If you survive a nasty accident, people might say you are lucky. While you are certainly more fortunate than anyone that died in the same incident, lucky is not the right word.
Not only may you have severe injuries, which require expensive and prolonged medical treatment, but your near-miss may continue to haunt you for years to come, long after your physical injuries have healed.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is not all in your head
There is now a wider acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a real thing that affects many who survive accidents or experience traumatic events. While there are still people who will tell you to pull yourself together and get over it, the law does not think that way. If you have PTSD after an accident, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to get compensation.
Proving you have PTSD will be more challenging than proving that you have a physical injury. Everyone can see you have broken your leg, but they cannot see inside your head. Therefore, you will need help to find out what evidence you will need to support your claim.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says that for a mental health specialist to diagnose PTSD you need to have had all these factors for at least one month:
- At least one re-experiencing symptom
- At least one avoidance symptom
- At least two arousal and reactivity symptoms
- At least two cognition and mood symptoms
While bringing a personal injury claim will be challenging, not doing so could leave you facing even more difficulties. If you think you might have a claim, it is crucial to find out more.
