Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Secondary victim definition

What does Secondary victim mean? In negligence practice, a secondary victim is someone who suffers a recognised psychiatric injury (nervous shock) without being directly endangered, but by witnessing a sudden, shocking event involving a primary victim, or by reasonably fearing for the primary victim’s safety. The term is not statutory; it is a case law label used to define when liability for psychiatric injury may extend beyond those physically involved. Across the UK and Ireland, key features typically include: foreseeability of psychiatric harm; a close tie of love and affection with the primary victim; proximity in time and space to the event or its immediate aftermath;...

Secondary victims and psychiatric injury: practitioners' guide to the accident requirement, proximity and post-Paul limits on clinical negligence (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

The development of the law

Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police has traditionally stood as the principal authority on Secondary victim claims. Subsequent jurisprudence after Alcock evolved in a piecemeal way, with decisions that were sometimes inconsistent. The Supreme Court's ruling in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has introduced several revisions and offered much-needed certainty for practitioners. Grasping the landscape both before and after Paul matters because the underlying principles have been refined and clarified, though not every element has altered. Accordingly, this Practice Note is arranged into pre-Paul and post-Paul parts. The amendments attributable to Paul are clearly signposted within this Practice Note. For deeper commentary on the judgment, consult News Analysis: Landmark Supreme Court decision on secondary victims (Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust). It must be appreciated that claims by secondary victims form an exception to the general rule that, at common law, one individual has no legal entitlement to compensation concerning the physical integrity or condition of another. As with any exception, the law imposes constraints and control devices on the creation of...

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Andrew Wilson

Andrew has more than 25 years’ experience of working in the fields of personal injury and occupational disease litigation, acting for both claimants and defendants. He trained at L Bingham & Co, gaining early experience in a number of important high profile claims involving the MIB. During the 1990s Andrew worked at Hextalls and then Kennedys, predominantly for defendants across a range of motor, employers’ liability and public liability matters many of which involved serious injuries or death. More recently, he has dealt with cases for claimants who have suffered serious injuries or occupational disease. He was a partner in a large specialist practice. He has provided seminars to solicitors and other legal professionals both for an external conference company and in house on the workings of the Civil Procedure Rules in the context of personal injury claims, amongst other...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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