Can serving on a Jury give you PTSD?

[cybercoma]

1 hour ago, TimG said:

If serving on a jury causes PTSD then it only a matter of time before movie theaters will be sued for inducing PTSD.

Put the compensation aside. Can being on a jury cause it or no? What do you think?

Also, you choose to go to movies. You don't choose to be on a jury. The state chooses you.

[Boges]

2 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

Jury selection however is not voluntary, it is a civic duty. If a voluntary soldier can claim compensation for witnessing events then why can't a mandatory jury member? 

But you do know, that a ruling that this woman is entitled to compensation would lead to people actively seeking to be on a jury only to claim PTSD afterwards. Which would in turn require that all jurors receive a psychiatric evaluation before serving. All making an already expensive justice system even more expensive. 

[BC_chick]

This was one of the most brutal stories I've read and I have never forgotten it.  Even before the juror's grievance brought it back into the spotlight, as a mother of a school aged daughter, I often thought about it.  The story single-handedly is why I will walk my daughter to school until she finishes university.

If reading a few articles had that kind of affect on me, I think it's 100% plausible to have PTSD watching graphic images for days on end and hearing detailed testimony about every detail of the crime.

 

[Boges]

2 minutes ago, BC_chick said:

 The story single-handedly is why I will walk my daughter to school until she finishes university.

 

You're going to accompany your child to school into her early 20's? That's a joke or error right? 

Edited October 19, 2016 by Boges

[cybercoma]

5 minutes ago, Boges said:

But you do know, that a ruling that this woman is entitled to compensation would lead to people actively seeking to be on a jury only to claim PTSD afterwards.

How does one go about getting on a jury for a trial as horrific as this one? How often do these kinds of trials even come up?

[?Impact]

7 minutes ago, Boges said:

But you do know, that a ruling that this woman is entitled to compensation would lead to people actively seeking to be on a jury only to claim PTSD afterwards. Which would in turn require that all jurors receive a psychiatric evaluation before serving. All making an already expensive justice system even more expensive. 

No argument there, but not sure what relevance it has.

[BC_chick]

6 minutes ago, Boges said:

It was an exaggeration for effect but yes, this story is why I won't let my child walk home alone.

 

[cybercoma]

Also, why should jurors get psychiatric evaluation before serving? How about having counsellors employed by the courts to help jurors throughout the entire process and after? A little due diligence goes a long way.

Could you imagine a psychology researcher forcing people into a study (like the state forces you into jury duty) that exposes them day after day to violent and horrific images, videos, and stories? That would never pass a Research Ethics Board and for good reason. Even seemingly benign studies require counselling to be available at all steps of the way, as well as the participant knowing full well they can withdraw at any moment. A juror can't withdraw and isn't given counselling or care through the process.

[BC_chick]

11 minutes ago, Boges said:

But you do know, that a ruling that this woman is entitled to compensation would lead to people actively seeking to be on a jury only to claim PTSD afterwards. Which would in turn require that all jurors receive a psychiatric evaluation before serving. All making an already expensive justice system even more expensive. 

Or maybe we can start taking care of the jurors the way we do for the paramedics and police involved in these types of crime.  

What's wrong with that?

[Wilber]

3 minutes ago, BC_chick said:

It was an exaggeration for effect but yes, this story is why I won't let my child walk home alone.

 

Maybe you should get compensation.

[BC_chick]

1 minute ago, Wilber said:

Maybe you should get compensation.

I didin't do my civil duty by reading the newspaper.  I didn't watch graphic images for days on end and heard testimony about what it looks like first hand to rape and kill an 8 year old.  The story stayed with me but it's not PTSD.

Otherwise, you'd have a point.

[cybercoma]

4 minutes ago, BC_chick said:

Or maybe we can start taking care of the jurors the way we do for the paramedics and police involved in these types of crime.  

What's wrong with that?

911 operators in New Brunswick have unlimited leave time. They can take days off whenever they want, no questions asked. Why? Because of how traumatic some of the experiences are working there.

