Psychological Injury: What Is It and Do You Have a Case?

When it comes to personal injury cases, it’s not just physical injuries that count. Did you know that you can also be compensated for psychological injuries?

If you developed a psychological injury in an accident or traumatic event caused by someone else, you can seek compensation—just as you could if you had broken a bone or had internal bleeding.

Let’s talk about psychological injuries, including what they are and how a personal injury lawsuit can provide compensation for them.

What Are Psychological Injuries?

To put it simply, psychological injuries are those that affect a person’s mental and emotional health. Psychological injuries include conditions like:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• PTSD
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Insomnia
• Panic disorders
• Stress-related illnesses
• And more

Psychological injuries can be directly caused by a physical injury to the brain. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an example of this: a physical injury to the brain can result in changes to a person’s mental state, causing symptoms like anxiety, aggression, confusion, and difficulty remembering things (just to name a few).

Psychological injuries can also be caused as a result of injury to a different part of the body. A serious, disabling injury can very negatively impact a person’s quality of life. As a result, that person might develop depression or a stress-related illness, for example.

Finally, psychological injuries can occur even without a physical injury occurring. For example, someone might develop insomnia or PTSD from a traumatic event (like a car accident), even if they escaped with few serious injuries.

Psychological injuries can be very serious—no less severe than a physical injury. These conditions can have a big impact on a person’s quality of life—making it difficult to enjoy favorite activities, perform daily tasks, or even make a living. Also, some psychological injuries are so severe that they cause physical symptoms. (Anxiety, for example, can cause headaches, dizziness, and an upset stomach.) You deserve compensation for a psychological injury.

Damages for Psychological Injuries

In personal injury lawsuits, we refer to the compensation that you can receive as “damages.”

What do these damages cover? Well, damages may be awarded to cover things like:

• Medical bills (including the cost of care you’ve already received and care you estimate you’ll need in the future)
• Lost income (including wages for work you missed and paid time off—like PTO and vacation—you used, as well as estimated future wages if you are no longer able to work)
• Mental anguish and emotional distress

If you are suffering from a psychological injury, these damages might be awarded to cover things like doctor’s appointments, diagnostic tests, treatment by a mental health provider, and the distress you’ve experienced because of the condition.

The amount of damages you can receive depends mostly on how severe the injuries are. For example, a broken bone would receive lower damages than an injury that caused internal bleeding and required surgery. A physical injury that healed quickly would receive lower damages than one that caused a chronic issue or permanent disability. Psychological injuries are compensated in a similar way.

Do You Have a Case?

Cases with psychological injuries can be trickier than ones with physical injuries alone.

Unlike physical injuries that you can actually see, it can be harder to quantify psychological injuries. Basically, it’s hard to tell how bad the injury really is.

On top of that, due to the stigma around mental health, many people don’t always get the treatment they need for a psychological injury. This means that there is less evidence to prove the injury later.

As a result, psychological injuries can sometimes be harder to prove, and harder to get deserved compensation, in a personal injury lawsuit. For this reason, it’s especially important to have a good personal injury attorney in a case involving psychological injuries.

A qualified attorney can evaluate your situation and tell you if you have a case, as well as what damages you might expect. Your attorney can also help you gather all the evidence you’ll need to show that you are truly suffering from a psychological injury—gathering documentation to prove your diagnosis, treatment costs, and the injury’s effects on your life. Finally, your attorney will use this evidence to argue for the maximum compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Contact Casper & Casper Today

If you experienced psychological or physical injuries because of someone else’s carelessness or negligence, we are here for you.

The personal injury attorneys at Casper & Casper have extensive experience helping people just like you receive the compensation they needed to put their lives back together.

If you’d like to talk about your case, contact us for a free, no-obligation virtual consultation. We’d be happy to discuss your options and let you know how we can help you. Call us today.