If you were recently involved in a car accident, you may initially have felt lucky to seemingly only suffered a few cuts and bruises. While your car may have needed some repairs, your medical examination looked good and you were cleared to return to work and carry on with life as normal. But for many people, simply getting on with life after a car accident is easier said than done.
A car accident, regardless of how minor it appeared to be from other people’s perspective, can be a traumatic experience. You may have interpreted the event as a near-death experience, and you might spend a lot of time wondering about what could have happened if things had gone a little differently. It’s entirely possible to make a claim against the at-fault party for psychological injuries in just the same way as if you had suffered physical injuries. The following are some things to consider before doing so.
Understanding emotional trauma
Emotional trauma can look different for different people. You may be experiencing emotional trauma after a car accident if you are not able to sleep, have sleep disturbances or if you are sleeping too much. Additionally, you may go through periods of irritability, moodiness or display obsessive or compulsive behaviors. You may withdraw socially and experience chronic fatigue and exhaustion.
Showing negligence
In order to make a claim for damages against another party, you will need to show that they were, in fact, to blame for the causation of the accident. To do this, you must show that they acted in a negligent or reckless way and that the accident would not have occurred if they had acted safely. For example, you may be able to show that the driver was texting while driving and that this directly led to the collision.
If you have been emotionally affected by a recent car accident, make sure that you take action to claim the damages that you deserve.
