Car accidents are terrifying and traumatic, especially when they cause serious injuries. Some car accident survivors experience deep trauma, particularly when they sustained life-threatening injuries or a loved one in the vehicle suffered serious injury or fatality as a passenger. Car accidents cause more than physical injuries, they also take an emotional toll on survivors. When making a compensation claim for damages, can an accident victim claim compensation for PTSD?
What Is PTSD, and What Are the Signs of PTSD After a Car Accident?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs when a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event and the after-effects impact their emotional wellbeing. Experiencing something terrifying causes a rush of adrenaline and stress hormones as part of the fight or flight response. For most people, this subsides over time. Unfortunately, this flood of fear and adrenaline in some individuals leaves a lasting effect with many ongoing symptoms, including a return of the fight or flight response in reaction to specific triggers. Signs of PTSD after a car accident include the following:
- Sleep disturbances ranging from nightmares to insomnia or excessive sleeping
- Avoiding talking about the accident
- Having vivid flashbacks
- Anxiety or panic attacks
- Difficulty concentrating
- Avoiding driving or riding in a vehicle
- Avoiding the area where the car accident occurred
- Feeling jumpy or becoming easily startled
- Moodiness, irritability, depression, or personality changes
- Isolation or withdrawal from normal activities
PTSD after an accident can have a significant adverse effect on a car accident survivor’s relationships, career, and social activities.
Understanding PTSD and Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Serious car accidents have long-ranging consequences for survivors, including physical, emotional, and economic impacts. These consequences become the accident victim’s “damages” in their accident claim. Texas car accident victims file claims for compensation against the at-fault party under Texas’s fault-based comparative negligence insurance system. Damages in Texas car accident claims fall into two categories: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are easy to add up using bills and receipts. Common economic damages in car accident claims include:
- Property damage to a vehicle
- Reimbursement for emergency medical expenses
- Future medical costs related to the accident, including counseling costs for PTSD
- Past and future income loss
- Diminished future earning capacity
Many car accident claims also include non-economic damages. These intangible damages are more difficult to assign a monetary value but are the most difficult aspect of a serious car accident. Common non-economic damages in Texas car accident claims include:
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Compensation for catastrophic injuries such as loss of limb, vision or hearing loss, or disfigurement
- Emotional damages such as PTSD
PTSD can be categorized as both economic and non-economic damages, with receipts for counseling costs and evidence of income loss, as well as emotional effects that impact quality of life.
How Can a Texas Car Accident Attorney Help?
Proving emotional damages such as PTSD can be challenging. Call the Austin auto accident lawyers at Shaw Cowart LLP today, before taking on the insurance companies who protect their profits at your expense. A successful claim brings the compensation you need to focus on your physical and emotional healing with fewer concerns about financial hardship.