Understandably, being made the victim of a car accident event may leave you startled and frightened. If these feelings so unresolved, they may fester and eventually develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For this, please continue reading to learn what to do if you develop PTSD and how an experienced Tampa car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can guide you through your road to recovery.
What are the typical signs and symptoms of PTSD?
First of all, PTSD is more than just feeling startled or frightened. Rather, it is a diagnosable physiatric disorder typically developed after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as a serious car accident. That said, the most common signs and symptoms that mental health professionals look out for before diagnosing their patient read as follows:
- Difficulty sleeping due to recurrent nightmares or flashbacks of the event.
- Active avoidance of places, people, or things that are reminders of the event.
- Difficulty maintaining employment due to a lack of concentration or cognition.
- Severe feelings of anxiety or depression or newfound fears or phobias.
- Easy irritability, drastic mood changes, and significant personality changes.
To reiterate, it is common for victims of serious or catastrophic car accident events to receive a PTSD diagnosis. But you may be more likely to develop this mental health condition under the following circumstances:
- If you incurred severe or permanent physical injuries from the accident event.
- If you witnessed the death of another party involved in the accident event.
- If you had a pre-existing history of traumatic experiences before the accident event.
- If you had a pre-existing diagnosis of anxiety, depression, or another mental health condition.
What should I do if I develop PTSD after my car accident event?
Simply put, if you develop PTSD after your car accident event, you should seek recovery for it through your personal injury claim. Here, you may claim pain and suffering and cite your official PTSD diagnosis. However, it is worth mentioning that Florida civil law may only permit compensation for this if physical injuries are associated with it. Specifically, you must have incurred a significant or permanent loss to an important bodily function, significant or permanent disfigurement or scarring, or a permanent physical injury to make a case for this non-economic damage.
Therefore, sufficient medical evidence is pivotal for your claim. This first entails medical records provided by the physician who treated your physical injuries immediately after the accident. They may go as far as to provide a statement regarding how these injuries are significant or permanent. Then, your treating physiatrist, therapist, or mental health provider may offer their official diagnosis of your PTSD, along with your relevant prescriptions and therapy session notes related to your expressed signs and symptoms.
Lastly, to maximize the amount of financial compensation you receive, you may want to showcase the external factors that may have made your PTSD a severe case. This is whether you can establish your pre-existing medical history with psychiatric disorders, your past experiences with personal injury events, or otherwise.
All of this to say, the time to act is now. Please pick up the phone or message us at Merricks Law Group, P.A. Surely, a skilled Tampa auto accident lawyer on our team will be the perfect fit for your upcoming legal case.
