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Can You Sue for Mental Health Damages After an Injury?

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

Can You Sue for Mental Health Damages After an Injury?

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

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Mental health damages or psychological injuries occur when a cognitive or emotional symptom significantly impacts a person’s life after some type of trauma. The type of trauma that can cause a psychological injury is wide-ranging, and psychological injuries themselves can range from temporary to lifelong and can manifest in a myriad of ways.

Regardless, if your physical or psychological injury occurred as the result of another party’s negligence or intentional acts, you may be eligible to seek compensation; mental health damages may be used to help pay for counseling and therapeutic services, as well as to compensate a victim’s pain and suffering. To learn more about what qualifies as a psychological injury, or for help filing a claim, reach out to a personal injury attorney.

Common examples of situations which may result in psychological injuries include the following:

A variety of damages may be compensable in a personal injury lawsuit after a traumatic incident.

Damages in a personal injury case fall into one of two categories: economic or non-economic. Economic damages are easier to calculate, and they represent expenses such as medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and anything else that comes with a set price tag.

However, non-economic damages are just as important. The problem with non-economic damages is that they are difficult to calculate, and can even be difficult to identify without the help of an experienced professional. Non-economic damages generally refer to the damages a person experiences that, although devoid of a price tag, represent a significant loss in the person’s life. Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and psychological injuries are just a few types of non-economic damages.

Don’t try to handle a psychological injury case alone; mental health damages are notoriously difficult to identify and prove in court.

The main problem with seeking compensation for a psychological injury is the invisible nature of these injuries. While a psychological injury can have just as significant an effect on someone’s life as a chronic injury, it can be difficult to prove. This is why it is especially important to reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney if you believe mental health damages should be included in your lawsuit. The good news is that these attorneys offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee basis, which means clients don’t pay unless they win. Personal injury attorneys have access to the expert resources necessary to identify, prove, and even help treat psychological injuries after trauma.

Symptoms of a psychological injury may include any of the following:

  • Mood swings
  • Seemingly irrational bouts of anger or irritability
  • Denial or disbelief
  • Withdrawing from loved ones and previously enjoyed activities
  • Feelings of numbness
  • Insomnia
  • Nightmares or night terrors
  • Hyper-focus on mortality
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Constant fatigue
  • Exhibiting infantile behavior or playacting the traumatic incident (in the case of children who have experienced trauma)

If you or a loved one may have suffered psychological injuries after a traumatic situation caused by someone else’s negligence, reach out to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

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