When people hear the term post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as “PTSD,” they often think of war zones and soldiers struggling to return to normal life. The truth is that anyone involved in a traumatising incident can develop PTSD, which can have just as profound an effect on a person’s life. In fact, car accidents are one of the most common causes of PTSD. If you have recently been in a collision and are experiencing emotional changes that you do not quite understand, making life increasingly difficult, you might be struggling with PTSD.

Fortunately, PTSD is more understood today than ever before, giving you several options to make a healthy recovery. Besides getting the treatment you need, you might also be able to file a legal claim against the negligent driver to help cover the costs of such treatment. An experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer can help you file your claim, document your symptoms, and gather evidence to prove how PTSD is affecting your life. 

What are signs that I have PTSD after a car accident?

PTSD can be difficult for car accident victims to identify because it can manifest in numerous ways. Most people often exhibit several symptoms that point to PTSD. 

For instance, flashbacks of the accident are a common sign that you might have PTSD. People often have vivid memories of their car accident after it happens, sometimes to the extent that they feel as if they are reliving the accident. 

You might experience sudden bouts of anxiety that seem to come out of nowhere. Perhaps your heart rate increases whenever you are reminded of the crash, or your “fight or flight” instincts kick in because you are hypervigilant, giving you an impending sense of danger and potential threats. 

Avoidance is another common sign of PTSD. You could have trouble getting behind the wheel to run errands or taking routes that were a normal part of your routine before the accident. Of course, this can cause you to miss out on important events and live the same quality of life you enjoyed before the crash. 

Other signs of PTSD are more subtle. Victims are often more irritable after a car accident, having bursts of anger that they never had before. Or, they feel emotionally numb and detached from the people in their lives. Others suffer insomnia and nightmares, causing sleepless nights that can make the symptoms mentioned above worse. 

These symptoms are usually worse if someone has trauma in their past. If you were already prone to depression, those feelings might be more pronounced than they were before you were injured.

The important thing is to recognise that these changes in behaviour are connected to your car accident and get the appropriate treatment from mental health professionals. It will also help prove in a legal claim that you deserve compensation for what you are enduring. 

Can I recover compensation for PTSD in a legal claim for a car accident?

PTSD is not a type of harm that can be easily calculated in monetary terms. Still, that does not mean you cannot pursue compensation for it in a claim. However, that pursuit can be challenging without the help of an attorney. 

Most car accident claims start by filing for insurance. While insurance typically covers economic losses, like medical expenses and lost income, it typically does not compensate for non-financial damages, which PTSD falls under. Having an attorney on your side can change that. A lawyer can negotiate with an insurance company, stressing the impact PTSD has had on you and your family and why a settlement should include those damages. Many times, insurance companies will include compensation for PTSD and other emotional harm in a settlement agreement because it is in their best interest to avoid a trial in which they could be liable for much higher damages. 

If you can prove it, that is. Prioritising your care is paramount, and the records your treatment generates can be used to illustrate your PTSD damages. Professional assessments and diagnoses from your healthcare providers can be submitted as evidence. Your mental health providers can also testify to provide their expert opinion on your condition. If your counsellors are unavailable, your attorney can work with other certified psychologists and therapists to review your records and provide insights. Thus, do not overlook the importance of getting treatment to help overcome your PTSD.

If the insurance company pushes back, you will need to file a lawsuit to recover damages for PTSD. If you live in an at-fault insurance state, this does not present much of a problem since injury victims can file a lawsuit for all their damages. In a no-fault or “tort” state, though, victims can only pursue non-economic damages if they suffered serious injuries or have an insurance policy that does not limit their right to sue. And let’s not even get started on if the other driver is un- or underinsured because that’s an entirely different headache. If necessary, your attorney can review your insurance policy and gather medical records to show your injuries are serious. 

Work with a lawyer to recover compensation for PTSD and more after a car accident 

If you are suffering from PTSD after a collision, you likely have a range of other damages that you need to be compensated for. Your legal team will know how to assess those losses, what evidence proves them, and organise the records so it is clear to the court that you deserve compensation. While money cannot alleviate the issues PTSD often causes, getting compensation can help address it and put you back on the path to the normal, healthy lifestyle you enjoyed.

Tim Williamson, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.