Psychological injury is sometimes a difficult term to define. After all, not all psychological injury occurs as a direct result of damage to the brain, although some can be directly linked to head trauma. Also, you don’t have to have suffered any physical injury in order to suffer from psychological injury.
Rather, psychological injury often arises out of some kind of emotional distress. The pain of having seen a loved one die or become critically injured in an accident can leave a person emotionally upset for years to come. The anxiety of turning the key in the ignition after a near-fatal wreck can cause a person to have cripplingly real flashbacks. Some people may have experienced such surprise and fright that they may be unable to leave their homes after a particularly startling accident.
In all of these cases and more, you may need the help of a good personal injury lawyer to help you win the compensation you deserve after suffering significant emotional trauma. Unfortunately, many defendants and insurance companies will want to resist claims to psychological injury. Often, they’ll suggest that the injury is simply “in your head” rather than a real and debilitating illness. Because these cases can become complicated, let a personal injury lawyer help you parse on the details.
Symptoms of Psychological Injury
While it is likely that sufferers of psychological injury will be aware of their well-being having been compromised, they may not always connect the dots and understand their symptoms as part of a whole. Here are some common symptoms which affect those suffering from psychological trauma:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Intrusive thoughts/flashbacks
- Irritability
- Irrational behavior
- Avoidance
- Heightened or irregular heart rate
- Suicidal thoughts
These are just some of the ways that psychological injury can manifest, but all of them can lead to debilitating interruptions to daily life. This is why you will want to seek the help of a personal injury lawyer. They’ll help you win compensation for the continued, invasive disruptions that can be caused by severe emotional distress.
Liability
Determining liability in cases of psychological injury rests on the claimant’s ability to demonstrate that the injury is causing significant disruption to their ability to engage regular, daily tasks. You will also have to demonstrate that your emotional distress is directly attributable to the events of your accident.
In order to build the case, it can be smart to keep a journal documenting your emotional struggles. Seek the help of a medical professional or receive a psychological evaluation. This will also help build up paper evidence for your injury, which your personal injury lawyer will be able to use in court. If your symptoms are severe enough, it may be possible to argue that you’re suffering from PTSD.
Intent
Liability can be much easier to determine if you’ve been the victim of violent intimidation, as is sometimes the case with “road rage” events or other violent crimes.
Call a Personal Injury Lawyer at Tolbert Beadle, LLC
If you or someone you know has been the victim of someone else’s aggression or negligence and they continue to suffer disruptive emotional episodes because of it, then it may be time to call a personal injury lawyer. Tolbert Beadle, LLC will let the offending party know that you mean business. Contact us or give us a call, toll-free, at 1-800-887-4030.
