PTSD After an Accident: Can You Recover for Psychological Injuries?

You can recover for psychological injuries after an accident. Compensatory damages in a personal injury lawsuit include emotional distress, mental anguish, and psychological trauma. In some cases, you can even recover for psychological distress even if you did not suffer serious injuries.

To recover compensation for PTSD injuries, you need to provide evidence of your emotional harm, which can include your therapy records, psychiatric diagnosis, and expert witness testimony. To understand your legal options after an accident involving emotional trauma, talk to a local personal injury attorney.

Can You Get Compensation for Psychological Injuries?

You can get compensation for psychological injuries after an injury accident. Economic damages in an injury accident include medical bills, therapy costs, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages in an injury claim can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.

To get compensation for psychological injuries, you generally need to provide evidence of your mental health condition, which may include a diagnosis from a mental health professional. You also need to show your mental disorder was caused by the accident.

Recovering noneconomic damages for mental distress can depend on the laws in your state. Some states only award noneconomic damages for psychological injuries after serious and permanent injuries. Talk to an attorney about getting compensation for psychological injuries in a personal injury lawsuit.

Mental Distress Injuries After an Injury Accident

Accidents can cause more than physical damage. Many injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident will eventually heal. However, even after the injury victim physically returns to normal, they may have intrusive memories and flashbacks, and feel hypervigilant whenever they get behind the wheel. When the anxiety and psychological trauma of the car accident do not get better, it can signal a more serious mental health condition.

In some cases, the injury victim never fully recovers from their injuries. Serious accidents can cause permanent disability, including traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, or loss of a limb. Victims with catastrophic injuries may be reminded of their trauma regularly because of their permanent injuries. This can increase the risk of severe mental trauma that can make it difficult to return to normal life.

Psychological Injury Claims Without Physical Injuries

In limited situations, victims of psychological trauma can file a claim for damages, even without any physical injuries. There are two types of emotional distress claims: intentional conduct and negligent conduct. However, these claims vary greatly by state, and some states do not recognize certain types of non-physical injury claims. Talk to a local personal injury attorney to learn about your state’s laws.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) involves extreme or outrageous conduct that is intended to cause severe mental distress. To recover damages for intentional conduct that causes PTSD, the victim must show:

• The defendant engaged in extreme or outrageous conduct that goes beyond normal human decency
• The defendant intended to cause emotional distress or acted with reckless indifference
• The defendant’s actions caused the victim to suffer severe emotional distress

Examples of IIED claims include someone falsely calling a parent and telling them their child is dead or a stalker repeatedly making death threats. However, minor insults, name-calling, or obnoxious annoyances do not qualify.

Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) often involves bystander claims. For example, a couple is walking down the road, and a car jumps the curb, striking and killing one spouse but leaving the other unharmed. The surviving spouse may suffer severe emotional distress, even though they had no physical injuries.

What you need to prove an NIED case for PTSD depends on state law. States generally limit these claims to spouses or close family relatives. In some states, you need to be within the zone of danger. Other states require the victim to perceive the traumatic event as it happens. In some cases, you need to have physical contact to qualify as a bystander for NIED. However, a few states do not recognize NIED claims without an underlying physical injury.

How Can You Prove Mental Anguish After an Accident?

To prove your emotional damages after an accident, you generally need a mental health specialist’s diagnosis. A mental health professional can evaluate your history, symptoms, and other information to make a mental health diagnosis.

In a personal injury case, you need to present evidence of your PTSD or other mental disorder. Evidence includes a psychological diagnosis, therapy records, medical records, mental health expert testimony, testimony from friends and family, work performance records, school records, and personal diaries.

What Are Possible Legal Challenges for PTSD Claims?

The insurance company and defense attorneys will challenge your emotional damages claim after a personal injury lawsuit. They want to challenge the claim so they don’t have to pay for your injuries. Disclosing your mental health condition as part of your claim can be difficult. Having the defendants question your injuries can trigger an anxiety disorder or worsen trauma.

Legal challenges to emotional injury claims may include that your diagnosis is not accurate or that you are exaggerating your symptoms. Defense attorneys may also claim that you had pre-existing mental health conditions before the traumatic injury and that the accident did not cause your PTSD.

If you delayed getting mental health treatment, the insurance company could claim that your symptoms were not severe. If you had long gaps in mental health treatment, the insurance company could claim that your condition was resolved. Get the care you need for your mental health to prevent the insurance company from using lack of treatment against you.

Your accident attorney can explain what to expect when you file a claim for emotional damages. They can also prepare you for questioning by defense attorneys so you are not caught off guard. Understanding what to expect and preparing can reduce the stress of having someone doubt your injuries.

How Accidents Can Cause PTSD and Mental Health Issues

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that develops after experiencing trauma. Traumatic events could include being involved in a serious or life-threatening accident, having a near-death experience, sexual abuse, or witnessing another person seriously injured or killed in an accident.

It is common for people to have symptoms of mental distress after an accident. However, when the psychological and physical symptoms continue for months or years after the traumatic event, the trauma survivor may have PTSD. This can affect interpersonal relationships, health and wellness, school or work performance, and increase the risk of substance abuse.

PTSD and other mental health conditions can have both physical and psychological impacts. Symptoms can include nightmares, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, self-destructive behavior, and detachment from other people and interests.

Physical manifestations can include shortness of breath or rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, muscle aches, nausea, sweating, dizziness, and trembling. PTSD can also cause digestive problems, headaches and migraines, insomnia, high blood pressure, and chronic pain.

A mental health provider can offer treatment and medication to manage the condition and its symptoms. Treatment options include psychotherapy, exposure therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Talk to your mental health professional for information about mental health treatments.

Legal Advice for a Personal Injury Claim

Dealing with PTSD after an injury accident may make it difficult to take on a personal injury lawsuit. However, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you through the process. Your attorney can explain your legal options, help you understand what to expect, and negotiate on your behalf to get compensation for your injuries. Contact a personal injury lawyer for legal advice about how you can recover for psychological injuries after an accident.