After a tragic truck accident, everyone who has been involved is examined and treated for any physical injury that they have sustained as a result of the accident. In cases where one party has been negligent, the victim of the incident may bring a claim against the driver to settle up the medical bills, the damage done to the car or bicycle, and, in truly horrendous accidents, the price of a life. The physical damages of an accident can generally be tallied up because the tangible, physical injuries have tangible, physical remedies. However, what about the emotional trauma and damage that occurs from someone involved in an accident or even someone who has witnessed an accident?
Correlation Between Truck Accidents and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In a study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, doctors noticed a link between victims who were involved in minor and major motor vehicle accidents and short and long-term psychiatric disorders that were not present in the victim before the accident. Many victims displayed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, phobias relating to travel, and other mood swings and disorders. As the medical field researches further into post-traumatic stress disorder, Courts are allowing victims to bring suit for non-physical damages that they have sustained as a result of the accident.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
State laws allow for a victim to bring a cause of action known as “Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress,” which determines that anyone with a non-physical, mental trauma that results from someone acting negligently may receive damages. The law has restrictions regarding victims who may bring this type of case to court. The following are some of the restrictions to the law:
- The defendant must have had a duty of care to the victim and acted in a way that unreasonably endangered the victim’s safety or caused the victim to fear for her life.
- The victim must have been in the “zone-of-danger,” meaning he must have been in the vicinity of immediate danger of bodily harm caused by the defendant acting unreasonably.
- A victim who has witnessed a collision may only recover if her emotional trauma was caused by the contemporaneous witnessing of the serious injury or death of a family member, which was due to the defendant’s negligence.
The negligent infliction of emotional distress allows victims to recover for damages for mental trauma that they have undergone as a result of the defendant’s negligent actions. The fact that a victim may bring a claim allows for the system to justly compensate a victim who may have insignificant physical damages, but who is suffering extensively from mental or emotional damages.
Are You Suffering from PTSD?
Because the law is still evolving, the granting of damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress is decided on a case-by-case basis and is very fact-specific. It is important that you meet with an attorney if you have been in a truck accident and you have sustained not only physical but emotional injuries. An experienced trucking accident lawyer in Memphis, TN will be able to guide you through the process and help you recover damages owed to you as a result of your physical and mental/emotional injuries. Please contact a law firm for an initial consultation today.
Thanks to Patterson Bray for their insight into personal injury claims and PTSD after a truck accident.
