Shop assistant who suffered PTSD after an armed robbery awarded £180,000

The Impact

The psychological impact of the robbery was profound. Christine suffered from PTSD, flashbacks and panic attacks and lived in fear of reprisal. Her confidence to go about her daily life had been completely shattered, she now needed someone to accompany her whenever she went out the house.

Christine never felt safe in the shop again. She took five months off work, followed by a phased return to employment during which she began to make some progress. However, her recovery was set back after a terrorist attack, in which she was not directly involved, triggered a severe relapse. Christine was not well enough to continue in her employment and eventually left the company in 2019.

The Case

There were two elements to the case. The first was establishing liability, determining who was at fault, and the second was demonstrating the impact on Chrstine.

In terms of liability, we argued that Chrstine was vulnerable and had been left to work alone in unsecure premises. We highlighted a series of missed opportunities to make the shop safer, documenting incidents of local shops being robbed and the advice provided by the police in response to these thefts. The absence of a maglock on any of the doors was another important safety concern, as having one would at least have slowed down the intruders. A poorly positioned pillar in the centre of the shop also contributed to the risk, obstructing the line of sight from the counter to the doorway.

Former employees were approached as witnesses to share what Christine was like to work with and the layout of the shop prior to the incident. A security expert was also consulted to explain how the robbery could have been prevented and how potential offenders may have been deterred.

The second element of the case concerned the impact on Chrstine. She had suffered severe and entrenched PTSD, a fact confirmed by all our experts. We had to present evidence of how this affected her ability to work in the future, including the loss of earnings and her overall capability. This was particularly complex due to the nature of psychological injuries, the unpredictable timeframe of recovery and the need to assess her condition over a longer period.

Her employer denied any wrongdoing throughout. They defended their sole-working scheduling policy as well as the risk management and deterrent measures in place in the shop. In their view, they had taken reasonable steps to protect Christine, including robbery awareness training and keeping minimal cash in the till.

Court case

The incident occurred in 2016, and the claim was initiated in 2019. By 2025, six years later, the litigation was still ongoing, with extensive issues and disputes concerning disclosure.

At a stalemate, the case was due to proceed to court. With disclosure issues still unresolved, the judge agreed to vacate the hearing and ordered a trial for 2026, 10 years after the original incident.

Settlement

With Christine needing closure on the matter and importantly access to full treatment to support her mental health, we strongly advocated for a joint settlement meeting with the defendants which they agreed to.

There were still risks in Christine’s case, particularly regarding the level of liability that could be attributed to the defendants. Thanks to the hard work of the team in bringing as much evidence as possible to build a strong case, Christine agreed to a compensation package of £180,000.

The settlement allowed Christine to close a very difficult chapter in her life and focus on her recovery and future.