[Wilber]

I agree that the same kind of help should be made available for jurors as for emergency responders and students who have been exposed to tragedies, but compensation is something else again.

I know where you are coming from though. We lived in North Delta and our kids were in elementary school when Clifford Olsen was on the loose.

[Wilber]

Should the judges, lawyers and other court officers who have to hear these cases also get compensation for PTSD?

[BC_chick]

6 minutes ago, Wilber said:

Should the judges, lawyers and other court officers who have to hear these cases also get compensation for PTSD?

The reason I think it's a good idea to award compensation to this woman is that maybe it'll make our justice system take a proactive approach to providing care to jurors involved.

Maybe if this woman had been helped with emotional support throughout the years, she wouldn't have a basis for monetary compensation.

ETA - I do absolutely believe it's possible to have PTSD from sitting on a jury for a trial like this.

Edited October 19, 2016 by BC_chick

[cybercoma]

10 minutes ago, Wilber said:

I agree that the same kind of help should be made available for jurors as for emergency responders and students who have been exposed to tragedies, but compensation is something else again.

Sure, the compensation is part of the lawsuit because of time missed from work due to the psychological effect hearing that trial had on the person. It could also be punitive, considering the system does nothing to care for jurors' wellbeing. If the counselling was in place, there would be no case for compensation.

[Wilber]

I also think it is possible. 

If all compensation in this one case meant was that support was put in place for jurors, I would say that's fine. Unfortunately that is not how our system works. Once a legal precedent is set, I'm afraid claims will become chronic. This is a sticky one.

 

[Wilber]

30 minutes ago, cybercoma said:

Sure, the compensation is part of the lawsuit because of time missed from work due to the psychological effect hearing that trial had on the person. It could also be punitive, considering the system does nothing to care for jurors' wellbeing. If the counselling was in place, there would be no case for compensation.

I really doubt this would fit the definition of behaviour warranting punitive damages in Canada.

[dialamah]

46 minutes ago, cybercoma said:

911 operators in New Brunswick have unlimited leave time. They can take days off whenever they want, no questions asked. Why? Because of how traumatic some of the experiences are working there.

I talked to a woman who worked for about a year on emergency dispatch; she left that job for the same reason. 

[dialamah]

42 minutes ago, Wilber said:

Should the judges, lawyers and other court officers who have to hear these cases also get compensation for PTSD?

This is a good question.  Is it possible that there are strategies in place to help them deal with this kind of stuff?

[capricorn]

3 hours ago, Boges said:

I actually was once. Was asked if the race of defendant was an issue, I said "Not at All" and was promptly challenged by the defence, not sure why. I'm sure if I answered yes, I would have also been challenged.

I was once selected for jury duty. The defendant was charged with multiple sexual assaults on women. The first cut of prospective jurors was the charges were read and each of us was asked individually to look directly at the accused. Apparently, just the way we looked at the accused was enough to count us in or out for the next phase of selection. It's easy to get out of jury duty, just call the accused "scumbag" under your breath and home you go. Or burst out crying or not look at the scumbag at all. LOL

[cybercoma]

1 hour ago, Wilber said:

I really doubt this would fit the definition of behaviour warranting punitive damages in Canada.

I doubt it as well but psychological trauma from hearing these cases should be an expected outcome. They ought to have services in place.

[TimG]

6 hours ago, dialamah said:

True to a point, but not a reason to automatically dismiss someone's experience.

People fit their experience into what they have been told. If people are told that certain experiences cause PTSD then you can bet that many people who would have just shrugged it off and moved on before will suddenly claim to have PTSD.

What makes matters worse is these people are not necessarily lying - they are experiencing the same well documented placebo/nocebo effect that leads people to experience positive or negative reactions to inert drugs.

That is why I don't believe any good would come from accepting that second hand experiences can cause PTSD.

[BC_chick]

Yep, like transgenders and climate change.  All fake.

[BC_chick]

TimG just denies anything that doesn't fit his bubble of reality.