There is a common misconception among most people that personal injury claims only have to do with physical injuries such as broken limbs and other visible injuries. Victims of these kinds of cases should be aware that apart from physical injuries, they can get compensation for their emotional pain and distress. In personal injury claims, the term ’’pain and suffering” refers to a combination of physical injuries and emotional problems you suffered because of the accident.
These psychological problems include anxiety, insomnia, guilt, frustration and can have a huge impact on your life. You should not ignore the psychological aspect of your accident because it could undervalue your compensation settlement.

What is a psychological injury

If you want to claim compensation for your psychological injury you always need to prove that your trauma is caused by a third party’s action. Psychological injury is a term that covers a wide spectrum of damages. They can happen due to car accidents, accidents at work or even stress at work because of overworked staff. If you decide to make a claim you must make sure that you do it in a three year time period from the date of your accident. If your trauma has happened when you were a child, it’s also a three year time period once you turn eighteen.

Evidence

It doesn’t matter if you’re sure that your emotional distress is real, you should always gather as much evidence as possible because your claim depends on it. The more evidence you have, you will have a better chance for a higher settlement. One of the ways to do this is to use your medical records to prove your emotional distress. For example, if your doctor has limited you how much you can lift, you can’t go shopping or do chores around the house. Mental health records are also an important part of the evidence that you will need. If you’re a patient of a psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed counselor you should tell them to write a narrative of their evaluation of your mental health and emotional condition. This can verify if you suffer from depression, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and PTSD. Also, a good way to gather evidence is to ask witnesses to write statements. You should ask your co-workers, family, and friends to write how you have changed since the traumatic event happened. And in the end, you should keep a journal of your sleeping problems, pain issues and other elements of your emotional distress.

Attorney

If you’re planning to make a personal injuries claim then you should always find an experienced attorney in this field in order to get full value from your insurance. Insurance companies have ways of using your case against you such as pre-existing mental issues and lawyers are there to help you. With some complicated claims, big companies would rather spend lots of money on legal teams than give you anything so it’s important to have a skilled professional at your side. Most personal injury lawyers don’t charge for the initial consultation and work on a contingency fee basis which means they get paid when the claim is won. Another important thing is if your psychological injury has occurred due to workplace bullying and harassment then a professional workplace bullying lawyers are a must. The important thing is not to feel ashamed but to do as best to make the quality of your workplace and everyday life better.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

PTSD is a severe disorder that can occur due to traumatizing experiences like war, abuse, and car accidents. Typical symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks of traumatic events, disturbed sleep, bad dreams and blockage of the event itself. In order to be diagnosed with this disorder, your traumatizing events must be extreme enough to create severe damage to your life and cause you to be highly stressed and dysfunctional. In some countries like the UK, PTSD claims are taken very seriously due to the severe nature of the condition.

Anxiety compensation claims

Some accidents can make more psychological damage to us than physical. Anxiety development is probably one of the most often psychological injuries claims out there. Victims often feel anxious because they have a fear that the accident will happen again. For example, if they have been in a car accident they will be afraid to get in a car. This can be a huge problem for someone who is going to work or school by car. Not everyone is affected the same by anxiety. That’s why some people have mild reactions and some have panic attacks so the compensation of your claim will vary on the seriousness of your case.

Compensation for depression

In some cases, depression can be a genetic issue but in other cases, it can be triggered by trauma or stress. Some victims who got injured severely and it changed their lives drastically develop depression because it’s hard for them to cope with their new way of life. If their injury has caused losing their job, unemployment or being housebound then depression development can be a part of their claim. Depression can also be caused by work-related stress. Sometimes employers and co-workers can be a result of work-related depression. For example, if a person is overworked, bullied and undersupported. Employes have a duty of your well-being and so if this is the case then workers may be entitled to stress at work compensation payouts.

Primary and secondary victims

In these kinds of cases, there are always primary and secondary victims. The primary victim is the one directly involved and injured in the hazard that took place. Primary victims can often develop psychological injuries due to their injuries and stress and this can often cause anxiety.
Secondary victims are the ones who may have suffered psychological injuries because of witnessing an accident or incident and has left them with emotional trauma. In order for a secondary victim to get compensation, it is necessary that they witnessed the event or the immediate consequences.