COURT DISMISSES RUC STRESS CLAIM; 5,500 officers fail in damages bid.Byline: MICHAEL McHUGH A LEGAL claim by police officers over stress disorder caused by the Troubles was dismissed by the Court of Appeal yesterday. A total of 5,500 Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary GC (RUC) (Irish: Constáblacht Ríoga Ulaidh) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). officers took a group action alleging management had failed to treat PostTraumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic stress disorder An anxiety disorder in some individuals who have experienced an event that poses a direct threat to the individual's or another person's life. adequately. The policemen were involved in years of anti-terrorism operations which saw many colleagues killed or injured. Belfast Court of Appeal Judge Lord Justice Paul Girvan was reviewing an earlier decision in the High Court. His office said: "Lord Justice Girvan said that it could not be concluded that the Chief Constable's failure to provide training and education to officers to identify signs and symptoms of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder to enable them to trigger a referral to the occupational health unit or to other medical advice was a breach of his duty of care." The court heard the RUC RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary: a former name for the Police Service of Northern Ireland RUC n abbr (= Royal Ulster Constabulary) → fuerza de policía en Irlanda del Norte RUC (Brit had established the health unit and taken forward stress awareness training for the force. The Court spokeswoman added: "Lord Justice Girvan said it was not possible to conclude ... for any given individual that the outcome would probably have been different if the RUC had pursued a different policy." |
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