May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let’s Talk about Personal Injury Claims for Mental Health Injuries
Personal injury claims are usually associated with physical injuries like broken bones, soft tissue damage, traumatic brain injuries, burns, cuts, amputations, spinal injuries and others caused by car accidents, slip and fall accidents, or medical malpractice. There are also situations where a personal injury is an infection, food poisoning or other illness. In honor of mental health awareness month, we would like to talk about the reality that physical injuries caused by an accident can create serious psychological injuries.
The connection between physical and psychological injuries
People who have physical injuries associated with an accident may also suffer from psychological problems connected to their physical injuries. Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, fatigue, mood swings, weight gain or weight loss, upset stomach, difficulty sleeping and other symptoms may set in because of a reduced quality of life caused by the physical injuries. It is common for a previously active, independent person to become depressed when they can no longer participate in the activities they once enjoyed or handle routine self-care activities such as bathing on their own. Others may become depressed because their injuries affect the relationship with their spouse or children in a negative way. Psychological injuries can last well beyond recovery of physical injuries.
A personal injury attorney can help
If you have been injured either physically or mentally in an accident because of the negligence of another, seek the help of a personal injury attorney right away. The lawyer can discuss your legal rights and provide helpful advice like getting in to see both a general practitioner and a mental health doctor as soon as possible to document your injuries and begin treatment.
Proving mental injuries
Proving mental injuries can be hard because they cannot be seen like physical injuries and because many people don’t seek medical help for psychological issues. Having documentation from a mental health doctor is an important way to support claims of psychological injury.
Damages and compensation for psychological injuries
A personal injury claim usually seeks to recover damages for injuries caused by the negligent actions of people or organizations. Calculating the value of psychological injuries can be difficult and results vary widely from case to case.
Personal injury victims may be able to recover damages for both physical and mental injuries for pain and suffering and emotional distress. The injured party may also receive compensation for medical expenses including counseling, other psychological treatments and prescription medication used to treat a psychological injury caused by the accident. There could also be compensation for lost wages during the time it takes the injured person to recover both physically and mentally from their injuries.
If you have lost a loved one or been injured through no fault of your own, you have enough on your plate. Let an experienced accident attorney fight for the justice and fair compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a lawyer. Call the caring, tireless and experienced personal injury attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County and surrounding areas since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
