Crashes happen in seconds. Physical injuries may heal in months. Yet, for many victims of car accidents, emotional symptoms persist much longer. Trauma can trigger flashbacks, depression, and other forms of emotional distress that can impact your daily life.
After a traumatic accident that was not your fault, you have the right to pursue fast and fair compensation for far more than just the physical harm you suffered. Under Connecticut law, you have the right to seek emotional damages – compensation for the damage done to your emotional well-being.
In this article, we will take a compassionate look at how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacts car accident survivors’ lives, and how a personal injury lawyer can fight for fair compensation for the emotional distress you have suffered since your accident.
Understanding PTSD After an Auto Accident
Although we probably associate car accidents with broken bones, cuts, and bruises, psychological injuries can be just as damaging and more long-lasting. Connecticut law allows car accident survivors to sue for psychological harm, including post-traumatic stress disorder, which affects between 14 and 46 percent of people hospitalized after a car crash.
Common PTSD symptoms
PTSD that is triggered by an auto accident is known as MVA-related PTSD. Symptoms vary from person to person and can persist for several months or even years.
Common symptoms include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Flashbacks
- Sleeping difficulties
- Nightmares
- Being hyperalert
- Avoidance of places related to the accident
Impact on everyday life
When fighting an auto accident personal injury claim, an attorney must demonstrate the impact that your accident has had on your life. Post-traumatic stress disorder may impact your ability to carry out your everyday tasks. Not only does this impact your quality of life and what you can do for your family, but it may even lead to financial difficulties if you can no longer work as you did before your accident.
Your attorney will consider the following when investigating the impact your accident has had on every aspect of your life:
- Intrusive thoughts: One of the most common symptoms of PTSD, intrusive thoughts can make it hard to function during the day. It may be challenging to maintain a normal routine, especially if they also cause sleep difficulties.
- Isolation: A desire to avoid situations and places that remind you of the traumatic event may cause you to withdraw from family, friends, and coworkers. This not only impacts your mental health but can also lead to loss of enjoyment of life and financial challenges.
- Cognitive function changes: Some PTSD sufferers find it difficult to focus and retain information, impacting their ability to do the job they did before their accident.
- Emotional outbursts: You may find you get angry easily, are jumpy, or even behave recklessly as a result of your PTSD. This can make home and work tasks challenging.
Legal Basis for Emotional Distress Claims in Connecticut
To build a valid personal injury claim for emotional distress in Connecticut, a personal injury lawyer must use one of the following legal arguments:
- Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED): To prove this, an attorney must show that your emotional distress (including PTSD symptoms) was the direct result of the other party’s negligent actions. In most cases, the negligence must have resulted in physical injuries.
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED): Your lawyer must show that the other party caused the car crash deliberately with the intention of inflicting emotional distress.
- Loss of consortium: This legal term refers to the loss of a normal marital relationship, including the companionship, love, and support that this entails. Your attorney must prove that the actions of the other party caused these losses to the spouse or other family member of the car accident victim.
Potential Damages for PTSD
Car accident survivors can pursue two types of compensation: economic and non-economic. PTSD sufferers may be entitled to pursue both as a result of their PTSD symptoms.
Economic damages could include the cost of medical treatment for PTSD and lost earnings due to time away from work caused by your symptoms. Common therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization, prolonged exposure, and group therapy. If a mental health professional prescribes medication for PTSD, you may also be able to claim compensation for your expenses.
Non-economic damages include the emotional distress suffered as a result of your accident.
The compensation you could receive will depend on the circumstances of your car crash, the severity of your injuries, and the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on your life. At an initial consultation, a car accident lawyer can provide fast answers about the type and amount of compensation you may be entitled to receive.
The Danger of Settling Too Fast
PTSD symptoms do not always begin immediately after a car crash. While they usually begin within 3 months, they can start even years later.
We all want compensation fast after a car accident. However, it is important not to accept the first offer made by the insurance company, especially if it does not take into account the full impact of the accident on your emotional and mental health.
Instead, consult a personal injury lawyer who pursues fast results without cutting corners. A conscientious attorney will ensure you receive the medical attention and investigations you need to understand the full impact of your accident. This includes whether it has triggered PTSD symptoms.
