Psychological Injury to Families

Australian personal injury law recognises psychological harm as a compensable injury — but not every form of distress following a difficult birth will give rise to a legal claim. For a psychological injury claim to succeed, several elements must be present.

First, the psychological harm must be a recognised psychiatric condition — not simply grief, sadness, or a difficult emotional response. Conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, adjustment disorder, and anxiety disorder are examples of recognised psychiatric conditions that may ground a claim.

Second, the condition must have been caused or substantially contributed to by witnessing a traumatic birth that involved medical negligence. In other words, the negligence that caused the physical harm to the mother or infant must also be the event that triggered the psychological injury in the family member.

Third, the family member making the claim must generally have been present at — or closely connected to — the traumatic event. Australian courts apply a proximity test when assessing these claims, and the details of each individual situation matter.

This is a nuanced area of law. But it is a well-established one. And if your psychological injuries arose from watching your partner or child suffer harm that should not have occurred, you may have every right to be compensated for what you have been through.

The psychological harm experienced by partners and family members who witness traumatic births can be wide-ranging and deeply disruptive to every area of daily life. Common presentations include:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is among the most commonly diagnosed conditions in partners who have witnessed birth trauma. It manifests through intrusive memories and flashbacks to the birth, hypervigilance and exaggerated startle responses, avoidance of reminders of the event, emotional numbing, and severe disruption to sleep. For many partners, the symptoms persist for years — affecting their capacity to work, parent, and maintain intimate relationships.

Major Depression

Partners who witness a traumatic birth — particularly one involving a stillbirth, neonatal death, or severe injury — frequently develop major depressive illness. This is not ordinary sadness or a natural grief response. It is a clinical condition that impairs everyday functioning, reduces the capacity to bond with the baby, strains family relationships, and in severe cases can affect the person’s ability to work and maintain their physical health.

Anxiety Disorders

Persistent anxiety following a traumatic birth is common in partners. This may manifest as generalised anxiety about medical settings, intense fear around subsequent pregnancies, panic attacks, and an inability to engage with reminders of the original event. In many cases, this anxiety is carried silently — particularly by fathers, for whom social expectations around emotional expression can create additional barriers to seeking help.

Relationship Breakdown

The psychological impact of birth trauma on families is rarely experienced in isolation. When both a mother and her partner are traumatised by the same event, the risk of relationship breakdown increases significantly. Partners may find themselves unable to communicate about what happened, unable to support each other, and unable to reconnect — particularly if the relationship with the new baby is complicated by grief, guilt, or fear. The 2024 Birth Trauma Inquiry described this as a ‘whole system of trauma’ — and it is one that the legal system is capable of recognising.

Among the most devastating experiences a partner or family member can face is the loss of a baby — through stillbirth or death shortly after birth. When that loss was caused by a failure in medical care, the grief that follows is compounded by a profound sense of injustice. Something that should not have happened, happened. And the people left behind are asked to carry it.

Psychological injury claims following perinatal loss — including claims by partners — are possible under Australian law where the loss was the result of negligent care. These claims require careful, compassionate legal handling, and we approach them with the seriousness and sensitivity they demand.

Birth Injury Lawyers has experience acting in claims arising from stillbirth and neonatal death. We understand the particular complexity of these matters — legally and humanly.

For a successful psychological injury claim, compensation may include:

• Pain and suffering — the recognised psychiatric impact of the trauma, past and future
• Loss of income — if the psychological injury has impaired your capacity to work, either partially or completely
• Medical and psychiatric treatment expenses — including therapy, counselling, and medication
• Loss of enjoyment of life — including the impact on relationships, social engagement, and daily wellbeing

The value of a psychological injury claim varies considerably depending on the severity and duration of the condition, its impact on work and daily life, and the prognosis for recovery. Anthony Porthouse will work with the appropriate medical experts to ensure that your injuries are fully and accurately documented before any settlement is considered.

Time limits apply to claims for psychological injury in the same way they apply to physical injury claims. In most Australian jurisdictions, a claim must be commenced within three years of the date the injury becomes discoverable — which for psychological injury often means the date of diagnosis, or the date on which a reasonable person would have connected their condition to the birth event.

If you are unsure whether you are within time, we encourage you to reach out as soon as possible. Early advice is always preferable, and there are circumstances in which time limits can be extended.

We understand that making a call to a law firm about what happened at your child’s birth is not easy. For many partners and family members, it is the first time they have spoken about what they experienced to anyone outside their immediate circle — or the first time they have allowed themselves to frame it as an injury rather than just something they need to get over.

We do not rush those conversations. We do not treat psychological injury claims as less serious than physical ones. And we bring the same expert preparation and commitment to these claims that we bring to every matter on our books.

Anthony Porthouse has 36 years of experience in personal injury law and 15 years as a specialist medical negligence litigator. He is on first-name terms with Australia’s leading medical experts — including the psychiatrists and psychologists who can properly assess and document the conditions that underpin these claims.

If you witnessed something during the birth of your child that you have never been able to put behind you — if it has affected your mental health, your relationships, your work, or your sense of yourself — you deserve to know whether the law can help you.

Contact Birth Injury Lawyers today for a confidential, no-obligation consultation.