Yes, you can sue for PTSD after a car crash. Emotional trauma like post-traumatic stress disorder is usually recognized as a real injury that may qualify for compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that can happen after a frightening or life-threatening event. A violent car crash can trigger PTSD just as much as combat or another trauma. Proving this is much easier if you have highly rated car accident attorneys to back you up.
PTSD affects how the brain processes memories and danger signals. Instead of healing with time, the stress lingers. People with PTSD often relive the crash through flashbacks or nightmares, feel constant anxiety, avoid cars, or lose interest in normal activities.
What Kinds of Symptoms Support a PTSD Claim?
Symptoms vary, but the most common signs include:
- Flashbacks and nightmares about the crash
- Sudden panic attacks or anxiety when near cars or roads
- Avoiding driving or even being a passenger
- Feeling emotionally numb or detached from friends and family
- Difficulty sleeping, concentrating, or controlling anger
- Depression, hopelessness, or guilt about surviving the crash
Doctors often look for these patterns lasting longer than a month. If they worsen over time instead of fading, that points strongly to PTSD.
What Compensation Can You Recover for PTSD?
If you prove your claim, compensation may cover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include therapy bills, psychiatric treatment, or medications. If you miss work, you may also recover lost wages or future earning losses if your PTSD prevents you from holding a job.
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. For example, if you used to love driving your friends to soccer practice but now panic at the thought of driving, the law recognizes that as a real loss.
In extreme cases where the other driver acted recklessly, courts may also allow punitive damages to punish that behavior.
How Do You Prove PTSD in Court?
Unlike a broken bone that shows on an X-ray, PTSD is invisible. That means proof depends on expert evidence and documentation.
Medical records from psychiatrists, psychologists, or therapists are the strongest evidence. These records should clearly connect your symptoms to the car accident. Testimony from these professionals can explain how your daily life has changed.
Witness statements also help. Family, friends, teachers, or coworkers can describe changes in your mood, sleep, or ability to focus. This shows the jury that the trauma is real and ongoing.
Keeping a journal of your flashbacks, nightmares, or anxiety attacks can also serve as powerful evidence.
Key Takeaways
- Yes, you can sue for PTSD after a car crash in Missouri or Kansas.
- The law allows emotional distress claims with or without physical injury, depending on the state where the accident occurred.
- Compensation may include therapy costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Proof comes from medical records, expert testimony, and witness accounts.