How Personal Injury Lawyers Overcome the Challenges of Connecticut Mental Health Claims
It may be relatively easy to prove physical injuries with medical records. However, a mental health condition like PTSD is not likely to be as well understood by a jury in a personal injury trial. Personal injury lawyers have experience in building strong cases that can overcome these challenges.
Building a strong case for compensation
To prove the devastating impact PTSD has had on your mental and emotional well-being and how it has affected your life, your personal injury lawyer will take a multi-faceted approach.
Some lines of evidence your attorney may use include:
- Expert witnesses: An expert witness is an impartial medical expert who is qualified to offer an opinion on the impact of PTSD on your life after your accident. Under Connecticut law, the role of the expert witness is to “assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or in determining a fact in issue.” Expert witnesses can help juries and other parties understand the facts better and faster than if a layperson explained them. Additionally, their expert status allows them to provide an opinion on the long-term impact PTSD may have on your life.
- Mental health professional: Your therapist or other mental health professional treating you could also testify, explaining the reasons for his or her diagnosis of PTSD. If your therapist has witnessed your symptoms, he or she could potentially additionally serve as a fact witness.
- Layperson witnesses: Unlike expert witnesses, layperson witnesses must either have witnessed your auto accident or have witnessed the impact of your accident on your life. They can provide statements and even testify in court about how this mental health condition has affected your quality of life.
- Medical records: If you suspect you are suffering from PTSD symptoms after an accident, it is important to seek qualified medical attention immediately. Your mental health professional will build up medical records, which could strengthen your case. If treatment is prescribed, follow it to the letter to demonstrate that you are committed to overcoming your symptoms as fast as possible.
- Personal journal: You know better than anyone else the impact PTSD symptoms are having on your everyday life. Keeping a personal journal to record your symptoms each day can also strengthen your case.
Calculating fair compensation
If you go it alone and rely on the insurance company to calculate your compensation for emotional distress, you are very unlikely to recover the compensation you deserve. On the other hand, your personal injury lawyer is focused on securing fair compensation for emotional distress suffered as fast as possible. To do this, your attorney will gather strong evidence and then use one of two methods to calculate compensation.
The multiplier method takes the total of your economic losses (such as medical expenses and lost earnings) and multiplies them by a number between 1 and 5. This number typically depends on the severity and duration of your injury. Therefore, a less severe injury would result in a multiplier closer to 1, while a more severe injury would result in a multiplier closer to 5.
The per diem method assigns a dollar value to every day of mental and emotional distress you have suffered. The per diem value is also based on the severity of your injuries and how long they last.
Some states impose caps on the damages you can receive for non-economic compensation. However, Connecticut does not. This allows your personal injury lawyer to calculate and fight hard for a fast and fair settlement that reflects the full impact of your physical and emotional pain and suffering.
Handling the insurance company
During the negotiation process, the defendant’s insurance company has one aim – to pay as little as possible in compensation and settle as fast as they can. Therefore, they are incentivized to play down your mental and emotional distress. To this end, they may request all your medical records, including those not related to your car accident, to try to pin your symptoms on existing conditions.
However, under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), passed in 1996, you have the right to privacy over your medical records. While it will strengthen your case to disclose your medical records related to your accident to the insurance company, you are not legally obliged to release all of your medical records. Discuss your rights with your personal injury lawyer before signing any medical records release forms so you understand exactly what you are authorizing to be released.
Fighting the insurance company is one stress you will not have to worry about when you hire an experienced Connecticut personal injury lawyer. Your attorney can handle all communication, from the initial call to the final settlement, on your behalf.
Let “The Fast Firm” Fight for Fair Compensation
If MVA-related PTSD has severely impacted your life, you have the right to seek fast and fair compensation for the suffering you have endured. Additionally, your compensation should enable you to continue medical treatment that can help you make as full a recovery as possible.
At Gould Injury Law, we are not known as “The Fast Firm” for nothing. Our team of experienced car accident attorneys understands you need an aggressive lawyer to fight your case and secure fair compensation as fast as possible. With us, you are hiring more than just a lawyer – you are hiring a whole team committed to fighting for results as fast as possible.
Discover what our tenacious and determined car accident lawyers can do for you. Call 888-WIN-FAST or reach out online and start the fight for fast results today.
