The Correlation Between Truck Accidents and Mental Health Issues

Those unlucky enough to be involved in truck accidents often describe their collision as one of the worst experiences of their life. Crashes often leave victims with serious physical injuries, significant financial losses, and mental trauma. If you look at mental health issues and truck accidents, there appears to be a connection.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Before you talk to the trucking company’s insurance provider, make sure you have spoken to an attorney. Call the team at Bailey, Javins & Carter at 800-497-0234 to set up a consultation now.

Can Mental Health Issues Cause Truck Accidents?

When we talk about the correlation between truck crashes and mental health, it’s important to look at the possibility of mental health issues causing or contributing to collisions. Mental health issues can change how you view the world, how you respond to obstacles, and how well you keep calm in stressful situations. It makes sense that mental health issues could cause or exacerbate an accident.

Note, though, that this doesn’t mean that everyone with a mental health diagnosis is at risk of causing an accident. Rather, people with certain symptoms or diagnoses may be at a heightened risk of unsafe driving behaviors that may lead to a collision.

For example, drivers with severe anxiety may panic and freeze up when traffic is worse than they expected; this could lead them to make unsafe or panic-driven choices. However, another person with a serious anxiety condition may operate just fine under stressful driving conditions. It comes down to each individual’s limitations and abilities.

How Truck Accidents Can Cause or Worsen Mental Health Issues

While there’s a possibility that mental health issues may cause some truck accidents, it’s obvious that truck accidents can cause or exacerbate preexisting mental health concerns. Even if an individual is physically fine after an accident, that doesn’t wipe away the mental trauma they have experienced. Survivors often need therapy and other types of mental health support to move on after a crash.

One of the most common diagnoses after a truck accident is PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur when an individual is involved in a life-threatening situation or a situation in which they have a reasonable fear of death. PTSD may also occur after an individual sees another person get seriously injured or killed in an accident or attack. Those with PTSD report nightmares, high levels of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and panic when faced with triggers that remind them of the accident. Without treatment, these symptoms can make it very difficult for an individual to function in day-to-day life.

Victims may also develop anxiety or depression disorders after a collision. These conditions may be due to the stress of the accident itself or the injuries the victim suffered in the crash. Depression and anxiety may also surface if an individual is forced to face their own mortality due to a collision.

Support for Truck Accident Survivors

The sooner you seek treatment for accident-related trauma, the better your outcome may be. A lot of accident survivors wait to start treatment, hoping that the condition will resolve itself without therapy or other types of treatment. This gives the condition time to fester and ingrain itself in the individual’s thought patterns and habits, extending their recovery period and deepening their trauma.

Accident survivors often find it helpful to start therapy with a trauma-informed therapist or counselor. In some cases, medication may be necessary. If that’s the case, it’s important to talk to a psychiatrist or another medical professional who can legally prescribe medication.

It’s also helpful for survivors to open up to loved ones. Sometimes, victims worry about burdening their friends and family members as they process their trauma—only to start feeling better as soon as they talk to loved ones.

Get the Help You Need After a Truck Accident—Contact Us Today

If a truck accident has left you injured and processing your mental trauma, find out if you are entitled to compensation. We’re here to help you explore your options. Call Bailey, Javins & Carter at 800-497-0234 or reach out online to set up a consultation right away.