PSYCHIATRIC DAMAGE

Question 1

Explain Psychiatric Harm

Answer 1

There is no specific statute, but courts use several principles:

-Claimants must show that the type of psychiatric harm was reasonably foreseeable.
-The injury must be serious, medically recognized, and more than temporary upset.
-Courts used to require Independent Expert Medical Evidence, but this has been relaxed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Tests used in court:

Peace of Mind Contract – If the contract’s purpose was to provide emotional security (e.g., funeral services, wedding planning), emotional harm may be compensable.

Objective Test – Would an average person (“reasonable fortitude”) be expected to suffer psychiatric injury in the same situation?