Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health condition people experience after they have been in a car accident. If you have concerns about living with PTSD, recovering from PTSD, or the expense of seeking treatment for PTSD after an accident, you can seek medical treatment and legal counsel.
Insurance could cover your condition, or you could receive compensation from another party if they are at fault for your accident. If you are dealing with PTSD after a car accident, our car accident lawyers can review your situation and advise on how our attorneys can help you recover compensation. Call Herschensohn Law today at (206) 588-4344 for a free consultation.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), about 3.5% of adults in the United States suffer from PTSD yearly. Throughout their lifetimes, about one in 11 people will receive a PTSD diagnosis, APA reports.
A sudden traumatic experience can bring on PTSD, which can be emotionally, physically, and financially devastating. If you have PTSD after a car accident, you may wonder how you will get your life back in order as quickly as possible.
If you have PTSD, you must seek medical treatment from a licensed medical or mental health professional. You may be concerned about the expense of seeking medical care. However, if you were not at fault for your car accident, your PTSD treatment should be recoverable through an insurance claim or injury lawsuit.
Do not put off seeking medical treatment for PTSD. This debilitating condition can prevent you from living your life productively, While treatment may seem expensive at the moment, the long-term repercussions of not seeking medical treatment could ultimately prove to be much more financially devastating.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are three broad symptom types of PTSD. They are:
After a car accident, you may constantly re-live your accident, avoiding driving or getting into cars. You may be easily startled or struggling to get to sleep or stay asleep. If you have any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention as quickly as possible to treat your symptoms.
If your PTSD is a direct response to an accident, you can pursue financial recovery options.
To recover PTSD-related damages, you must prove another party caused your condition. To do this, you must show your PTSD diagnosis directly resulted from the car accident you experienced and that you are not the responsible party for the accident.
If you hire an attorney following your car accident, then they will work on proving that another party in your accident was liable. They will do this by compiling evidence, reviewing reports and eyewitness testimonies, and speaking with professionals. Once you have proved liability, you can start to recover damages.
If you have PTSD, you could recover economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include:
Non-economic damages include:
Non-economic damages are harder to define than economic damages, but they can make your settlement much more lucrative. If you are struggling to go about your everyday life because of PTSD, you may be able to recover these damages following your accident.
“Very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Zach Herschensohn provided me with excellent service. He kept me well informed and explained complicated issues in a way I could understand. He took the lead and guided me through everything necessary to achieve a successful outcome. Overall, I am very pleased with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.”
“Very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Zach Herschensohn provided me with excellent service. He kept me well informed and explained complicated issues in a way I could understand. He took the lead and guided me through everything necessary to achieve a successful outcome. Overall, I am very pleased with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.”
“Very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Zach Herschensohn provided me with excellent service. He kept me well informed and explained complicated issues in a way I could understand. He took the lead and guided me through everything necessary to achieve a successful outcome. Overall, I am very pleased with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.”
“Very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Zach Herschensohn provided me with excellent service. He kept me well informed and explained complicated issues in a way I could understand. He took the lead and guided me through everything necessary to achieve a successful outcome. Overall, I am very pleased with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.”
“Very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Zach Herschensohn provided me with excellent service. He kept me well informed and explained complicated issues in a way I could understand. He took the lead and guided me through everything necessary to achieve a successful outcome. Overall, I am very pleased with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.”
PTSD can sometimes take a while to become apparent. You may be able to get in a car without any problems for an extended period. However, one day, you may suddenly fear getting in a car, as you re-live your accident. This can lead to avoidance long after your accident took place.
Just because time has passed does not mean you cannot recover compensation for your treatment and non-economic damages. While PTSD can have a latent onset, you must seek medical attention as soon as you experience symptoms. Make clear to your mental health professional that your PTSD is related to your accident. This will ensure documentation is created describing when your symptoms started and why.
If significant time passed before your PTSD symptoms began, you could benefit from seeking help from car accident lawyers. If you already received an insurance settlement for your accident, but it did not include compensation for PTSD, your attorneys can work on your behalf to help you recover those damages. They can help you gather evidence, including witness accounts and medical records, to document your condition. They can also lead your case and negotiate with insurance companies for you.
Do not allow yourself to suffer from PTSD or struggle financially because you feel too much time has passed. If another party is liable for your accident, and you have PTSD, you could demand damages to meet your expenses.
Living with PTSD following a car accident can feel helpless. You may not be able to do things you were able to do with ease before your accident, and you may find your life severely inconvenienced because of your avoidance symptoms.
If you have PTSD, you might be able to file a claim against the party responsible for your accident. Once your symptoms begin, you should seek medical treatment promptly. If you want to know how you can make a full financial recovery for your PTSD-related losses, you can call us today at (206) 588-4344. We will review your situation and give you straightforward legal advice during a free consultation. We’re ready to listen to you, so reach out to us today.
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