Who Can Face Liability for Unsafe Sidewalks in Texas?
After a serious accident, it’s easy to focus on the obvious and visible injuries like broken bones, spinal damage, or surgeries. However, emotional trauma can be just as life-changing. If you’re wondering whether psychological injuries can be included in your claim, read on and contact a Tom Green County, Texas personal injury lawyer today.
What Are Psychological Injuries?
Psychological injuries are mental and emotional conditions that may develop after a traumatic event. These are legitimate medical conditions that can be just as debilitating as physical injuries.
Psychological injuries can significantly interfere with your ability to maintain employment, nurture relationships, and manage your day-to-day responsibilities. They also often disrupt sleep and basic functioning. Some trauma may appear immediately, while other symptoms develop over the weeks or months following the incident.
Victims of traumatic accidents often suffer from the following types of psychological injuries:
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Severe anxiety
- Depression
- Panic disorders
- Insomnia
These conditions can manifest through flashbacks, persistent fear, unpredictable mood changes, and more. People often have difficulty concentrating on tasks or experience recurring nightmares.
Can Psychological Injuries Be Included in a Texas Personal Injury Claim?
Yes, Texas personal injury law may allow victims to recover compensation for psychological and emotional injuries that are linked to an accident. Emotional trauma often results from car and truck accidents, workplace incidents, catastrophic injuries, assaults, and wrongful death. Psychological injuries are typically considered non-economic damages, meaning they are losses that do not have an inherent monetary value, like medical bills or property damage.
While psychological injuries may result in financial losses such as therapy appointment co-pays, diagnostic testing, prescription medication, and other treatment, you can also recover compensation for the suffering you have experienced and the ways that your condition has impacted your life.
How Can I Prove the Extent of My Psychological Injuries?
To successfully recover damages for psychological injuries, you generally need to provide evidence establishing a connection between the incident and the resulting condition. Insurance companies often attempt to dispute mental health claims because they are less obvious than physical injuries.
Documentation is crucial and consistent treatment records can significantly strengthen your claim. Helpful evidence may include:
- Therapy records
- Psychiatric evaluations
- Diagnoses
- Medication records
- Psychological testing
- Personal journals and first-hand accounts of your experience detailing your daily struggles and symptoms
- Witness testimony from friends, family, and employers explaining changes in personality, withdrawal from activities, increased fear or anxiety, and other issues
- Expert medical testimony
Mental health professionals can offer testimony explaining the link between the incident and your condition, as well as speak to the severity of the injury.
An attorney can help gather expert witnesses, organize evidence, negotiate with insurers, and represent you at trial. It is highly recommended that you secure representation from an experienced legal professional. Reach out to The Mathis Law Firm to schedule your free consultation today.
