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It’s the kind of trauma that doesn’t leave visible scars. The kind that creeps into your daily life, disrupts your sleep, interrupts your work, and quietly redefines who you are after a tragedy. We’re talking about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—a condition more commonly associated with veterans of war, now increasingly recognized in civilians who survive violent or catastrophic events, like a serious truck collision.
While headlines often focus on the immediate wreckage of these crashes—the twisted metal, the highway closures, the physical injuries—what gets lost in the noise is the emotional wreckage left behind. If you’re reading this because you or someone you love is grappling with that invisible aftermath, you’re not alone—and yes, you may have the legal right to sue for PTSD.
Let’s break down the legal framework, the challenges, and the potential paths forward—because justice doesn’t always wear a cast or show up on an X-ray.
PTSD is not just anxiety. It’s not “being shaken up” or “overreacting.” It’s a diagnosable, debilitating mental health condition. According to the American Psychiatric Association, PTSD can develop after exposure to a traumatic event—something sudden, shocking, and often life-threatening.
Common symptoms include:
Recurring, intrusive memories or flashbacks
Avoidance of locations or reminders of the event
Hypervigilance, panic attacks, or emotional numbing
Disrupted sleep, concentration issues, or mood swings
These symptoms aren’t just mentally exhausting—they affect your job, your relationships, and your ability to function in a world that keeps moving forward while you’re stuck in reverse.
When a collision involves a massive commercial truck—often weighing 20–30 times more than a passenger vehicle—the trauma isn’t just physical. The psychological impact of surviving such a crash, or witnessing a loved one injured or killed, can reverberate for years.
The short answer: Yes.
The more honest answer: It depends.
In the American civil justice system, PTSD is recognized as a legitimate harm under personal injury law—if it can be proved. Like any other injury, PTSD must be connected to another party’s negligence, meaning someone failed to act with reasonable care.
Here’s what you or your attorney would need to prove:
Duty of Care – The truck driver, company, or another party had a legal duty to operate safely.
Breach of Duty – That duty was violated (think: speeding, distracted driving, DUI, hours-of-service violations).
Causation – That breach directly led to the accident—and the PTSD that followed.
Damages – You suffered quantifiable harm as a result: medical bills, therapy costs, lost wages, pain and suffering.
Importantly, some states allow emotional distress claims even without physical injury, though proving them requires a higher bar of evidence. Other jurisdictions still require a physical injury to accompany emotional trauma. That’s why working with a knowledgeable attorney is essential—they’ll know your local laws, and how to build a persuasive case around them.
Courts don’t take your word for it—and frankly, they shouldn’t. Emotional injuries like PTSD need to be substantiated, just like a broken leg or spinal damage would.
Here’s how legal teams build these cases:
It starts with a proper diagnosis from a licensed mental health professional—ideally a psychologist or psychiatrist. You’ll also want:
Therapy records (CBT, EMDR, or other modalities)
Prescriptions for medications like SSRIs or anti-anxiety drugs
Evaluations that document functional impairment (impact on work, family, daily life)
This is your story. And while it might be painful to tell, it’s also powerful. The courts want to know:
What does a typical day look like now?
Are you avoiding driving, certain roads, or even leaving the house?
Has your personality, job performance, or ability to be present in your relationships changed?
These aren’t just anecdotes—they’re evidence.
Sometimes it’s a spouse. A sibling. A coworker. These people serve as a kind of emotional baseline, showing how much the crash changed you. Their observations—how you’ve withdrawn, become anxious, irritable, or unlike your former self—can bring context and credibility to your claim.
This is where a mental health expert connects the dots for the court. They’ll explain how trauma from a violent crash can directly cause PTSD, how symptoms manifest, and why you’re not “just stressed”—you’re clinically and legally injured.
If your PTSD claim is successful, compensation (or “damages”) can cover:
Medical and Mental Health Costs – Therapy, medication, specialist evaluations
Lost Wages – If PTSD keeps you from working temporarily or long-term
Pain and Suffering – The emotional cost of reliving trauma every day
Loss of Enjoyment of Life – If the crash stripped you of joy, freedom, or peace of mind
In rare but egregious cases—such as when a trucking company knowingly violated safety standards—punitive damages may also apply, meant to punish the offender and send a message.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: proving PTSD in a courtroom isn’t easy. There’s still a stigma around mental health in legal settings. Insurance companies may argue you’re exaggerating. They may send you to their own medical examiners who downplay your trauma. They may even comb through your social media to find “evidence” that you’re not really suffering.
But here’s the truth: juries today are more aware of mental health than ever before. They know trauma doesn’t always show up on an MRI. That grief doesn’t always look like tears. And that survival doesn’t mean you’re okay.
The key is preparation. Documentation. Expert support. And an attorney who knows how to build a case around the pain no one else can see.
It’s time to bust a myth: PTSD isn’t just for soldiers returning from war zones. It’s also for:
A single mother who watched an 18-wheeler barrel through an intersection.
A rideshare passenger whose Uber was crushed by a delivery truck.
A father who drove past the scene of a fatal crash and couldn’t sleep for weeks.
The DSM-5 doesn’t care about the headlines—it cares about symptoms. And if you meet the diagnostic criteria, the law can care too.
Not all lawyers treat PTSD claims seriously. Some will tell you it’s too hard to prove. That juries don’t buy it. That you’d be better off focusing on physical injuries.
But the right lawyer knows better. They’ll:
Work with trauma specialists
Cross-examine insurance company experts
Gather the right type of testimony
File within deadlines (statutes of limitations vary by state)
Negotiate settlements that reflect the true scope of your suffering
At Bert McDowell Injury Law, we don’t minimize mental pain—we center it. Because what happens after a crash is not just about the crash. It’s about the rebuilding. The reclaiming. The road back to yourself.
If you’re living with PTSD after a truck collision, it’s not your fault—and it’s not “all in your head.” It’s real. It’s diagnosable. And yes, it’s actionable under the law.
You don’t have to navigate this alone. With the right support, legal strategy, and willingness to stand up for your recovery, you can move from victim to plaintiff—and, ultimately, survivor.
Call Bert McDowell Injury Law at (475) 529-2634 for a free consultation. We’ll listen, evaluate, and guide you forward—because justice doesn’t stop with a crash report. It starts when someone says, “What happened to you matters.”
