When you get right down to it, there are two types of accidents. There are the accidents that you cause, or the accidents caused by somebody else. Neither type of accident is intentional.
The major difference comes down to who pays for any compensation. If you’re involved in any type of accident, from a car crash out on the I-10 to a slip and fall at a grocery store, you’re entitled to seek a personal injury claim for all your physical injuries and property damage.
Can emotional trauma after an accident also be compensated?
Yes, it can. For that to happen, you need to fortify your claim with strong evidence. It also helps to get the support of an experienced Gulfport personal injury attorney.
Your lawyer can help identify the evidence you need to be covered for any losses.
Common Types of Psychological Injuries After a Crash
It will be easy to diagnose a physical injury in a car accident. Your doctor can order a variety of X-rays, MRIs, or other scans that can help identify the injury. After that, they can prescribe an effective treatment plan. Diagnosing psychological injuries is a bit more complex. Many crash-related mental traumas take days or possibly weeks to manifest.
These crash-related mental traumas require recognition and treatment. Common psychological injuries include the following:
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): When PTSD develops, you can re-experience the crash through vivid flashbacks. PTSD also triggers intrusive memories and debilitating nightmares that cause a major disruption to your daily life.
- Driving Phobia: You can develop an intense, irrational fear of getting behind the wheel of a car. You can also be afraid of riding as a passenger. This can lead to severe avoidance behaviors, such as staying off highways or seeking ways to avoid driving altogether.
- Anxiety and Panic Attacks: In the days and weeks after a car accident, you can develop a persistent state of heightened “fight or flight” mode. When that happens, you can experience sudden heart palpitations, dizziness, and excessive worrying about future crashes.
- Depression: A car accident that leaves you injured can generate feelings of profound sadness and hopelessness. You might lose interest in the normal activities or hobbies you once enjoyed. These feelings are often triggered by the loss of independence if you can’t drive because your car is damaged. You can also feel depressed over the chronic pain you experience or the financial stress caused by the accident.
- Sleep Disturbances: Chronic insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns often stem from anxiety and reliving the accident in your mind.
- Cognitive Difficulties & Mood Swings: All of your psychological trauma can lead to a kind of “brain fog” where you have difficulty concentrating. You might also experience increased irritability or anger, as mood swings are also a common side effect of emotional trauma after an accident.
How to Prove Mental Anguish Without Physical Injury
When you suffer injuries because of a car accident, you have to establish what is referred to as causation. That is the link between the accident and your injuries. For instance, if another driver runs through a red light and crashes into your car, resulting in your sustaining whiplash, the cause would be the crash itself.
The same has to happen when you need to prove mental anguish you suffered after a Mississippi car accident, even without physical injury. Because there are no visible wounds or fractures that would show up on an X-ray, you need to provide objective documentation, including the following:
- Professional Documentation: If you seek treatment from a licensed therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist, they can provide a clinical diagnosis. That can include their therapy notes and records of treatment that can validate your psychological suffering. This is not considered a violation of your privacy because you would be giving permission for them to release this information.
- Medication Records: If you were prescribed any antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or sleep aids as a result of the crash, you can provide copies of those prescriptions.
- Personal Symptom Journal: It will help to detail your day-to-day struggles in a journal. That is when you can note specific symptoms like panic attacks, flashbacks, persistent sadness, and sleep disturbances.
- Witness Statements: It is obvious to friends and family when you’re going through an emotional trauma. You can get statements from the people closest to you who can attest to your mood changes, withdrawal, and inability to enjoy normal daily activities.
- Physical Manifestations: Even though you might not have a physical injury from the crash or you’ve recovered from an injury, there could be additional physical manifestations related to your trauma. You want to make note of occurrences of headaches, fatigue, upset stomach, or significant weight changes.
Calculating the Value of Pain and Suffering Damages
There can be many tangible receipts associated with the injuries you suffered in a car accident. You might have bills from the ER or your doctor. There could also be receipts from the mechanics who are repairing your car.
With pain and suffering, there aren’t always direct receipts. Compensation for those injuries is handled in a different way.
First, there will be consideration of the severity of the pain and suffering. Has it prevented you from working or performing daily routines? Are you no longer able to participate in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed? While you might be able to return that someday, you should be compensated for the time you’ve lost.
These are the two most common approaches for calculating pain and suffering or emotional trauma after an accident:
- Multiplier Method: With this method, you’ll add up all of your economic damages. This would be all your medical bills, lost wages, and property repairs. Next, you’ll multiply that number by a number that typically ranges from 1.5 to 5. Determining that multiplier will depend on the severity of the injuries, the permanency of the condition, and the impact on daily life. For instance, if your total economic damages are $50,000 and your multiplier is 3, you will receive a total of $200,000 if approved.
- Per Diem Method: The other option is to designate a specific dollar value for each day you experience pain and suffering. You will then multiply that figure by the total number of days you are expected to endure that pain until you recover. This method is better suited for a physical injury than emotional trauma because you can put a finite date on when you recover from a broken bone or soft tissue strain.
When seeking compensation for pain and suffering, it is crucial to work with an experienced attorney who understands what to ask for. Once you accept an offer, you can’t come back to ask for more at a later date. You need to have an appreciation of your current and future costs.
Getting the Right Support For Your Personal Injury Claim
The best support you can get for your emotional trauma after an accident is from a qualified medical professional. They will be able to help diagnose what is going on, help you develop coping mechanisms to process what you’re going through, and, hopefully, get your life back on track.
The second-best type of support you can get is to speak with an experienced Gulfport personal injury lawyer. At Owen, Owen & Smith, PLLC, we have helped many folks who have been the unfortunate victims of a car accident caused by a negligent driver. We understand that these accidents often create emotional trauma along with physical injuries.
You deserve to be compensated for that as well.
Emotional trauma might seem hard to prove, but we have many years of experience with gathering the relevant evidence needed to prevail with these types of claims.
We also recognize how vital it is to find a remedy that will help bring some measure of closure to the trauma. If you’ve suffered emotional trauma from any type of accident, you’re entitled to seek compensation.
Call to set up a consultation to discuss your options.
