Litigation and Preparing for Trial: What to Expect From a Workplace Stress Claim

Litigation is a structured, evidence-driven process focused on proving what happened, how the employer responded, and the impact on health and work. It can take time and feel demanding, but it provides a formal route for competing accounts to be tested and, where appropriate, for compensation and closure for workplace stress claims to be achieved. 

By the time matters reach this stage, the situation has usually moved beyond workplace resolution. Legal action is either being actively prepared or has already begun. The focus shifts from understanding what happened to proving it. 

This article is part of a series exploring each stage of a workplace stress claim, from recognising something is wrong through to litigation (this stage) and recovery: 

• Stage 1: Work-Related Stress: Early Signs, Causes and What to Do
• Stage 2: Making Your Situation Visible: How to Report Stress in the Workplace 
• Stage 3: An Employers Duty of Care: What Your Employer Must Do Once They Know About Your Workplace Stress
• Stage 4: Deterioration, Absence and Recovery: A Guide to Taking Time Off Work for Stress
• Stage 5: Legal Strategy After Workplace Stress: How Work Related Stress Claims Work
• Stage 6 (this stage): Litigation and Preparing for Trial: What to Expect From a Workplace Stress Claim
• Stage 7: Aftermath and Recovery: Life After Workplace Stress and What Comes Next
• Stages overview 

Summary of this stage 

This stage can be difficult to explain in full. Civil litigation is detailed, technical and highly dependent on individual facts, medical evidence and legal strategy. Most people who reach this point will be legally represented, and the advice they receive will be specific to their case. This section is not intended to replace that advice. Instead, it offers an overview of what the litigation journey typically involves and why preparing a case for trial is a significant undertaking. For many people, the process feels slower and more involved than expected. Understanding why helps manage expectations and reduce uncertainty. 

What happens at this stage? 

A civil claim for psychiatric injury is not a single step but a structured process. It usually follows a familiar pattern: a breakdown in the workplace relationship, sustained impact on health, attempts to resolve matters internally, and eventually consideration of legal routes. 

From this point onwards, the emphasis moves to evidence: what happened, what was known, what steps were taken and what harm resulted. 

Preparation often begins long before court proceedings are issued. Here is an overview of the different stages you can expect during litigation of a workplace stress claim, and what you should be aware of. 

How can Setfords help?

David Miers is a consultant solicitor specialising exclusively in work-related stress and psychiatric injury claims. He is based in Liverpool but can represent clients nationwide on a fully remote basis. He joined Setfords in 2019 and previously led the Work-Related Stress team at Slater u0026 Gordon after training at Weightmans.

Reach out today

Building the foundations of a workplace stress claim 

The early phase of litigation is largely investigative. This may involve obtaining: 

• GP and counselling records 
• Occupational health records 
• Employment and personnel files 

These materials help construct a detailed chronology of events and symptoms. 

This stage can take months and depends heavily on how quickly organisations respond to requests for records. 

Once the documentation has been reviewed, formal advice is usually provided on whether the case has sufficient prospects to proceed. If it does, the next step is typically a Letter of Claim or, in more complex matters, a conference with a barrister to assess merits and strategy. 

Medical evidence: the centre of the case

Psychiatric injury and workplace stress claims depend heavily on expert medical evidence. A formal report, prepared under procedural rules, considers: 

• Diagnosis 
• Causation 
• Prognosis 
• Impact on work and daily life 

Obtaining this evidence takes time and depends on expert availability. Once medical support is in place, further conferences with legal teams and specialist barristers often follow to refine strategy and assess next steps.   

Pre-Action: the Letter of Claim and response 

Before court proceedings are issued, most psychiatric injury and workplace stress claims follow the relevant Pre-Action Protocol for personal injury claims. The purpose of the protocol is to encourage early exchange of information, allow both sides to understand the issues, and explore whether the matter can be resolved without litigation. 

This usually involves a formal Letter of Claim setting out the allegations; the employer investigating and providing a reasoned response within a set timeframe and both parties considering disclosure and medical evidence at an early stage. The process is designed to promote fairness, narrow the issues in dispute, and, where possible, avoid the time and cost of formal court proceedings. 

