Learning Outcomes
After studying this article, you will be able to explain the Alcock criteria for secondary victims in claims for psychiatric harm, distinguish between primary and secondary victims, and apply the control mechanisms for secondary victim claims in negligence. You will also be able to identify the key requirements of proximity, perception, and foreseeability, and assess whether a claimant meets the legal threshold for recovery.
SQE1 Syllabus
For SQE1, you are required to understand the legal requirements for secondary victims to recover damages for psychiatric harm in negligence. In your revision, focus on:
- the distinction between primary and secondary victims in psychiatric harm claims
- the Alcock control mechanisms for secondary victims: close tie of love and affection, proximity in time and space, and means of perception
- the requirement for sudden shock and foreseeability of psychiatric injury
- the application of these principles to factual scenarios and the main limitations on recovery for secondary victims
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- What are the three main Alcock criteria that a secondary victim must satisfy to recover damages for psychiatric harm?
- Can a claimant who witnesses an accident on live television succeed as a secondary victim? Why or why not?
- What is meant by a "close tie of love and affection" in the context of secondary victim claims?
- Why is the requirement for "sudden shock" important in secondary victim claims for psychiatric harm?
Introduction
Claims for psychiatric harm in negligence are subject to strict requirements, especially for those who are not directly involved in the traumatic event. The courts have developed specific "control mechanisms" to limit the class of claimants who can recover as secondary victims. These rules were set out in the leading case of Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and are central to the SQE1 syllabus.
Primary and Secondary Victims
A person who suffers psychiatric harm may be classified as either a primary or secondary victim. A primary victim is someone directly involved in the incident or in the zone of physical danger. A secondary victim is someone who suffers psychiatric harm as a result of witnessing injury to another, but is not personally endangered.
Key Term: primary victim A person who is directly involved in the traumatic event or is within the zone of physical danger.
Key Term: secondary victim A person who suffers psychiatric harm from witnessing injury to another, but is not personally endangered.
The Alcock Criteria for Secondary Victims
To prevent unlimited liability, the courts require secondary victims to satisfy the Alcock criteria—also known as the "control mechanisms." All must be met for a claim to succeed.
Key Term: Alcock criteria The set of legal requirements a secondary victim must satisfy to recover damages for psychiatric harm in negligence.
1. Close Tie of Love and Affection
The claimant must have a close relationship with the primary victim. The law presumes this for spouses, parents, and children. Others must prove the closeness of their relationship.
Key Term: close tie of love and affection A strong, close personal relationship between the claimant and the primary victim, usually presumed for immediate family.
2. Proximity in Time and Space
The claimant must be present at the scene of the incident or its immediate aftermath. Arriving hours later or learning of the event by phone will not usually suffice.
Key Term: proximity in time and space The requirement that the claimant is physically present at the event or its immediate aftermath.
3. Means of Perception
The claimant must directly perceive the event or its immediate aftermath with their own unaided senses—seeing or hearing it in person. Watching on television or hearing about it from others is not enough.
Key Term: means of perception The requirement that the claimant witnesses the event or aftermath with their own senses, not through media or third parties.
4. Sudden Shock
The psychiatric injury must result from a sudden, shocking event, not from a gradual process or ongoing stress.
Key Term: sudden shock A psychiatric injury caused by an immediate and horrifying event, not by gradual exposure.
5. Reasonable Foreseeability
It must be reasonably foreseeable that a person of ordinary fortitude in the claimant’s position would suffer psychiatric injury.
Key Term: reasonable foreseeability (psychiatric harm) The requirement that psychiatric injury is a predictable result for a person of normal fortitude in the claimant’s circumstances.
Worked Example 1.1
A mother witnesses her child being struck by a car and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder. She was present at the scene, saw the accident happen, and had a close relationship with the victim.
Answer: The mother is likely to satisfy the Alcock criteria: close tie of love and affection (parent/child), proximity in time and space (present at the scene), means of perception (witnessed with her own senses), sudden shock (immediate event), and reasonable foreseeability.
Worked Example 1.2
A man learns by telephone that his partner has been killed in a workplace accident. He develops depression as a result.
Answer: The claim is likely to fail. Although there may be a close tie of love and affection, the man was not present at the scene or immediate aftermath, nor did he perceive the event with his own senses.
Exam Warning
For SQE1, be careful to distinguish between primary and secondary victims. The Alcock criteria apply only to secondary victims. Do not apply these requirements to primary victim claims.
Application of the Alcock Criteria
The courts apply these criteria strictly. For example, in Alcock, claims by family members who watched the Hillsborough disaster on television were rejected because they did not witness the event with their own senses. In McLoughlin v O'Brian, the claimant succeeded because she saw her injured family in the immediate aftermath at the hospital.
Worked Example 1.3
A woman arrives at the hospital two hours after her husband and children are injured in a car accident. She sees them before they are treated and suffers psychiatric injury.
Answer: The claim may succeed. The House of Lords in McLoughlin v O'Brian accepted that seeing family members in the immediate aftermath at hospital could satisfy the proximity requirement.
Revision Tip
When answering SQE1 questions, check each Alcock criterion in turn. If any are not met, the claim will fail.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- The distinction between primary and secondary victims in psychiatric harm claims.
- The Alcock criteria for secondary victims: close tie of love and affection, proximity in time and space, means of perception, sudden shock, and reasonable foreseeability.
- The requirement that all Alcock criteria must be satisfied for a secondary victim to recover damages.
- The strict application of these control mechanisms by the courts to limit liability for psychiatric harm.
- The importance of direct perception and presence at the event or immediate aftermath.
Key Terms and Concepts
- primary victim
- secondary victim
- Alcock criteria
- close tie of love and affection
- proximity in time and space
- means of perception
- sudden shock
- reasonable foreseeability (psychiatric harm)
