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Coping with PTSD Following a Serious Auto Accident in Mississippi

Of the millions of people involved each year in automobile accidents, a large percentage will suffer serious bodily injury and significant psychological distress. Any event which is threatening to life or body can produce traumatic stress in the victim. Normally the body has a “fight or flight” response which is employed to protect individuals against such threats, however when fight or flight is impossible—such as during a sudden car accident—the threat remains, causing the victim to essentially “freeze,” and PTSD to develop.

How Common is PTSD?

Estimates put the number of those who will suffer post-traumatic stress disorder following an automobile accident at somewhere between ten and forty-five percent. The broad range stems from the fact that many victims are too embarrassed to report their PTSD.  Women suffer more often from PTSD following an auto accident than do men, and this psychological trauma can actually interfere with a person’s daily functioning abilities. Many times, even when there is not full-blown PTSD following an auto accident some people may experience non-specific troubles on the job and in school, have problems maintaining friendships and be unable to enjoy their hobbies and leisure time.

Psychological Trauma is Often Overlooked

Typically broken bones and soft tissue injuries are the issues which are immediately attended in an emergency room following a car accident. Doctors set broken bones, stitch up cuts, attend to scrapes and bruises and check for internal injuries. Victims may have facial lacerations which require further plastic surgery, or may even require major surgeries just to survive. Of course the body must be attended to, yet often the psychological damage resulting from a traumatic car accident can be just as devastating as the physical.

Once you are physically stabilized and on the mend, your mental state may be pushed aside and not taken as seriously as it should be. Most of us are required to drive each day, simply to get to and from work, take our children to school or run necessary errands, therefore if one suffers severe anxiety simply from getting into a car it can become a serious handicap.

Primary Symptoms of PTSD

Victims of auto accidents who experience PTSD may find themselves re-experiencing the accident over and over. They may have recurring dreams of the accident, or even frightening flashbacks while they are awake. Post-traumatic stress disorder victims may try to avoid any type of stimuli which is associated with the original trauma or may find themselves become numb or showing a decrease in normal responsiveness. This numbing can bring about a loss of interest in formerly enjoyable activities, and can cause people to feel detached from others.

There can be intense physical reactions when reminded of the original event such as a pounding heart, rapid breathing, sweating and nausea. People who are suffering from PTSD can also be extremely irritable, have unprovoked outbursts of anger and may be unable to concentrate on the task at hand. PTSD victims often feel extremely helpless and out of control, and should they not take the psychological symptoms seriously and get the necessary help, PTSD can worsen over time.

Getting the Help You Need

A relatively new tool, known as a magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-intrusive way to measure the magnetic fields in the brain, and definitively diagnose PTSD. It is believed that this test can correctly identify PTSD patients with a 90% accuracy rate. If you are having symptoms of PTSD, it is necessary to have a psychologist who is trained in the disorder to thoroughly evaluate you and run tests such as the MEG to back up your claims of psychological trauma. Victims who experience significant PTSD symptoms following a car accident may be able to seek compensation for their psychological injuries therefore should hire an experienced personal injury attorney who is skilled in proving such claims and can assist  in obtaining damages for injuries, both physical and mental.

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Distracted Driving Involves More Than Cell Phones

Over twenty percent of all injury accidents in 2009 could be directly attributed to distracted driving. When most people hear the term “distracted driving,” they immediately think of cell phone use and texting while driving. The truth is, there are a variety of distractions which drivers encounter on a daily basis, and there are different types of distraction as well. A visual distraction occurs when you are driving and take your eyes off the road, whether for a second or a longer period of time. Manual distraction occurs when you are engaged in exhibiting a negative hand gesture to another driver and your hand or hands are removed from the wheel.

A cognitive distraction occurs when a driver is “spaced out,” thinking about a problem in their life, or an upcoming vacation—anything other than the road ahead and the drivers surrounding them. A parent who turns around to holler and grab the child’s leg who has been kicking the seat for the past ten minutes is suffering from all three types of distraction—a very dangerous combination. Texting also involves all three types of distractions, which is why it has been found to be so deadly. When you engage in texting, your hand is off the wheel, your eyes are off the road, and your mind is on the text you are sending, or the person you are sending it to, rather than your driving.

Other Common Distractions

While cell phones can certainly be deadly, there are other distractions that are dangerous as well. How many of us routinely eat and drink while driving? What happens when your taco drips on your brand new skirt, and you first take your hand off the wheel to try and “catch” the taco sauce, your eyes leave the road as your survey the damage, and your mind is on how you will get your skirt cleaned off and still get to work on time. You’ve just committed another three-way distraction no-no, and in that very few seconds when your mind, hand and eyes are away from the task of driving, an accident can happen.

