Can You Claim PTSD from a Car Accident?
In most cases, yes. Contrary to popular myth, car crashes, especially if they cause other catastrophic injuries, often cause PTSD as well. A sudden and unexpected car crash has roughly the same effect on the brain as a sudden and unexpected firefight in a foreign field. This effect is a physical brain injury.
Extreme stress alters the brain’s chemical composition. The amygdala expands and the hippocampus shrinks. Since the brain’s emotional response center outgrows its logical response center, the effect is like a bucking bronco knocking a cowboy out of the saddle.
The resulting PTSD symptoms, such as anger and depression, make daily functioning almost impossible. Furthermore, available PTSD drugs only treat these symptoms. They don’t address the chemical cause. Since these symptoms are severe and ongoing, a Tampa personal injury lawyer can usually obtain substantial compensation for these victims.
Diagnosing PTSD
PTS (Post Traumatic Stress) is very common after car crashes. In fact, if a car crash victim shows no emotional effects whatsoever, that’s usually a bad sign. The line between PTS and PTSD is a very fine one, mostly because these injuries overlap.
- Normal Stress Response: Car crashes of all kinds, even parking lot fender-benders, cause emotional distress. Frequently, this emotional distress is temporary. The aforementioned chemical change was limited and the brain adjusts to the new amygdala/hippocampus balance, usually with the help of an amateur therapist.
- Acute Stress Disorder: A more serious car crash, usually one causing a serious injury, usually causes ASD. This more advanced condition usually requires professional therapy, generally ongoing therapy. A Tampa personal injury lawyer obtains the financial resources victims need to treat their injuries in the future.
- PTSD: Car crash PTSD is usually uncomplicated PTSD or comorbid PTSD. A single event, like a catastrophic (life-threatening) car crash, causes uncomplicated PTSD. This form of PTSD is relatively easy to treat, if doctors diagnose it properly. Comorbid PTSD usually occurs if the victim self-medicates with drugs or alcohol. That approach may work in the short term, but it’s destructive in the long term.
To overcome these diagnosis issues, lawyers connect car crash victims with doctors who understand the true nature of PTSD and have specific experience with the different kinds of car crash PTSD.
Obtaining Compensation
If key issues in the case, such as the amount of damages, are clear, auto insurance companies must normally settle the matter before it goes to court. But, as outlined above, PTSD damage issues are very complex. Insurance companies use these complexities as an excuse to drag their feet.
Filing legal paperwork jumpstarts the settlement negotiation process. Insurance companies know that victims mean business when they file civil actions. Furthermore, the filing usually triggers a mediation requirement. A professional mediator forces both sides to negotiate in good faith. Since foot-dragging and other delay tactics are unavailable, about 90 percent of civil mediation sessions lead to case settlements.
Out-of-court settlements benefit victims in several ways, mostly because a settlement is a final resolution. Insurance companies promptly write checks when they settle cases. When they lose court verdicts, they often tie the matter up in appeals courts for months or years, leaving victims to fend for themselves in the meantime.
Reach Out to a Hard-Hitting Hillsborough County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to important financial benefits. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Tampa, contact Kobal Law. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.
Source:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6659351/
