Florida Car Crash Claims: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Recovery

Three weeks after the collision, Sarah still can't drive past the intersection where it happened. Her heart races. Her hands shake. The bruises faded and the whiplash resolved, but something else lingers. This example scenario details the anxiety annd mental anguish that can continue sometimes long after injuries heal.

Our Seminole car accident attorneys meet regularly with car crash victims who describe panic attacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and an inability to feel safe behind the wheel. Recovering compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms requires meeting strict legal thresholds that many victims don't fully comprehend.

What Is PTSD and Why Do Car Accidents Trigger It?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops when the brain's threat-response system gets stuck after a terrifying event. The mind perceived the crash as life-threatening, whether or not objective danger existed, and now struggles to reset. Every honking horn becomes a potential collision. Every sudden brake light triggers a flood of adrenaline.

Normal post-accident anxiety fades within days or weeks. PTSD can persist and, for some victims, it may even intensify over time.

Picture someone who was rear-ended at a stoplight six months ago. His soft tissue damage healed with physical therapy, but now he can't sleep more than three hours at a stretch. He checks his rearview mirror obsessively at every red light. He's stopped carpooling because the thought of being a passenger makes him physically ill. That's PTSD. Whether he can recover compensation for his mental pain and suffering depends on whether his injuries meet Florida's serious injury threshold.

Recognizing PTSD Symptoms After Auto Accidents

PTSD doesn't always announce itself immediately. Some victims feel fine for weeks before symptoms emerge. Common warning signs include:

• Intrusive memories. Flashbacks vary in intensity. Some victims experience sensory fragments like the sound of impact or the smell of burning rubber, while others feel fully transported back to the collision.
• Avoidance behaviors. Examples include refusing to drive, taking elaborate detours to avoid crash locations, or skipping medical appointments because hospitals trigger anxiety.
• Hypervigilance. Some victims can't ride in cars without gripping the door handle or pressing an imaginary brake pedal. This constant readiness is exhausting.
• Mood changes. Depression often accompanies PTSD. Victims feel guilty, believing they could have prevented the crash. Activities that once brought joy now feel meaningless.

These symptoms are legitimate psychological injuries, but Florida law creates significant barriers to recovering compensation for them.

Florida's Serious Injury Threshold for PTSD Claims

Under Florida Statute § 627.737, victims can recover noneconomic damages (including pain, suffering, and mental anguish) only if their injuries meet specific statutory requirements. The law establishes a "serious injury threshold" that demands one of the following:

• Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement
• Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Death

This threshold creates a significant obstacle for PTSD claims. Psychological injuries alone cannot meet the threshold in motor-vehicle cases. A qualifying permanent physical injury is required.

Minor Physical Injuries Typically Don't Qualify

Many crash victims assume that any physical injury, combined with PTSD, allows them to pursue mental anguish damages. That's not how Florida law works. Minor or temporary injuries fail the serious injury threshold when they don't result in permanent injury or functional loss.

Injuries That May Qualify

Establishing permanency requires a physician's written opinion, typically using the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Not all severe injuries automatically qualify; medical evidence of permanency is essential. Common examples include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal injuries
• Fractures requiring surgery
• Amputations or permanent loss of use
• Severe scarring

When crash victims sustain these qualifying injuries with medical evidence of permanency and also develop PTSD, the psychological trauma becomes part of their compensable damages. The physical injury provides the legal gateway; the mental anguish adds to the total harm.

Insurance Company Defenses Against PTSD Car Crash Claims

Even with qualifying physical injuries and documented PTSD, expect insurers to fight your mental anguish claim. Common defense tactics include:

• Pre-existing conditions. If you had any prior mental health treatment, insurers will argue that your PTSD existed before the accident.
• Soft tissue injury arguments. Insurance companies routinely claim soft tissue injuries will heal completely with time, attempting to minimize your physical injuries below the serious injury threshold. 
• Degenerative condition arguments. For disc injuries or joint damage, insurers frequently argue the condition is age-related rather than accident-caused.
• Delayed treatment gaps. Any pause in medical care or mental health treatment becomes ammunition to argue that symptoms resolved or weren't severe.
• Independent medical examinations. Compulsory Medical Examinations (CMEs) may conclude that injuries aren't permanent or that psychological symptoms are exaggerated.

Overcoming these defenses requires thorough preparation, expert medical testimony establishing permanency, and detailed documentation of how injuries, both physical and psychological, have permanently altered your life.

What Car Accident Compensation Can Include

When physical injuries meet Florida's serious injury threshold, victims can pursue noneconomic damages for mental anguish alongside economic damages. Your compensation may include:

• Medical treatment costs
• Lost wages and earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life

The severity of qualifying physical injuries significantly impacts the value of accompanying mental anguish claims. More severe permanent injuries typically support larger non-economic damage awards.