Car crashes are known for being traumatic. In especially severe cases, accident survivors struggle with their mental health after an accident, and many develop serious PTSD symptoms.
If you suffer from PTSD after an accident, your attorney can help you claim this condition among your numerous other damages. Since PTSD is a psychological condition that is not necessarily related to monetary costs, the overall value of your damages is up for interpretation. Evidence of PTSD might include details from a mental health professional or witness testimony from people in your life who have seen your symptoms firsthand. You should claim PTSD as part of your damages because, like all your other injuries, you deserve fair compensation for what you have endured. Various methods might be used to compute your damages, and an attorney can help you determine which is right for your case.
Contact our Mississippi car accident attorneys to schedule a free case assessment by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
How to Claim Compensation for Damages Related to PTSD After a Mississippi Car Accident
While it is possible to claim compensation for PTSD after a car accident, obtaining compensation can be difficult and complicated. Your attorney can help determine how much of your PTSD damages are economic or non-economic. They can also help you find evidence to support your claims and convince a jury to award you substantial compensation.
PTSD and Non-Economic Damages
PTSD is similar to other damages for mental and emotional suffering in that there are often no physical scars or symptoms, and your experience with PTSD may be highly subjective. As such, much of the damages related to PTSD may be non-economic. Even so, certain aspects of living with PTSD come with financial costs that should also be accounted for.
If you have sought treatment for PTSD, you might have seen a mental health professional or a doctor in a hospital. For many, numerous meetings with counselors or therapists are necessary to treat PTSD, and the bills can add up to a large sum. Treatment costs for your PTSD should be claimed among your damages and fairly compensated.
Damages related to PTSD also have significant non-economic implications. Your symptoms might make many aspects of your life extremely difficult. You might become deeply depressed, have trouble going to work or maintaining a job, and you might lose the enjoyment of your life you once enjoyed. Although these experiences might not come with a bill, they should still be compensated.
Evidence of PTSD
Finding evidence of PTSD can be challenging as it is often felt but seldom seen. As mentioned earlier, meetings with mental health professionals might be necessary for your claims. If you have a formal diagnosis of PTSD from a certified therapist or psychologist, this medical information may be used to help prove your PTSD damages. Our Jackson car accident lawyers can even have a mental health professional review your case and testify about your condition if possible.
Along with a diagnosis from a professional, we can utilize witnesses who might testify about how your PTSD has affected you. Perhaps your spouse or someone you live with can testify about how you are incapable of getting back in a car because of your severe PTSD symptoms. Maybe a friend or coworker witnessed you have a PTSD flashback, and they can testify about what they saw. While witnesses are not medical professionals who can diagnose a condition like PTSD, their testimony may help shed light on how it has impacted your life.
Why You Should Claim Damages for PTSD After a Car Accident in Mississippi
It is not unusual for plaintiffs to undervalue or disregard non-economic damages such as physical pain, emotional turmoil, and psychological suffering. Since these experiences often do not come with a price tag, plaintiffs sometimes think they are not worth anything, but this could not be further from the truth.
Living with PTSD can be extremely difficult. Many people living with this condition feel extremely depressed, anxious, and tend to relive the trauma of their car accident over and over again in their minds. Flashbacks where you truly feel as though the accident is happening all over again are not unusual. Symptoms often persist for a long time, and you might suffer greatly. You deserve fair compensation for everything you have gone through, even if the exact cost is unclear.
What Kind of Compensation is Available for Damages for PTSD in Mississippi Car Accident Claims?
When assessing non-economic damages, courts may utilize one of several methods. Since non-economic damages for things like PTSD are inherently subjective, standard methods have been developed. Talk to your attorney about your case and the court in which your case will be heard, as methods tend to vary.
Multiplier Method
The multiplier method bases your non-economic damages, including PTSD, on two specific factors. First, the jury considers your economic damages. Second, they consider the overall severity or magnitude of your non-economic damages claims.
The jury will select a number, usually somewhere between 1 and 5, and multiply your economic damages by this number. The resulting figure is your non-economic damages. The more severe your non-economic damages claims are, the higher the multiplier number may be.
For example, suppose you incur $100,000 in economic damages in your car accident case. Next, suppose the jury decides your claims for non-economic injuries like your PTSD are severe and select a multiplier number of 4. Your total non-economic damages would equal $400,000.
Per Diem Method
The per diem method measures non-economic damages in time rather than comparing them to your economic losses. Like the above method, the per diem method allows jurors to select a number based on how severe they believe your claims are. This number represents a dollar amount that is applied to each day you are experiencing pain, suffering, and PTSD symptoms. The longer your symptoms persist, the higher your compensation may be.
Suppose the jury determines that each day of your PTSD and other non-economic damages claims is worth $200. Next, suppose you have been suffering from PTSD for a whole year since the accident. Your non-economic damages would come out to $73,000.
Things get trickier when your PTSD and other experiences have not subsided by the time your case is complete. We can estimate your future damages in such situations and argue for more compensation.
Contact Our Mississippi Car Accident Attorneys to Discuss Damages in Your Case
To discuss damages for PTSD, contact our Mississippi personal injury lawyers to schedule a free case assessment by calling Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
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