Accidents Cause More Than Physical Damage.
It damages your mental health.
Long after cuts have healed, bones have mended, and cars have been repaired, emotional trauma lingers. For many survivors, life will never feel quite the same.
Here’s the problem…
So much focus is placed on physical injuries after an accident. Broken bones. Medical costs. Car repairs. Damages. You get the idea.
The invisible mental injuries that occur are often overlooked. And that can create huge issues down the road for accident survivors.
In this article:
- Why Mental Health is Overlooked After an Accident
- PTSD: The Invisible Injury
- Depression and Anxiety — Long-Term Expectations
- How Limited Tort Affects Mental Health Claims
- Long-Term Effects You Won’t Read Elsewhere
- How to Get the Compensation You Deserve
Why Mental Health is Overlooked After an Accident
Broken bones and fractures are easy to prove.
Slice open your back and you’ll see a fractured vertebra on an MRI.
Tear your ACL and you’ll find it on a scan.
Damaged mental health can’t always be photographed or proven with medical equipment. That’s why it gets overlooked.
Pennsylvania drivers who chose the limited tort insurance option signed away their ability to sue for pain and suffering. It’s possible to win your case with a psychological injury — but you’ll need to prove that “serious injury” standards are met. And doing that alone can be next to impossible if you’re dealing with untreated trauma. That’s where a personal injury lawyer in Pennsylvania can help.
Survivors often don’t realize this at first…
PTSD: The Invisible Injury
Post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t come up in conversation enough.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 9% of car crash victims develop PTSD in the aftermath. When you consider how many vehicle accidents happen every year, that 9% is actually pretty staggering.
Car accidents are the most common cause of trauma to males (25%). Second most common cause of trauma for females.
Depression and anxiety aren’t the only invisible injuries you can suffer after an accident.
Here are common PTSD symptoms to watch for:
- Nightmares about the accident
- Flashbacks / intrusive memories
- Difficulty sleeping
- Avoiding driving or riding in vehicles
- Irritability and angry outbursts
- Constant vigilance (watching for danger)
- Emotional numbing or loss of interest
Worth noting…
These symptoms don’t always surface right away. Some people develop PTSD weeks, months, or even years after the accident occurred.
Depression and Anxiety — Long-Term Expectations
You can’t have PTSD without depression and anxiety.
Fact.
Studies show that individuals with PTSD are 3 to 5x more likely to develop depression. Of course depression can occur on its own after an accident, but if you suffered physical trauma the likelihood of long-term depression is greatly increased.
20% of females and 6% of males who suffer some form of physical trauma will develop depression.
PTSD and depression commonly occurs alongside other conditions too:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Specific phobias (ie. driving phobia)
- Major depressive disorder
- Survivor’s guilt
Depression looks different for everyone, but here are some common symptoms:
- Hopelessness
- Feeling helpless
- Moodiness
- Irritability
- Feeling disconnected from others
- Sexual dysfunction
- Suicidal thoughts
One in three crash survivors struggle with PTSD, anxiety, depression, or developing phobias one year after the accident. This was a study conducted by Oxford University. If you don’t seek proper help within the first year, these mental health injuries can last indefinitely.
Yikes.
How Limited Tort Affects Mental Health Claims
Pennsylvania law allows drivers who chose a limited tort option to file a lawsuit for pain and suffering in two circumstances:
- You were injured in a car accident because someone else was driving drunk
- You can prove your injuries meet the “serious injury” requirement
The tricky part is defining what qualifies as a “serious injury”. Fortunately, psychological injuries like PTSD, severe anxiety, and depression can qualify under this category. However, you must prove that to the court.
Have a licensed therapist document your PTSD diagnosis. Keep records of how anxiety affects your daily life. Follow through with treatment — therapists can only help if you talk to them. Building a strong case typically requires working with an attorney. Insurance companies often deny legitimate mental health claims if you don’t have legal representation.
Long-Term Effects You Won’t Read Elsewhere
PTSD and depression cause serious problems, and here’s how they can affect your day-to-day:
- Loss of income from missing work or not being able to perform your job well
- Relationship problems with friends and family
- Slowed physical recovery (mentally traumatic events have been shown to hinder physical recovery)
- Anxiety and depression leading to more serious conditions
- Medical expenses (feeling mentally good involves seeking treatment)
Car accidents are the leading cause of PTSD among U.S. citizens who aren’t military veterans. 1 in 5 survivors develop long-term mental health conditions after their accident.
That’s a mental health condition incidentally. These are just a few of the long-term effects crashes can have on someone’s mental well-being:
- Sleep disturbances (insomnia)
- Drinking alcohol more often
- Driving recklessly themselves
- Starting arguments
- Developing memory problems
Mental health problems don’t just go away on their own.
If you hit your knee on the ground, you eventually forget about it and the pain stops hurting.
Not so with mental health.
How to Get the Compensation You Deserve
Here’s the most important thing to remember…
Seeking mental health treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, or any other condition is not a sign of weakness. You wouldn’t refuse treatment for a broken bone so don’t refuse treatment for damaged mental health.
Physical accidents affect everyone differently, but that doesn’t mean you should suffer in silence.
Here’s what you should do after an accident:
- Visit your doctor. Document everything. Mental and physical.
- Ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist or mental health specialist
- Just like physical injuries, the sooner you treat your mental injuries, the better you’ll recover
- Stay consistent with treatment. If you stop going to therapy it makes it harder to claim PTSD down the road.
- Contact a lawyer. If you were on the limited tort option when the accident happened, you’ll need help proving “serious injury” to recover compensation.
Do you have PTSD or depression after an accident? You’re not alone. Seek treatment now and start fighting for the compensation you deserve.
Wrapping Up…
Trauma can destroy lives.
Whether you’re intentionally overlooking your mental health symptoms or you just don’t know where to start, don’t wait to seek treatment.
You don’t have to let insurance companies walk all over you either. Just because you filed your car insurance claim as a limited tort does NOT mean you aren’t entitled to compensation. You just have to know how to fight for it.
Long term mental health effects of physical trauma include:
- PTSD
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Phobias
Don’t brush off that mental trauma. Here’s what you can do about it:
- PTSD, depression, and anxiety are all treatable conditions — get help now
- Document your damages. PTSD can be denied by insurance companies if you don’t have documentation from a medical professional.
- Ask for help. Contact a local personal injury lawyer to learn about your options. Consultations are typically free anyway so at least get some advice from a legal professional.
Let the recovery process begin.