In many cases, liability is denied at this stage. This does not necessarily reflect the strength or weakness of the claim. It reflects the adversarial nature of litigation and the need for evidence to be tested.  

How Setfords can support you.

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The human side of litigation

Litigation is not simply procedural. It can be emotionally taxing. People often experience: 

• Fatigue 
• Uncertainty 
• Frustration at delays 
• Concern about outcomes 
• The challenge of revisiting difficult events 

At the same time, some find the process validating an opportunity for their experience to be formally examined and acknowledged. 

What matters at this point is: 

• Evidence 
• Resilience 
• Preparation 
• Patience 

Litigation is a structured process designed to test competing accounts and reach a reasoned outcome. For those who reach this stage, the journey has already been significant. Litigation becomes one part of that journey, not the whole, and sits alongside recovery, rebuilding and decisions about what comes next.     

Issuing court proceedings 

If the case continues, court proceedings are issued. This involves: 

• Formal legal documents 
• A court fee (which can be substantial depending on the value of the claim) 
• The defendant filing a defence 

From this point, the case moves into the formal court timetable.   

Case management and structure 

The court then sets the framework for how the case will progress. This includes: 

• What documents must be disclosed 
• How many witnesses will give evidence 
• Which experts are permitted 
• How long the trial is likely to take 

This is typically addressed at a Case Management Conference, which sets the timetable through to trial. Claimants rarely need to attend this stage. 

Disclosure 

Both sides must identify and exchange documents relevant to the case. This can include: 

• Emails 
• Internal communications 
• Policies 
• Medical material 

Disclosure often changes how a case is viewed. Documents can support, undermine or reshape positions. 

Witness evidence 

Witness statements are prepared after disclosure has taken place. These set out: 

• What individuals experienced 
• What they saw 
• How events unfolded 

They are formal documents and form part of the evidence considered at trial. 

Expert evidence 

Experts for each side may examine the claimant and prepare reports. In psychiatric injury cases, this is a critical stage. 

Experts may later meet to identify areas of agreement and disagreement, producing a joint statement that helps narrow the issues for trial. 

Valuing the claim 

Valuing a psychiatric injury claim is rarely straightforward. Unlike some areas of law where losses are immediately visible, the value of these cases depends heavily on medical evidence, employment history, and how the injury affects an individual’s life over time. The same workplace events can lead to very different outcomes, and therefore very different claim values, depending on how each person is impacted. 

At the centre of valuation is expert medical evidence. Diagnosis, severity, prognosis, treatment needs, and the likely effect on work and daily life all influence how a claim is assessed. Until this evidence is available and understood, it is often difficult to give anything more than a broad indication of potential value. A litigant might not obtain the medical report until after receiving the Defendant’s letter of response which might mean not knowing what the case is worth for many months after the process has started. 

In legal terms, compensation is usually divided into two broad categories: general damages and special damages. 

General damages relate to the injury itself — the pain, suffering, and impact on quality of life caused by the psychiatric harm. This includes the emotional and psychological consequences of the illness, such as anxiety, depression, trauma-related symptoms, and how these affect relationships, confidence, and day-to-day functioning.  

These damages are assessed by reference to medical evidence and established guidelines derived from previous court decisions. The focus is on the severity of the condition, how long it has lasted, and whether recovery is expected.  

Two individuals may experience the same workplace events, but if one recovers quickly while another develops long-term psychiatric symptoms, the level of general damages is likely to differ significantly. 

Special damages, by contrast, relate to financial loss. These aim to compensate for measurable consequences of the injury, both past and future. This may include: 

• Loss of earnings 
• Reduced earning capacity 
• Treatment costs 
• Medication expenses 
• Therapy or counselling 
• Pension impact 
• Additional care or support needs 

In many cases, special damages form the largest part of the claim. 

Expert tip: Principles of Compensation 

A key principle of compensation is that it is not designed to punish the employer or provide a financial windfall. The purpose is to place the individual, so far as money can do so, in the position they would have been in had the injury not occurred. 

This is why claims involving similar circumstances can vary so widely in value. 

