Thousands of serving and former police officers in Northern Ireland today won the right to make compensation claims for post-traumatic stress suffered as a result of decades of violence in the North.
Mr Justice Patrick Coughlin ruled in the Belfast High Court that there had been "systematic failures" in the way officers had been treated.
His ruling followed a marathon civil action taken by legal representatives of more than 5,000 officers, past and present, who also alleged they endured anxiety and depression because of their exposure to terrorist atrocities.
Successive chief constables and the former Northern Ireland Police Authority were accused of negligence by failing to provide proper facilities to deal with their mental anguish.
In his judgment following the 102-day hearing, the judge said officers had suffered "emotional damage as real as that caused by bomb and bullet".
He said: "The society which exists in this province today is very different from that most citizens were forced to live in 30 years ago. There is no comparison with the dark despairing days of the terrorist campaign.
"That such a mood now prevails is due in part to the quiet dignity and dogged courage of ordinary men and women who place themselves between anarchy and the rule of law," the judge said.
Lawyers representing the officers said the verdict had opened the door to individual claims by officers. There has been speculation that if all 5,000 involved in the group action was successful the bill could exceed £100 million.
However, the judge said there was a watershed in 1986 when the-then Royal Ulster Constabulary set up an occupational health unit to deal with officers' mental problems.
He said they had not done enough or properly resourced the unit.