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You’ve likely heard of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affecting those who have served in the armed forces. However, you may not realize that PTSD can affect your mental health after a motorcycle crash.
You may experience flashbacks, nightmares, distressing thoughts, and other symptoms of this serious condition brought on from other injuries or due to the trauma of the experience. PTSD can impact daily life, and if someone else caused your accident, you should seek PTSD motorcycle accident recovery to get your life back on track.
Armada Law is a motorcycle accident law firm in SC that can provide legal help for motorcycle accident PTSD and other injuries suffered by motorcycle accident victims. In this blog, we explain how a traumatic event such as a motorcycle accident can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and how a motorcycle accident lawyer can help you seek compensation.
Signs and Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After a Motorcycle Crash
After a motorcycle accident or another type of traumatic event, it is easy to develop PTSD. This mental health condition tends to arise after all kinds of motor vehicle accidents. Any accident is a traumatic incident because it is sudden and shocking. When you’ve also experienced physical injuries that have altered your life, they can add to your psychological trauma.
Some victims develop PTSD immediately after the accident, while for others, it may not happen until months later. The symptoms could be mild, moderate, or severe and typically include the following:
- Difficulty sleeping, including struggling to fall asleep or get enough sleep
- Nightmares
- Intrusive thoughts
- Fear, particularly of riding a motorcycle again
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Avoidance
- Feelings of irritability
- Substance abuse to cope with the feelings
- Suicidal thoughts
- Flashbacks
If you have been in a motorcycle accident and you notice these symptoms and signs, you should never ignore this emotional trauma. Seeking professional treatment is the only way to address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and get your mental health back on track.
When motorcycle accident victims are suffering in this way as a result of a negligent driver, filing a personal injury claim can help recover the compensation needed to cover proper treatment. Before you go through the legal process, make sure you discuss your motorcycle accident case with an attorney who is familiar with motorcycle laws in South Carolina to learn more about your legal options.
How Psychological Trauma Can Affect Your Insurance Claim and Legal Proceedings
In motor vehicle accidents, and especially for a motorcycle accident, the effects on your mental health, such as psychological trauma, can take their toll. However, if someone else caused the accident, you can include this impact to your mental health in your claim.
Economic and Non-Economic Damages
After a motorcycle accident caused by a negligent driver, you can seek compensation for economic damages, such as your medical bills, lost wages, and other tangible financial losses. You are also able to pursue non-economic damages such as the physical pain and suffering you have endured, loss of enjoyment of life, and other impacts to your mental health, such as PTSD.
Proving the Connection of Mental Health Impacts and Your Motorcycle Accident
In order to recover compensation for PTSD for a motorcycle accident, you need to establish this link through evidence. You may have medical expenses and medical records for your therapy, expert testimony about your PTSD, depression, fear, anxiety, or other symptoms, and with the help of a lawyer, you will be able to show this connection.
Steps to Take If You Suspect Your Mental Health Has Been Affected After a Motorcycle Accident
Taking care of your physical recovery after an accident is imperative, but you should never ignore the mental impacts it can have. Take the following steps if you suspect that you have the symptoms of PTSD after an accident:
Seek Therapy
You should not suffer with these feelings, and the moment that you notice symptoms is when you should contact a therapist to help you work through them. They can teach you coping strategies and relaxation techniques to help you navigate the aftermath. These strategies are critical if you hope to get back to a life that is free of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
Join Support Groups
When you’ve been in an accident, another way to cope, in addition to therapy, is to join a group for accident victims. You’ll feel less alone and will be able to discuss strategies for fighting PTSD, anxiety, depression, and the other symptoms you experience.
Document Your Journey
In order to get fair compensation for what you have endured, documentation is the key. You should have records of your physical injuries as well as the pain and other mental trauma the crash has caused.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you want to pursue compensation for a fair settlement, it is vital to discuss what happened with a lawyer. Victims in these types of crashes are often blamed even when they’ve done nothing wrong simply because of the bias insurers have toward motorcyclists. With the laws in SC, you may be assigned more blame than you deserve, which would affect the compensation you receive for your injuries and PTSD.
How a Free Consultation with a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Help
Most personal injury lawyers offer victims a chance to have a free consultation. It is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about your potential options. When you speak with a lawyer, they will assess the value of your case by assessing your physical injuries, the mental impacts you’ve endured, and all financial losses related to this event.
They can also assist by checking to see if the settlement offer provided by the insurance company for your claim is full and fair. Often, victims in motorcycle crashes suffer severe injuries that require immediate transport to the emergency room. In those instances, it is impossible for victims to get evidence on the scene. A lawyer can be your ally in the entire process, working on all legal aspects while allowing you to get the rest you need for your full recovery.