For example, two employees may be exposed to the same workplace behaviour and develop comparable psychiatric conditions. However, if one was earning £30,000 per year and able to return to work after a short absence, while the other was earning £90,000 per year and becomes unable to work long-term, the financial impact and therefore the value of the claim will be very different. 

Similarly: 

• A younger individual with a long working life ahead may have substantial future loss; whereas 
• Someone close to retirement may have limited financial loss but significant general damages 

The circumstances of the wrongdoing may be the same, but the consequences for each person are not. This can be difficult for some individuals to understand, particularly when media headlines report large settlements for claims that, on the surface, may not appear as serious as their own experience.  

In reality, unless the injury is very severe, the majority of the value of a civil claim often lies in the financial impact on the individual particularly lost earnings, future work capacity, and treatment needs rather than the circumstances of the event alone. 

Medical prognosis also plays a central role. If recovery is expected within months, the claim may be relatively modest. If symptoms are likely to persist for years, affect employability, or require ongoing treatment, valuation increases accordingly. 

In addition, courts consider whether individuals have been able to mitigate their losses, for example by engaging with treatment, attempting a return to work where medically appropriate, or seeking alternative employment where possible. This is not about blame; it reflects the legal principle that compensation addresses actual loss rather than hypothetical outcomes. 

As evidence develops, particularly medical reports and employment information, the value of a claim is reassessed. Schedules of loss are updated, future projections refined, and treatment needs clarified. This process continues throughout litigation and often becomes most precise shortly before settlement discussions or trial. 

Ultimately, valuing a psychiatric injury claim is a careful exercise in understanding impact. It requires looking not only at what happened in the workplace, but at how the injury has altered a person’s health, career, finances, and daily life. 

The aim is not to attach a price to an experience but to compensate for the consequences of it. 

Setfords is here to support.

We have a specialist solicitor who is highly experienced in this area of work and is one of the few UK specialists in work-related stress claims. David has a proven track record with millions of pounds of compensation recovered for clients since joining Setfords in 2017.

Reach out today

Settlement discussions 

Offers can be made at any point, but they often arise once medical evidence is complete and financial losses are better understood. 

Some cases resolve through negotiation or settlement meetings before trial. Settlement is not guaranteed and depends on liability, evidence and risk. 

Preparing for trial 

If resolution is not reached, the focus turns to trial preparation. This involves: 

• Final conferences with legal teams 
• Reviewing evidence 
• Preparing witnesses 
• Agreeing trial strategy 

For many people, this is the most emotionally demanding stage. 

Trial 

Trial is the culmination of the process. 

Attendance is usually required from: 

• The claimant 
• Witnesses 
• Experts 
• Legal teams 

The court hears evidence and decides: 

• What happened 
• Whether the employer is legally responsible 
• Whether injury was caused 
• What compensation, if any, should be awarded 

The length of trial depends on complexity and the number of witnesses involved. 

The time reality 

From early preparation to trial, litigation often spans years rather than months. 

Timetables depend on: 

• Court availability 
• Complexity of the case 
• Expert evidence 
• Disclosure 

Understanding this helps explain why cases can feel slow and why persistence is often required. 

Legal context: the burden of proof 

In civil litigation, the burden of proof rests with the claimant. It is not enough to show that stress occurred; it must be proven that the employer breached their duty of care and that this breach caused a recognised psychiatric injury. The standard of proof is the balance of probabilities, meaning it is more likely than not that the events occurred as described and caused the injury. 

What’s next?  

Legal strategy is rarely straightforward. In workplace stress cases, where health, employment, and injury law all intersect, it is particularly important to understand the full picture before committing to a path. The decisions made at this stage shape not just the legal outcome, but how the process unfolds and what options remain available as things develop. 

For most people, reaching this stage has involved a long journey. Whatever direction the legal process takes from here, it is worth remembering that litigation is not the end of the story. 

In Stage 7: Aftermath and Recovery: Life After Workplace Stress and What Comes Next, we look at what comes after: how to begin rebuilding a sense of professional identity, how to process what has happened, and how the experience, however difficult, can become an early warning system for a healthier and more sustainable future.