Can you file a claim for PTSD most of us associate PTSD with people who were in the military. However, anyone who suffers a severe trauma is liable to develop PTSD. Drivers of vehicles involved in accidents on the nation’s roads can sometimes get the symptoms of PTSD. If this happens to you or your loved one after any sort of accident, you may have a claim for PTSD, and may be entitled to damages.
Several factors affect accidentson the roads, from distracted driving to ignoring the speed limit. Distracted driving in particular could lead to terrible fallout, such as causing brain injury to those involved in the incident. Weather conditions can lead to unexpected head-on collisions. Drunk driving can add complications. In some states drunk driving carries its own types of damages.. Even without these hazards, the risk of a rear-end collision or rear-end accident is still high. With these types of accidents, it’s clear unskilled drivers may be at risk on the roads.
Personal injury lawyers in Houston have had more than their fair share of clients suffering from PTSD. Many of them have been drivers of vehicles involved in car crashes. In fact, it happens more than you may think. Some of the factors that could cause PTSD include:
- Car accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Construction accidents
- Any type of assault
If your loved one is suffering from PTSD as the result of any sort of accident, you need to call an experienced personal injury lawyer in Houston right away to see about a compensation claim.
What is PTSD?
PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a condition that is caused or triggered by a traumatic event. As a result, the victim continues to experience fallout from the incident or is unable to live a normal life because of it. Drivers in vehicles that crash typically face this sort of feedback from the incident and may be held liable for their negligence.
Some of the symptoms of PTSD include:
- Nightmares
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Flashbacks
- Disturbing thoughts
Many clients who are involved in traumatic accidents or fall may suffer from PTSD. Or, drivers of vehicles in car accidents where they suffered serious burns, they may suffer from PTSD after the crash. Your Houston personal injury lawyer will demand compensation to deal with these factors. PTSD is an injury just like any other, excpet it affects the brain, not the body. You can even experience it from minor accidents. An insurance company involved in this claim is likely to put your claims about PTSD from Texas auto accidents to the test.
Vehicles at the accident scene may serve as additional evidence to show that the drivers may have suffered from PTSD. However, if each one of those drivers wants to claim for this experience, they’d need to be diagnosed individually.
How Will Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Houston Prove PTSD?
Proving that you have PTSD can be very challenging for your personal injury lawyer in Houston, Texas. Many of insurance company adjusters and jurors are skeptical of drivers from accidents claiming PTSD. They figure, since there’s no way to prove you don’t have it as a result of the accidents you were involved in, you better be able to prove that you do. A personal injury claim based on this premise requires thorough evidence to back it up.. Usually, the only way to accomplish this is by using experts and other medical professionals.
Typically, your lawyer will make sure a doctor has diagnosed you with the disorder. You can also submit other types of evidence to prove that your injuries. These include:
- Testimony by both you and your family that you have the symptoms of PTSD
- A video of you during an actual anxiety or panic attack
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- Proof that you’ve scored high on the
General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
- Keep in mind, even if you can prove you have PTSD, your personal injury attorney in Houston still has to prove your damages.
What Kind of Damages Will You Receive For Your Claim For PTSD?
If you are suffering PTSD as a result of your accident, your attorney will demand certain damages. The defendant should be responsible for any losses suffered as a result of their behavior. That’s why your personal injury attorney in Houston is going to demand the following damages:
- Medical bills and future medical bills – The person who caused your collision should have to pay any and all medical bills related to your injuries from your personal injury lawsuit. Injuries are likely to cost a lot at a hospital and your attorney may require medical records to verify the type of injury and the costs associated with them. Long term injuries such as traumatic brain injuries may also feature as part of the compensation from your accident claim.
- Lost wages – Common injuries need not be solely to your body. For the first few weeks or months after the incident, an accident victim may not be able to work. If so, the defendant should have to cover these lost wages. Loss of income is one of the most common types of grievances that victims have in their lawsuit.
- Lost future earnings – If the PTSD of an accident victim is bad, they might not be able to work at all after some accidents due to stress and anxiety. This means you’ll probably lose future earnings. The defendant should be responsible for these losses and these injuries should be considered when looking at a settlement from the accident claim.
- Pain and Suffering – A claim for PTSD is usually accompanied by a compensation claim for pain and suffering. This is to pay you for any physical and mental anguish caused by severe injuries associated with the accident at that time and potentially months afterward, depending on the impact on your body and mind. Accidents can cause people to not be able to enjoy life the way they used to. Many PTSD claims include a demand for a significant amount in physical pain and suffering compensation. Consult your experienced attorney or a legal firm to find out more about this compensation claim.
