Impact of DC Car Accidents on Mental Health
DC car accidents can cause all sorts of turmoil in your life. Typically, compensable damages include medical expenses related to your treatment, such as surgeries, MRIs, physical therapy, and any other physical treatment related to a car accident injury. Compensable damages may also include lost wages if you missed time from work due to a car accident. This may occur because you use your car as an Uber driver for work, and your car is now in the shop. Or, perhaps your injuries limit your physical ability, and your job requires manual labor, like lifting heavy objects. The third category of compensable damages in most personal injury cases is the pain and suffering caused by the injury. Typically, this covers pain from soreness in your back to pain in a broken wrist. Mental health after DC car accidents plays a role in all aspects of legal damages.
Pain and suffering is is a broad category that covers all noneconomic damages. You may be entitled to damages if you are suffering in virtually any capacity because of the accident. Mental health after DC car accidents and the negative ramifications can vary greatly in severity and duration. You may develop a generalized anxiety disorder because of a car accident. You may have trouble getting into cars after your accident. You may suffer from panic attacks. You may have trouble sleeping. You may suffer from depression because of the car accident. The number of compensable mental health issues following a DC car accident is limitless. If you or a loved one is suffering from mental health disorders causally related to a DC car accident, reach out to a DC personal injury lawyer for a free consultation.
Identifying Symptoms of PTSD After Car Accidents
Symptoms of PTSD and mental health after a DC car accident can take many forms. Moreover, these symptoms can be debilitating. They can overtake your daily life, significantly lowering your quality of life. When you are a part of a terrifying event, it is understandable to feel this way, even if someone you know in the accident does not have a mental or emotional reaction at all. PTSD symptoms can vary greatly from person to person. It can also depend on age, driving experience, and baseline anxiety.
Flashbacks
If someone you know passed away from an accident, you may have flashbacks to the last moment you ever saw your loved one. These intrusive memories can have a significantly negative impact on your life. Moreover, they can feel quite real. You may try to put the thoughts out of your mind but find you cannot. The flashbacks may even appear as nightmares. However they reveal themselves, seeking professional medical help immediately is important. They may be able to provide short-term solutions and long-term treatment.
Avoidance
While maybe not as vivid and emotional as flashbacks, avoidance may be easier to prove at trial. For example, if you used to drive yourself to work or school every day but now insist on taking a bus, train, or walking, this is a form of avoidance PTSD. Because of the accident, your quality of life is suffering. A skilled personal injury lawyer can help you recover damages for such an event. However, you should also seek medical treatment to put an end to your avoidance. Note that your medical expenses related to future medical treatment are calculable and are also compensable in a settlement or judgment. We account for any prescription medications, cost of treatment, and life expectancy to calculate future medical expenses.
Pessimism
Feelings of shame, guilt, or blame can be as intrusive as flashbacks. This may lead to self-destructive behavior. The challenge with these PTSD symptoms is they may not reveal themselves until years after your car accident. Moreover, clients may hesitate to share these feelings with their personal injury attorney. But you can rest assured that we have handled countless cases where plaintiffs suffered from PTSD symptoms such as pessimism. While not exactly like pessimism, your PTSD may also reveal itself as angry outbursts or irritability. These can damage your familiar relationships, social relationships, and status at work.
While there may be some challenges in proving a causal link between an outburst at work that lost you your job, an expert witness can link it if there is enough supporting evidence. For example, perhaps you were a model employee beloved by everyone prior to your DC car accident. Now, you are irritable and appear to have other PTSD-related symptoms. In this instance, we may be able to establish a causal link at trial.
Impact on Daily Life and Relationships

The flashbacks, avoidance, and pessimism caused by your car accident cause have serious impacts on your daily life and relationships. Even without mental health ramifications, a car accident can affect your daily life. Your daily routine can be disrupted because you are unable to drive to work or run errands due to your injuries or disabled car. But with emotional trauma, even leaving your house may become daunting. Many of us take our health and safety for granted each day. Similar to becoming sick for the first time in months and realizing how fragile life is, the same goes for car accidents. Life can be scary if you begin conceptualizing how many hazards are in everyday life, particularly on the road.
The same can go for your relationships. Relationships are an important measurement of mental health after DC car accidents. Among the most common examples of car accidents affecting social relationships is withdrawal from regular activities. In fact, this can occur even without PTSD symptoms. Your injuries may prohibit you from participating in sports with your friends. Or, if you are on crutches, you may be unwilling to attend a sport even if you are a bit older. The isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness and detachment. This a loss you should not have had to suffer if you did not cause the car accident. Accordingly, we are determined to win you the compensation you deserve.
Strategies for Coping and Resilience Building
This should not be taken as medical advice. Instead, you should consult a licensed medical professional for how to cope with your mental injuries. Having said that, there are many fool-proof activities you can participate in to assist you as you battle through your emotional trauma. They are discussed below.
- Mindfulness. This may involve meditation or deep breathing techniques. Deep breathing techniques are rooted in science and have been proven to be useful when dealing with panic attacks. While it is not a cure for your emotional pain, it is an effective coping strategy.
- Physical activity. Numerous studies have proven that regular exercise reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety. Examples include walking, running, biking, lifting weights, participating in a workout class, or playing sports. Anything that improves physical health can also provide psychological benefits.
- Journaling. Some have reported that journaling, the act of putting your thoughts and feelings on paper, can improve processing your complex emotions. But be careful of journaling explicitly the facts of your case. Consider how your journaling would look if discussed at trial.
- Lean on your support system. Talk with your friends, family, and loved ones. Whether in person or over the phone, speaking with someone about what is bothering you can allow you to process your feelings rather than keep everything bottled up.
- Speak to professionals. There should be plenty of resources available to you.
Moving Forward After an Accident
The way you move forward after your DC car accident may look vastly different from how someone else, perhaps even someone in the same accident as you, moves on from the trauma. Remember to give yourself time; everyone processes emotions at different speeds. Recognize that it is normal to have these emotions and to work hard to feel better every day.
