Attorney Michael L. SaileA car crash can be a highly traumatic event, leaving emotional and psychological effects that last long after the physical injuries. Many Pennsylvania accident victims experience intrusive memories, sleep problems, fear of driving, and other troubling symptoms. These symptoms may qualify for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Coping with PTSD after a car accident in PA can complicate a victim’s recovery. In some cases, the condition’s effects may be compensable through a personal injury claim. Helping injured people pursue fair compensation for their emotional damages is part of what we do every day here at Cordisco & Saile, LLC.
Navigate This Page
- What To Do if You’re Struggling With PTSD After a Crash
- How PTSD Can Develop After a Car Accident
- Common PTSD Symptoms Accident Victims Experience
- Why PTSD Is Often Overlooked in Pennsylvania Injury Claims
- Is PTSD Considered a Compensable Injury in Pennsylvania?
- How PTSD Impacts the Value of a Car Accident Case
- Pennsylvania’s Limited Tort Rules and PTSD Claims
- How Cordisco & Saile Helps Clients With PTSD Claims
What To Do if You’re Struggling With PTSD After a Crash
If emotional symptoms linger after a car accident, it’s important to take them seriously. Many people struggle far too long before realizing their symptoms are connected to the crash, and acting quickly can ease your healing journey. Consider the following actions:
- Seek a professional evaluation. Visit a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or clinical social worker, to assess you for PTSD. They can determine whether you meet the criteria and create a treatment plan.
- Follow through with treatment. Attend all scheduled therapy sessions at your provider’s recommended frequency, and stay on top of any medication you’re prescribed for your condition. If you believe your treatment plan is not meeting your needs, discuss potential adjustments with your provider or seek a second opinion rather than stopping care on your own.
- Document your symptoms. Keep a journal with notes about how your PTSD is affecting your day-to-day life. Examples include sleep disruptions, social challenges, and changes in your ability to work.
How PTSD Can Develop After a Car Accident
A serious car crash exposes a person to a sudden threat of severe injury or death, either to themselves or to others involved in the collision. When that threat response does not fully shut down after the accident, the brain may continue to react as though the danger is ongoing. This can contribute to the development of PTSD, even after a minor car accident.
PTSD symptoms may appear immediately after a crash, but a delayed onset is also common. Some accident victims feel relatively stable at first but experience a gradual rise in distressing symptoms as the weeks and months pass by. Others may be focused on recovering from physical injuries, with pain, shock, and frequent medical procedures masking emotional effects early on.
Research shows just how common PTSD can be after a crash. One study found that approximately 26% of road traffic accident survivors developed PTSD. Other findings suggest that PTSD is more likely among crash survivors who are female, have a prior history of depression or trauma, or were involved in accidents that resulted in a fatality.
Common PTSD Symptoms Accident Victims Experience
PTSD from a car crash can involve a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms, including:
Emotional | Behavioral | Physical |
Intrusive memories or flashbacks | Being easily frightened | Persistent sweating |
Recurring nightmares about the accident | Self-destructive behavior, such as excessive drinking | Rapid breathing, frequent shortness of breath, or chest pain |
Fear of driving or getting into a vehicle | Aggressive behavior or angry outbursts | Fast heartbeat or increased blood pressure |
Feelings of guilt, anger, or shame | Isolation from friends and family | Shaking or muscle tension |
Feeling detached from loved ones | Difficulty concentrating or memory problems | Trouble sleeping |
Feeling emotionally numb | Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed | Gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhea or stomach cramps |
Thoughts of suicide | Hypervigilance | Frequent headaches or migraines |
A person may qualify for a PTSD diagnosis if their symptoms create a functional impairment. This means they experience ongoing difficulties performing everyday tasks, such as working, maintaining relationships, sleeping, or maintaining a daily routine.
When these challenges last for weeks, worsen over time, or begin to affect your well-being, it may be a sign that it’s time to seek help. Thoughts of self-harm or suicide are also serious signs of PTSD after a car accident that require emergency medical attention.
