People understand that the physical impact caused by a car accident can cause severe physical injuries like spinal cord injuries, bone fractures, and back and neck injuries. However, some of the more severe injuries a car accident victim can suffer are psychological. Those injured in a car accident can experience emotional distress, mental anguish, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Car accidents can affect victims can suffer mentally and emotionally and experience negative effects on their quality of life. Support from friends, family, and therapists can help them cope with the impact of mental and emotional issues after a car accident. Car accident victims can also recover compensation for their non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life, by filing a car accident claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Car Accidents Can Cause Psychological Injuries
Car accident victims can experience adverse psychological effects that majorly affect their lives. Psychological injuries are those that affect the mental and emotional state of a person following a traumatic incident. While many may think physical injuries take precedence after a car accident, victims should be aware of the negative consequences of psychological injuries.
Following a car accident, victims may experience negative feelings associated with their car accident. They may fear driving, have feelings of inadequacy, or have a negative mentality. Psychological effects from a car accident can have something to do with physical injuries like facial injuries, broken bones, and shoulder injuries, as these can affect how they operate daily. They may affect their physical appearance and functioning, worsening their quality of life.
Psychological car accident injuries can also have to do with the trauma of the accident. No one expects to be involved in a catastrophic car accident when they get behind the wheel of a car. However, it can happen, and negative feelings can arise when victims think about the traumatic incident.
Emotional Distress Caused by a Car Accident
Those involved in car accidents can suffer from emotional distress in the aftermath. Negative feelings regarding the car accident can manifest as depression or anxiety. These negative feelings can disrupt a person’s life, as their mental and emotional state can be influx as a victim recovers following a car accident.
Car accident victims can experience mood swings, mental anguish, anger, humiliation, and fear in the aftermath of a car accident. This can manifest in sleeping issues, loss of appetite, and less interest in activities and hobbies.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Caused by a Car Accident
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder caused by a traumatic event like a car accident. Those living with PTSD can experience nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety attacks because of the trauma they suffered. Memories of the car accident can affect a person throughout their day, making it difficult to cope with the physical and emotional pain caused by the accident.
PTSD can cause such intense anxiety that some avoid car rides altogether. They fear that the traumatic event could happen again, so they take themselves out of similar situations to avoid the trauma. It can also cause them to feel negative thoughts, experience emotional numbness, and make maintaining relationships more difficult.
Methods for Emotional Recovery After a Car Accident
A victim’s family can help them cope with their mental and emotional issues caused by a car accident. They can show their support and serve as a sounding board for the car accident victim. They may feel the need to vent about their frustrations following a car accident, and their family can be there to hear about their problems and offer advice for solutions.
If the support of family and friends is not enough, the car accident victim could get professional help from doctors and therapists. Doctors can prescribe medication that can help ease the mental and emotional stress of a car accident. Therapists understand how to help someone cope with psychological trauma and can use their expertise to advise them on the best path to take to recover emotionally from the trauma of the accident.
Can You Pursue Compensation for Non-Economic Car Accident Damages?
Victims of car accidents can pursue compensation for damages related to their emotional and mental state. These are called non-economic damages that reflect a person’s reduced quality of life because of car accident injuries. Negligent drivers who cause car accidents through reckless driving can be held liable for non-economic damages in a car accident claim.
There are many methods for calculating non-economic damages. The multiplier method involves multiplying a car accident victim’s economic damages by a number from one to five based on the severity of their trauma. They can also use the per-diem method, which pays a victim a sum of many every day between the day of the accident and the day of their maximum medical improvement.
The following are some non-economic damages you could pursue in a car accident claim:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of society
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of companionship
Should You Hire a Car Accident Lawyer to Help You Recover Compensatory Damages?
Drivers that cause car accidents through reckless behavior behind the wheel can be held liable for damages in a car accident claim. Victims that suffer psychologically after a car accident could file a car accident claim to pursue non-economic damages. Hiring a car accident lawyer is the best way for car accident victims to recover compensatory damages.
They will have experience litigating car accident claims and know the steps to maximize your potential for recovering compensation for non-economic damages. They can assess how your mental and emotional state has suffered after the car accident and calculate the value of your claim.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Car Accident Claim
The car accident lawyers at The Russo Firm understand how you can suffer emotionally and mentally after a car accident and wish to help. They can offer their experience to you through the car accident claim process and walk you through the method for calculating your non-economic damages. They can explain why you deserve compensation for your non-economic damages from the at-fault party.
Our car accident lawyers can also help you recover fair compensation for your economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Contact us for a free car accident case evaluation today at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
