Psychological examination concerning non-pecuniary harm may address emotional experiences, stress reactions, changes in emotional state and psychological consequences of an event.
The expert does not determine the amount of compensation: this is a legal assessment for the court.
What you can do
- collect case materials and questions;
- assess the need for psychological or interdisciplinary examination;
- prepare a specialist opinion;
- check an existing examination through a report review.
Emotional experiences and legal assessment of harm
Psychological examination may concern a person's state, individual characteristics and the consequences of a situation within the questions posed. It does not automatically determine the amount of compensation or replace legal assessment of the grounds for liability.
Traceability of conclusions
It is important to distinguish information reported by the person, documents from other people and results of a direct assessment. Describing a difficult situation does not in itself establish every psychological consequence or its link to a particular event.
- Prepare a relevant chronology without excessive personal details.
- Identify previous assessments and known changes in the person's state.
- Preserve the source and date of each document.
- Do not present a preliminary consultation as a full forensic examination.
If answering requires medical competence or additional materials, this is identified separately. The certainty of a conclusion must correspond to the scope and method of examination, rather than the emotional intensity of the account of the dispute.
On this subject: Documents for psychological examination: what is relevant to the task.