When Can You Seek Legal Compensation for PTSD?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that affects people after they have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event; Serious accidents, physical or sexual assault, or life-threatening events can all lead to the development of PTSD. It is possible to seek legal compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder if you are able to prove that someone else’s negligence or reckless behavior caused you to experience the event that led to your PTSD. An individual person, or even an employer, can be sued for your development of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Worker’s Compensation for PTSD
Sometimes an event in the workplace environment can be the cause of PTSD. Some kinds of professions, like firefighting, police work, and EMT jobs, can cause PTSD more easily than others because they involve high stress and dangerous situations. Witnessing a traumatic event or accident at work can also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. You can file a worker’s compensation claim for your development of PTSD. There are usually strict deadlines regarding worker’s compensation, so be sure to contact your doctor and your employer as soon as possible if you suspect that you have work-related PTSD.
Successful PTSD Lawsuits
Traumatic events that occur outside the workplace can also lead to PTSD; in these cases, receiving compensation for your injury is not as simple as filing a worker’s comp claim. You may have to file a lawsuit. In order to succeed in a PTSD lawsuit, you will need to be able to establish both injury and causation. This means that you should document and be able to prove both the traumatic event that lead to your PTSD, as well as the psychological injury you have endured as a result. In order to do this, you will most likely need to produce an expert witness, such as a psychiatrist, who can testify on your behalf.
Hope and Help for PTSD
If you are suffering from PTSD, know that help is available. You do not have to suffer in silence. In the event that your post-traumatic stress disorder was caused by a third party’s negligence, consider speaking with a lawyer to see how you can receive compensation for your PTSD.
