ptsd

Ignoring worrying signs and changes in your emotional state can affect your life for years to come. 

Dealing with the aftermath of a car accident can be more complicated than you expected. Besides suffering from property damage or personal injuries, you might be affected emotionally and mentally by such trauma. Many car accident victims have PTSD, a condition previously thought of being an exclusively military problem. 

The problem with PTSD is that its symptoms generally don’t appear right away. So, can you link it to your car accident and collect benefits? 

What Is PTSD?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder triggered by a traumatic event that endangered the victim, putting them at risk of death or catastrophic injury. Symptoms of PTSD after such an event include: 

• Re-living the event over and over
• Avoiding triggers or situations that might be similar to the event
• Emotional numbness and unresponsiveness
• Physical manifestations like insomnia, irritability, mood changes, and so on 

It’s easy to understand how PTSD can dramatically affect one’s quality of life since it can be hard to control, and it’s so intense in its manifestations. It can also be hard to diagnose, especially if the victim needs some time to acknowledge the symptoms and connect them to the car accident.

Is It Difficult to Include PTSD in Your Car Accident Claim?

If you need compensation for your PTSD following a car accident, it’s crucial to provide evidence to support the diagnosis and its connection to the car accident. 

You should mention any emotional distress to the doctor you will see after the accident and follow their recommendation if they refer you to a specialist. Describe your symptoms to your doctors in detail and avoid exaggerating them or making them seem less than they are. 

Keeping a diary of your PTSD episodes is also very helpful, as it will prove how your life has been affected by the car accident. Avoid being too subjective in your diary entries and describe the signs you feel with accuracy. 

Based on such evidence, your St. Louis car accident attorney can make a case that your quality of life has been greatly diminished by PTSD and the other damages you have suffered. It might be included in the “pain and suffering” category or treated separately. What’s important to remember is that mental health is crucial and should undoubtedly be addressed by any victim. Ignoring worrying signs and changes in your emotional state can affect your life for years to come. 

How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You Get Compensated for Your PTSD

To ensure your claim will bring you fair compensation, speak with an experienced car accident lawyer who has dealt with PTSD cases before. They can guide you and build a strong case to support your claim, and you can start putting the ordeal behind you.

PTSD is a complex mental health disorder, and showing, beyond a doubt, that a car accident is the main cause of it may be difficult.

Around 7-8 out of every 100 people will suffer from PTSD at one point in their lives. One of the potential causes of PTSD is car accidents, as these events are, by definition, traumatic.

PTSD and other mental health disorders don’t follow the same pattern as physical injuries, which are usually quite apparent right after the collision takes place. Some car accident victims may start feeling the true emotional toll of the accident months after the crash. What are their chances of getting compensated then?

Mental Health and Car Accident Claims

PTSD is a complex mental health disorder, and showing, beyond a doubt, that a car accident is the main cause of it may be difficult.

In a car accident claim, it’s the burden of the person filing it (the victim) to not only show the other driver is liable, but also demonstrate the link between their injuries and the car accident. In cases involving physical injuries, this is generally easier to do, as you can have a lot of evidence to back up your claim, such as photos of your injuries taken right after the collision.

However, you can’t see mental health disorders like PTSD. Moreover, it is well known that such disorders may have more than one cause, such as:

• Family mental health history
• History of drug abuse or drug use
• Medical history
• Other traumatic experiences the person may have gone through.

Additionally, since your symptoms of PTSD and diagnoses will only come months after the collision, the time frame in between these two points may come into question.

You will be asked to detail any events you’ve gone through after the accident. If anything may be considered traumatic, such as the death of a loved one, an argument can be made that the car crash is not the sole cause of your PTSD. This may give the insurance company enough proof to dismiss your claim or offer a lower settlement.

Speak With a Car Accident Attorney

Proving the crash leads to PTSD is difficult, but far from impossible. If you work with an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney, they can build a strong case in your favor, and help you get compensated for all the pain and suffering you’ve accumulated because of the crash, including PTSD treatment.

Here, a lawyer may need to gather physical evidence that shows the at-fault driver is liable, bring forward your medical history, and perhaps even recommend a psychiatric evaluation to show that your condition is indeed linked to the crash.

Cases involved PTSD and other mental health conditions are some of the most complex, but that should never deter you from filing a claim and getting what’s rightfully yours. To get a better sense of how you should proceed with your claim, speak with our experienced legal team for a FREE case evaluation.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in a person who experiences a traumatic event.

The person may experience various symptoms that may be triggered by many forms of stimuli. In the past, PTSD was often only associated with war veterans. However, today, it has been recognized to affect victims of severe car accidents and other similar traumatic events. In this post, we will discuss the common symptoms that a car accident victim with PTSD may experience.

Types of PTSD

PTSD can be acute or chronic, and a person can develop either type. PTSD is treatable, and some patients can be treated within six months. Those who suffer it for a longer period are known to have chronic PTSD. Some people may develop PTSD immediately after suffering the trauma, while some may develop it months or even years after it.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a person is known to have PTSD if they have experienced the following symptoms within a one month period

• At least one avoidance symptom
• At least one re-experiencing symptom
• At least two cognition or mood symptoms
• At least two arousal or reactivity symptoms

AVOIDANCE SYMPTOMS

When an individual avoids events, objects, places, thoughts or even feelings that may remind them of their trauma, it is referred to as avoidance symptoms.

RE-EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS

Any symptoms that take the victim back to the feelings that they experienced at the time of trauma are often called re-experiencing symptoms. These include frightening thoughts, flashbacks, and bad dreams.

COGNITION AND MOOD SYMPTOMS

The accident victim may be difficulty remembering key details about the incident if they are suffering from PTSD. They may often be in a bad mood and may have feelings of guilt and negative thoughts about themselves. The victim may also lose interest in activities they once found fun.

AROUSAL AND REACTIVITY SYMPTOMS

These symptoms are constant and not necessarily triggered by the traumatic incident. These include anger issues, poor concentration, startling easily, and inability to sleep.

Those who suffer from PTSD may experience all of these symptoms. In some cases, they resolve within a few weeks, in which cases it is known as Acute Stress Disorder. When it lasts longer, it is likely a case of PTSD.

A car accident victim is more likely to experience PTSD symptoms if they:

• • • Experience intense trauma
    • Have experienced some other trauma earlier in life such as childhood abuse
    • Have mental problems such as depression or anxiety
    • Have problems with substance abuse
    • Have blood relatives with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety
    • Lack of a good support system