If you developed symptoms of PTSD in the weeks or months following a car accident, you may be able to collect compensation for both your economic and noneconomic damages. Obtaining the right legal representation for you is crucial during this time. Work with a San Mateo County, California car accident lawyer for skilled legal advice during your case.
How Can a Car Accident Cause PTSD?
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental condition that develops in individuals who have gone through a traumatic event. After experiencing or witnessing a particularly stressful or scary situation, you may begin to experience symptoms of PTSD including:
- Trouble remembering the details of the event
- Feelings of anxiety and depression
- Vivid nightmares of the event
- Uncontrollable flashbacks
- The desire to avoid people, places, and feelings associated with the event
- Lashing out in fear or violence
- Being easily startled
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Feeling constantly on edge
The human brain is designed to protect itself by noticing the signs of danger and enacting a sort of alarm system that tells you how to react in order for you to survive. However, after experiencing PTSD the alarm system is easily triggered even when there is no danger in sight.
Car accidents, even minor ones, can be traumatic for those involved. If you were involved in a car accident where you were seriously injured, thought you might die, witnessed another individual’s gruesome injury, witnessed another person die, were trapped inside the car, or experienced any other traumatic or stressful situation, PTSD symptoms could arise as a result.
Can I Collect Compensation for PTSD After a Car Accident?
Yes, if you were involved in a car accident and developed PTSD you may be eligible to collect compensation. In California, both physical and psychological ailments are compensable in a car accident claim or lawsuit.
To be awarded compensation for your PTSD you will have to provide evidence of your condition and the ways in which it has affected you. With the help of your personal injury lawyer, obtain expert testimony from your psychologist, psychiatrist, and other doctors. They can testify about the diagnosis of your PTSD and the symptoms they have witnessed.
It can also be beneficial to keep a detailed journal throughout the weeks and months following the accident. Your diary can act as a firsthand account of how your PTSD has impacted your daily life, the new limitations and challenges you face, and more.
These pieces of evidence will help an insurance provider or jury determine whether your PTSD originated from the accident as well as the amount of compensation to award you to cover both your economic and noneconomic damages.
For more information and skilled representation during your case, reach out to an experienced attorney at the Law Office of Allister R. Liao, P.C. today.
