Many serious car crash injuries are instantly visible. People with broken bones and spinal cord injuries may have mobility challenges immediately after a crash. Even delayed-onset conditions, like brain injuries, often present symptoms within a few days.
For other people, the aftermath of a car crash can be harder to define. Collisions leave people in fear for their safety. In some cases, they may experience profound trauma because they believe they might die or because they worry about the health and survival of other people.
A parent who witnesses a child’s severe injury, for example, could become quite traumatized by the experience. Although many people associate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with military service, motor vehicle collisions are another common source of PTSD.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a mental health disorder that produces a variety of different symptoms associated with hyperarousal. Many people with PTSD appear perfectly normal until they experience environmental triggers. For those traumatized by a car crash, triggers could include the sound of brakes screeching or glass breaking. The sight of certain vehicles or being present on a specific stretch of road could also theoretically trigger a PTSD response.
The symptoms of PTSD are different from one case to the next. In most cases, PTSD leads to intense emotional dysregulation. People may experience angry outbursts or uncontrollable crying. They may become so frightened or anxious that they have to completely stop their current activities and relocate to a calm environment. PTSD can damage people’s employment because of their volatility and need for support. It can also wreak havoc on their interpersonal relationships, as they may lash out at the people closest to them after a triggering event.
PTSD is costly
The symptoms of PTSD often do not develop instantly but instead often start presenting a few days or weeks after the traumatizing experience. People with PTSD may at first deny their symptoms but then may later seek out mental health support. After all, becoming agitated when entering a car can cause disruptions to daily life.
Treatment for PTSD can be expensive, and there is no guarantee of success. Some people can learn to control their symptoms with different types of talk and behavioral therapy. Exposure therapy is common for those dealing with PTSD. In recent years, therapists have begun using specialized systems to provide eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment.
Sessions can cost hundreds of dollars, and those with PTSD may need treatment that lasts for months or years before they regain control of their responses in triggering circumstances. Those dealing with PTSD after a car crash may need compensation to cover treatment costs and reduce the impact of their lost income on their households.
Filing an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit could help those with crash-related PTSD secure financial compensation. Proper compensation can help people pay for their treatment and cost-of-living expenses until they can heal from the car crash trauma they experienced as a result of another’s negligence.