court of Session TLR 27 March)

A roadworker who had been instructed to attend urgently at a road traffic accident became aware of a body lying burned and crushed in a car, as a result of which he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder. The concept of primary victim had been extended by the courts to cover: persons who had been involved in the traumatic incident and who had been afraid for their own physical safety, but who had in fact not been physically hurt; rescuers who had been at risk from physical injury or had reasonably believed themselves to be at risk; and persons who had participated in the incident in some way, and believed that they were the involuntary cause of another’s death or injury All others suffering psychiatric damage as a result of a traumatic incident were secondary victims and as such were unable to recover damages. Accordingly, the claimant’s claim against his employers for allegedly giving him negligent instructions to attend the scene of the accident failed.