It’s easy enough for people to understand that the victims of accidents suffer physical injuries, but it’s sometimes not recognized how serious the psychological and emotional damage caused by a traumatic event can be.
The fact is that in the same way that serious injuries can leave a person with long-term or permanent disabilities, some incidents are so disruptive to a person’s life and can be so difficult to face psychologically that they leave a victim with long-term or even permanent problems. These difficulties might only manifest under specific circumstances, or they can afflict a victim in such a way that even facing normal activities is a challenge.
More Common Than Many Realize
Human beings are not frail creatures, but few of us go through life with an unlimited capacity to face hardship and suffering. It’s long been known that shocks and trauma can leave a person in a less steady psychological state, but a better understanding of this kind of psychic injury was only reached in the twentieth century.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was only added to the standard list of psychiatric diagnoses in 1980, despite having been described under other names and studied by medical professionals for more than a century. Reliable estimates now suggest that nearly 8 percent of all adults will suffer PTSD at some point in their lives, with as many as 3.5 percent suffering from it in a given year. PTSD is often what is at issue in an injury claim when pain and suffering is discussed.
No Trivial Diagnosis
PTSD and other emotional injuries should always be taken seriously. The incidents that cause them are not the routine hardships of daily life nor even the serious problems people face at times, such as a divorce, a bankruptcy, or a personal failure on the job. Serious psychological scarring is instead the result of those moments that are “outside the range of usual human experience.”
These are often traumatic and disruptive events, such as violent crimes and sudden physical harm, including unexpected work injuries and accidents or car crashes.
The Eggshell Skull Rule
Under California law, a pre-existing mental health condition does not bar you from recovering compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The “Eggshell Skull Rule”—also known as the eggshell plaintiff doctrine—dictates that a negligent defendant must take the victim as they find them. If an accident triggers or severely aggravates an underlying psychological condition, the at-fault party is fully liable for the resulting emotional distress.
Insurance adjusters often try to weaponize your medical history, claiming your emotional suffering is entirely due to past trauma, anxiety, or depression. However, California jury instructions (CACI 3927 and 3928) explicitly protect vulnerable plaintiffs.
You have the legal right to seek full damages if an event caused:
- Exacerbation: The worsening of a stable, pre-existing mental health condition.
- Activation: Triggering a severe psychological response that was previously dormant.
- New Trauma: Developing acute PTSD directly due to the defendant’s negligence.
Proving intangible psychological harm requires extensive legal expertise and meticulous medical documentation. Before letting an insurance company dismiss your mental anguish, protect your rights by working with an experienced attorney to build an airtight damages claim.
Valid Workers Compensation Condition
In addition to being a reason to claim and receive compensation in a personal injury suit, the State of California has recognized PTSD as a valid form of on-the-job injury, making a harmed worker eligible for benefits required for treatment, for more than two decades. As in the case of any injury, a worker must prove that the condition was the result of events that happened on the job.
Orange County PTSD Lawyer
When you’ve been harmed, it’s important to consider all forms that damage can take, both physical and psychological. If it’s time for you to consider a claim for PTSD, turn to the experienced attorneys at Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys for a free, no-obligation review of your case. Call us at 949.535.1341 or contact us online through the form below to schedule an appointment.
Kohan & Bablove Injury Attorneys was founded by three former defense attorneys who were tired of helping insurance companies and big corporations save money by paying the least amount possible to resolve claims. We wanted to open a law firm where we could use our years of experience handling the toughest and largest claims to benefit the individual. Each of us were tired of being cogs in the wheel that focused on paying the least amount possible to injured persons regardless of injuries or the validity of their claims.