What about talking to the passengers in your car, sometimes even turning around to talk? Yes, many of us have been guilty of this at one time or another. If you live in the city, you have likely seen women applying makeup or combing their hair while driving; in fact some women routinely use the drive to work to take care of such tasks. Visitors to a new area can often be seen reading a map which is spread out across the steering wheel while driving down the road. Fiddling with a GPS system, radio station or CD player are common as well.

In other words, most all of us who have been driving for any length of time are guilty of at least one of these distraction no-no’s. Parents, especially those of small children, have even more levels of distraction. The baby is crying in the back seat and you turn around to see why. The kids are fighting in the back seat and your turn around to threaten or cajole. While all of these things are “normal,” per se, they are still extremely unsafe behaviors which can lead to serious or even fatal car accidents.

The Research on Cell Phones

So, as you can see there are lots of ways you may find yourself driving in a distracted manner, however cell phone use and texting still top the list for distractions which cause serious accidents. Of all of those people who were killed in a distracted driving crash, almost twenty percent involved cell phone use. The under-twenty age group had the highest levels of distracted driving, and astonishingly, using a cell phone while driving can delay the driver’s reactions as much as having a BAC concentration over the legal limit of .08 percent.  The bottom line is that any type of distracted driving is dangerous, and potentially fatal. If you are the victim of a crash caused by a distracted driver, it is important that you get legal advice and discuss your options.

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Frequently Asked Questions Following a Car Accident in Mississippi

First and foremost, you are likely wondering if you have a good, solid case for recovery following your accident with injuries. The answer to this question depends on a variety of questions you must ask yourself and answer honestly. It could be very beneficial to discuss your case with a personal injury attorney who is highly skilled in your particular type of accident (i.e.; if you were hit by an 18-wheeler, you need an attorney who is very familiar with the specific issues surrounding such an accident, likewise for a motorcycle accident, multi-car accident or any other type of accident which come with special circumstances).

How Do My Injuries Factor In?

Were you injured, and if so, how severe were your injuries? Have you been rendered unable to work due to your injuries, or do you have piles of medical bills for the injuries you received which you are unable to pay? Was it directly another person’s fault that you were injured? Did the negligent party have insurance at the time of the accident, or is your insurance going to have to pick up the tab? Are you within the statute of limitations, or has too much time passed? A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can help you answer each of these questions in a way which will tell you whether you have a good case or not.

How Long Will My Case Take?

All people who are considering filing a personal injury claim are concerned about how long the case will take. Again, the answer to this question will depend on a number of factors such as whether or not you’ve completed your medical treatment or have considerably more surgeries, therapies or rehabilitation to complete. If there is an insurance company involved, are they accepting liability or denying your injuries and damages?  If the insurance company is not accepting liability, you would have little choice but to sue for damages, however this could take considerably more time.

The reason most of us want to know how much time the case could take is that we dread the thought of appearing in court, and having our lives filled with uncertainty while the case drags on. Unfortunately, there is just not one stock answer for how long your case could take. Having a personal injury attorney in your corner who has considerable experience in cases like yours can certainly make the case go much more quickly.

Will I Have to Go to Court in Order to Get a Settlement?

Nobody wants to go to court, and almost everyone considers sitting on the witness stand answering questions by opposing counsel to be one of life’s more anxiety-provoking experiences. In reality, very few personal injury cases ever make it to trial. This is true for several reasons; the attorney on the case may realize the case could be lost at trial and recommend settling for an offer that can be live with, or many people simply don’t want to spend the time and money a trial would involve, choosing to accept a reasonable settlement instead.

Fear of the unknown is also a big motivator in convincing people to accept a settlement offer rather than going to court. Juries are well known for being predictable—they may be unsympathetic to your injuries or may decide to really stick it to the person responsible for the injuries. Unfortunately, it can take years for a case to finally see a courtroom, and even longer to collect a multi-million dollar verdict.

Other Questions

If you are wondering how long you have to sue, be aware that the statute of limitations varies widely from type of claim as well as jurisdiction, so be sure to ask for advice from your attorney about where you are in the allowed time frame. Even if your injuries are healed, you may be able to successfully sue for injuries you sustained in your auto accident. If you refused to be transported via ambulance to an emergency room this may make your case more difficult, but it definitely does not mean you don’t have a case.

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