A Closer Look at PTSD After Surviving a Truck Accident in Alabama
PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder. You may have heard about PTSD in association with the trauma suffered from exposure to a military battle where one comes close to death. Memories may be triggered by loud noises or exposure to any life-altering experience.
But PTSD can come from more than reliving a military battle.
Any experience that threatens death or severe injury, whether a car or truck crash, a mass shooting, a sexual assault, or even sounds and dreams, can cause a flashback and a PTSD reaction, such as extreme sweating or reoccurring trauma. A return to PTSD can affect your reactivity, such as shouting or even physical violence. Moods and social interactions may be affected.
PTSD is not just a “mood.” A professional should treat it before the condition worsens.
PTSD
According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 6 in every 100 people will experience PTSD in their life, and women are more likely than men to develop PTSD.
PTSD can develop within three months of a traumatic event. The symptoms must be severe and interfere with daily life to be diagnosed. Symptoms may include:
- Beings startled at any sound
- Feeling anxious and on edge
- Experiencing depression
- Having difficulty concentrating and sleeping
- Experiencing emotional outbursts and aggression
- Engaging in reckless or destructive behavior
- Experiencing avoidance behavior
- Experiencing flashbacks and recurring memories or dreams
- Experiencing shame, negative emotions, or social isolation
A Truck Accident Settlement and PTSD
Suffering from PTSD following an Alabama truck accident can require thousands in medical care. It can affect lost income and add to a diminished quality of life following your truck accident.
In Alabama, in 2020, there were 8,579 trucks involved in accidents on our roads. Among these, 130 resulted in fatalities and 2,330 injuries.
Only recently has the psychological fallout from major motor vehicle accidents been recognized as PTSD.
One study found that a severe car or truck accident can also cause PTSD in survivors, including anxiety disorder, depression, and reexperiencing trauma. Especially if someone is a lone survivor and the injuries were traumatic, a survivor may find they do not want to get behind the wheel again because of the mental trauma and guilt they experience.
Disturbed sleep was reported, as well as reliving the accident. The presence of PTSD at least 30 days after the accident appeared in 25 to 33 percent of survivors studied.
Motor vehicle accidents were concluded to be a leading cause of PTSD, making it a significant public health issue.
When you consult with a truck accident attorney such as Chip Nix, he will include the impact PTSD has had on your overall quality of life and your need for ongoing therapy. Your lost income, medical and psychological bills need to be compensated, as well as your lost property and the potential loss of income moving forward.
Effective therapy can take six months or longer.
He will calculate the cost of your Alabama truck accident, including:
- Medical bills and ongoing therapy
- Loss of employment, income, and continued medical care
- Property loss, including your car
- Pain and suffering
- Ongoing work with a mental health professional with experience treating PTSD.
- Treatment can include managing triggers and symptoms, cognitive restructuring, and exposure therapy.
- Medication may be needed, such as SSRI, a type of antidepressant.
Your Alabama Truck Accident Attorney
Alabama truck accident attorney Chip Nix understands that a collision with a truck in Alabama can result in substantial and fatal injuries. If the owner or operator of the 18-wheeler was negligent and caused your accident, attorney Nix will help you fight to establish that they are the responsible party.
Chip Nix will investigate whether the driver was negligent, driving tired or on drugs or DUI, whether the truck was loaded in an unsafe manner, causing it to be unbalanced, and whether the vehicle was not well maintained and the driver was not adequately trained. We will also look at the documents onboard the large truck to see if the driver had followed the federal rules for sleep to keep everyone safe on our highways.
It is possible that your Alabama truck accident resulted from multiple negligent players who can all be held responsible.
Allow Truck Accident Attorney Chip Nix to investigate your truck accident to determine its cause and help you obtain support during this stressful time. Call his Montgomery office at (334) 203-6669 to arrange a complimentary consultation on your Alabama truck accident case.
Sources:
NIH
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2396820/
