Citation

Condon J, Stewart C, Galletly C. J. Law Med. 2022; 29(3): 888-894.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Thompson - LBC Information Services)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

36056671

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is unique among psychiatric disorders in that the cause, a traumatic event (or events), is known. PTSD is often the subject of legal proceedings, with persons seeking compensation from the agency considered responsible for the trauma. While PTSD is clearly a psychiatric disorder, there is less agreement about whether PTSD can also be categorised as a bodily injury, as defined by the Montreal Convention 1999. This article describes Pel-Air Pty Ltd v Casey, a case involving physical and psychiatric injuries resulting from the forced landing of a plane. It was ruled that PTSD was not a bodily injury under the Convention. While psychiatric expert evidence demonstrated that PTSD causes neurochemical changes, it was ruled that neurochemical changes do not indicate a bodily injury. We describe evidence of neuroanatomical changes and neurochemical changes in PTSD, proposing that the structure of the brain in PTSD support the argument that PTSD is a bodily injury.

Language: en

Keywords

PTSD; brain; bodily injury; neurobiology; neurochemical; physical injury; psychiatric illness