Just remember, it’s your personal injury lawyer’s job to make you whole.. It’s not their job to make you money. Compensation from this settlement may include large volumes of money if your accident lawyers can prove how bad your injuries are.. Severe damage to your body, like spinal cord injuries, or whiplash can leave a person crippled for life. They may also impact the maximum compensation you get from the agreement. Ask your Houston attorney about these details.
PTSD From a Crash
Drivers involved in a crash are most likely to have PTSD. The at-fault party may have been involved in aggressive driving at the time, leading to the victim’s vehicle being hit. Vehicles involved in this type of accident usually have parties that face injuries that may or may not be life-threatening. Compensation from agreements should take this into account as well.
Aggressive driving may be a significant factor in determining fault in an accident, but it isn’t the only circumstance that lawyers can rely on. The police accident report usually has evidence relating to the scene to help determinations, collected by a police officer. Even so, aggressive driving by a party can lead to crashes. Insurance companies may not cover the at-fault driver in some of these situations. The victims of the crash may need medical care to take care of their accident injuries.. The insurance companies for the at-fault driver may be responsible for paying for their medical care, depending on the losses incurred.
The police report is crucial in determining which party is at fault in an accident, and is usually available from the local police department.. Insurance companies that have access to the police report can immediately determine whether their client is the at-fault party and if they should take the case to trial. The police report records all the witnesses at the scene of the accident. Depending on the type of accident, and the police report findings insurance companies may decide to pursue a court settlement for losses or make an agreement out of court. The terms of the agreement are decided with the victim and their lawyers.
Determining Fair Settlement in Personal Injury Claims
Typically, an insurance company in Texas will never want a personal injury claim to get to trial, expecially if their clients are the at-fault parties. Insurance companies are likely to look at the scene of a crash and determine whether the injuries are severe enough to warrant a settlement payment. Unfortunately, many Houston insurance companies lowball the victims of accidents because they can get away with paying less in the settlement for losses.
Occasionally, the insurance firm may hire insurance adjusters to inspect the scene and verify the amount that needs to be paid based on the evidence. Adjusters typically deal with property damage as well as vehicular damage as fallout from a crash. They may also be able to determine if the at-fault driver is responsible for covering the costs of property damage based on the scene.
Insurance claims that focus on physical issues may be easier to prove in Texas since the evidence is readily available. PTSD especially tends to be an area where insurance firms rely on how hard the steps are to prove its existence. The scene of the incident isn’t enough evidence to prove PTSD. In Texas, if you have to prove your PTSD claims, you’ll need to go through it in several steps. You’ll need to establish that the jury or Houston judge understands what PTSD is. Once you manage that, you’ll need to provide a professional diagnosis from a doctor to back up your legal claims. Your Texas legal firm may also need to provide expert witnesses to help verify your claims. Texas insurance companies hire their own attorneys to raise questions, enabling them to dispute these claims and the evidence..
Compensation from a car accident should also take into account the damage to both drivers and vehicles. Drivers may face significant physical trauma in addition to mental stress such as PTSD. These maladies may apply to both drivers. Repairs for vehicles would also figure in the trial, since it’s unlikely that insurance companies would accept full liability. Insurance may also not cover the full cost of dealing with physical injuries and stress from both drivers.
Because of the severity of injuries from accidents, you may also be entitled to other forms of fair compensation from accident lawsuits. Concerning liability, Houston courts may determine that the defendant should pay punitive damages to the plaintiff as additional compensation. These punitive damages aren’t directly related to liability from these accidents, but instead were used to warn others from following the same course of action. Your auto accident attorney can help.
Contact a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer For Help With Your Claim For PTSD
Some injuries from accidents are so severe that the accident victim never recovers, and their family is left with a feeling of loss. And even if they recover physically, they may not recover mentally. If this has happened to you or your loved one, call our personal injury law firm . You can set up a time to meet with one of our skilled injury lawyers in Houston, Texas. If you can’t come to our firm, we can arrange something that works for you, either a phone call or a remote meeting. As a skilled Houston attorney at McDonald Worley specializing in insurance claims that include PTSD, we’re the best choice for someone who understands your situation. You can direct all your questions to us.
PTSD is a very serious condition and it can impact your family forever. Take advantage of our free initial consultation and find out what your rights are. It could make all the difference in your life. You deserve justice and an experienced car accident attorney can help you get just that. Give us a phone call today!