Why PTSD Is Often Overlooked in Pennsylvania Injury Claims
Insurance companies are for-profit entities, meaning their primary motive when handling claims is to settle for as little as possible. As a result, they often give greater weight to injuries that can be confirmed through medical imaging or other objective findings. PTSD and other psychological injuries have more obscure, symptom-based diagnosis methods, which can make them easier for insurers to dispute.
Timing also plays a role. Many accident victims delay seeking mental health care, either hoping symptoms will fade or assuming emotional distress is part of the normal physical and mental recovery process. Without an early evaluation, insurers may argue that the victim’s symptoms aren’t a direct result of the crash.
There’s also a stigma barrier. Some victims hesitate to report psychological symptoms or pursue treatment out of concern that they will not be taken seriously.
When emotional injuries go undocumented, the victim’s injury claim may exclude them. This reduces the claim’s overall value and leaves the accident’s full impact unaddressed.
Is PTSD Considered a Compensable Injury in Pennsylvania?
You may be eligible to recover compensation for PTSD resulting from a car wreck in Pennsylvania. When a crash causes emotional harm, the law allows you to include that harm as part of a personal injury claim.
To cover PTSD-related compensation, you must show that the accident more likely than not caused the condition. This means the evidence must demonstrate that the crash played a greater role in causing your PTSD than any other explanation. Diagnosis and treatment records can help to establish that connection.
How PTSD Impacts the Value of a Car Accident Case
PTSD can affect your life long after a crash’s physical effects heal. These effects often factor into both economic and non-economic damages when evaluating a car accident claim.
Economic damages are the financial losses resulting from the collision. In a PTSD claim, these may include the cost of past and future mental health care, such as therapy, medication, and inpatient treatment. They may also include lost income if your PTSD limits your ability to work.
Non-economic damages represent the ways the accident has affected your quality of life. These damages can be quite large in a PTSD claim due to the significant emotional trauma and psychological suffering associated with the condition. If your PTSD limits your ability to participate in relationships or activities you previously enjoyed, your non-economic damages may also compensate you for those losses.
All of these factors can increase the amount of compensation you’re entitled to in a car accident claim. The more your PTSD impacts your financial and emotional well-being, the more your claim may be worth.
Pennsylvania’s Limited Tort Rules and PTSD Claims
When purchasing car insurance in Pennsylvania, drivers must choose between full tort and limited tort coverage. That choice can directly affect the compensation you can recover for PTSD in a car accident claim.
If you have full tort coverage, you may seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages related to the crash. If you have limited tort coverage, you will be unable to recover non-economic damages unless your injury meets Pennsylvania’s serious injury threshold. To meet that threshold, an injury must result in death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of a body function.
In most cases, PTSD alone may not qualify unless it results in a serious impairment of a body function. If the crash did not also cause a qualifying serious physical injury, you generally cannot recover non-economic damages related to your PTSD under limited tort coverage. However, you may still be entitled to economic damages caused by your condition, such as the cost of mental health treatment.
How Cordisco & Saile Helps Clients With PTSD Claims
Insurance companies know our clients mean business when they turn to our Pennsylvania car accident lawyers. We don’t back down when insurers try to minimize the life-altering effects of PTSD.
Our firm has recovered over $100 million in compensation for our clients, many of whom have suffered serious emotional trauma after a crash. We take PTSD just as seriously as any other car accident injury, and we fight tirelessly for the results our clients need to heal and move forward. Our attorneys are tough negotiators, but we’re also not afraid to take insurance companies to trial when necessary to pursue the compensation our clients deserve.
If you or a loved one is coping with PTSD after a car accident in PA, you can count on our team to fight for your future. We’ll handle every aspect of your claim, removing as much stress from the process as possible so you can focus on rebuilding your life. We’re ready to listen to your story and start building your case—contact us online or call 215-642-2335 for a free consultation.
